Join us March 10 at 6:00 p.m. EST for a free Webinar discussing the recent recommended practice from the American Petroleum Institute (API) “RP 1192 - Transportation of Carbon Dioxide by Pipeline.”
Register at the link below.
us02web.zoom.us/webinar/regi...
The fatal explosion was preceded by two gas-related incidents in the same area that involved the same pipe. Sadly, the operator chose not to report the previous incidents in a timely manner because at the time, it had not confirmed the gas leaks were from its pipelines.
A new PHMSA Advisory Bulletin falls short of addressing a NTSB recommendation stemming from a 2018 natural gas-fueled home explosion in Dallas, TX that killed one person and injured four others.
The incident "highlights the risk of recommissioning old, unused or underutilized pipelines for new purposes," Caram said.
He said a "pig" hitting a closed valve could "indicate an operational error in that the pipeline was not configured properly," while also expressing concern that natural gas was being injected to move cleaning and inspection tools.
"We will know more about why this happened once a root cause analysis of the incident is conducted, but there are a few initial items that give us pause," Caram said in a statement Wednesday.
Bill Caram, executive director of the nonprofit Pipeline Safety Trust, said the rupture created a large fireball that burned for hours and was not a minor event.
“That’s why we’re asking regulators to require a permanent repair by April 1, so we can get answers.”
“A temporary clamp stops the leak, but it doesn’t answer many questions. Until the pipe is cut out and examined, no one knows whether this same failure could happen elsewhere on the pipeline,” PST State Policy Advisor Amanda McKay said.
...to require that BP conduct a permanent repair on a section of the Olympic Pipeline that failed on Nov. 11, 2025 in Snohomish County, Washington.
On Feb. 2, Pipeline Safety Trust (PST) sent a letter to the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) asking the agencies...
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“Each time, the advice was voluntary. Each time, operators weren’t required to act. And people kept dying. The families in West Reading and South Jordan deserve more than suggestions. It’s time for enforceable standards.”
“PHMSA’s guidance is technically sound, but we’ve been down this road before: in 1999, 2002, and 2007,” Pipeline Safety Trust Executive Director Bill Caram said.
In the last few years, failed plastic piping has been responsible for several fatalities. A plastic pipe material called Aldyl-A was at the center of both the 2023 pipeline failure in West Reading, PA that killed 7, and the 2024 explosion that killed a 15-year-old boy in South Jordan, UT.
Last year’s review underscores that in numerous states; pipeline safety programs fall short in adequately providing information even on topics directly impacting community members. While four state programs did receive perfect scores, 16 programs received failing scores.
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"Communities that have grown and are growing up around these pipelines deserve better.”
“PHMSA got some things right here, but they’ve also allowed pipe with known manufacturing problems into this program and provided weak guidance on restoring pressure to pipelines reduced years ago for safety reasons."
"Pipelines designed for rural areas weren’t built with neighborhoods in mind,” Pipeline Safety Trust Executive Director Bill Caram said.
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“Every safety requirement costs some amount of money. Integrity assessments cost money. Pressure testing costs money. This policy could be pretext to letting operators defer just about anything they want.”
“PHMSA is letting the pipeline industry write its own rules,” Pipeline Safety Trust Executive Director Bill Caram said.
On Jan. 12, the federal pipeline regulator enacted a new enforcement policy that allows the pipeline industry to decide for itself when federal safety rules are too inconvenient to follow.
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Bill Caram, executive director of the watchdog group Pipeline Safety Trust, knocked PHMSA’s new enforcement policy — saying it “lets pipeline operators decide for themselves when safety rules are too inconvenient to follow.”
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"It's refreshing to see PHMSA use its enforcement authority at a record level, even more so considering that in 2025 pipeline enforcement under PHMSA plummeted to a record low, according to numerous metrics."
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"This record-proposed penalty is an appropriate response to that level of disregard for safety requirements," said Bill Caram, executive director of Pipeline Safety Trust.
At the Pipeline Safety Trust Conference this November, attendees shared what pipeline safety means to them. Their answers highlight the values that drive our work. Pipeline Safety Trust is grateful for the federal grant that helps pay for this conference.
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The 2025 State Pipeline Safety Website Transparency Report is here! In summer 2025, the Pipeline Safety Trust reviewed the websites of 54 state pipeline safety programs, evaluating each across 11 transparency metrics.
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In 2025, we updated our Landowners and Residents Guide to Pipelines. The updated guide covers what landowners and residents need to know about eminent domain, property impacts, pipeline safety during operation, and more.
Check out our newly updated resource:
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