Trump Eyes Easing Obama Rules for Sprawling Pipeline Network
- Complaints Obama agency went ‘overboard’ with its tough rules
- Thousands of miles of new pipelines will boost leak risk
QuickTake: Keystone XL Pipeline’s Second Chance
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The hints of a pipeline spill are subtle: the hiss of rushing fluid, a streak of rainbow sheen. Tucked far below ground, a ruptured line can escape notice for days or even weeks, especially in the backcountry, where inspectors rarely venture.
Regulators in the waning hours of the Obama era wrote rules aimed at changing that, and the industry is looking forward to the new administration rolling them back. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration “has gone overboard,” said Brigham McCown, a former head of the PHMSA who served on President Donald Trump’s infrastructure transition team. “They built a Cadillac instead of the Chevrolet that Congress told them to build.”