DOT Urged To Adopt New Methane Leak Detection Methods For Pipeline Rule

Environmentalists are pressing the Department of Transportation’s (DOT) pipeline safety office to adopt “advanced leak detection” (ALD) methods for upcoming regulations to reduce methane emissions from gas pipelines, an approach that industry officials are cautiously supporting even as they raise cost concerns. DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) “needs to adopt clear, performance-based advanced leak detection standards” as part of the upcoming rule, Environmental Defense Fund (EDF) senior attorney Erin Murphy told officials at a May 5 virtual...