Salud Ortiz Carbajal: “This week marks 3 years since the Refugio/ Plains pipeline failure spilled more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil along…”

“This week marks 3 years since the Refugio/ Plains pipeline failure spilled more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil along the Gaviota coast in my district. Black oil slick coated our beaches and marine life, costing over $96 million to clean up and hurting our local economy. That spill occurred 3 years after Congress unanimously passed the Pipeline Safety Act of 2011. This law directed PHMSA to update key pipeline safety standards, requiring the installation of automatic and remote control shutoff valves, including leak detection technology. However, nearly 7 years later, 20 of the pipeline safety directives in that legislation have not been enacted. During the Plains oil spill, it took operators over 2 hours to find the source of the leak. Yesterday I joined Senator Feinstein, directing the agency to answer why these requirements have not been implemented to date to ensure we are improving pipeline safety. ____________________”