Press Releases

LOWELL, MA – Today, Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03), a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, and Senator Edward J. Markey (D-MA), a member of the Senate Commerce, Science, and Transportation Committee, celebrated the inclusion of their pipeline safety priorities in the PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025.

The PIPELINE Safety Act of 2025 reauthorizes the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), the agency responsible for regulating pipeline safety, and includes key provisions championed by Congresswoman Lori Trahan (MA-03) and Senator Ed Markey (D-MA) through their Pipeline Accountability Act. These provisions will establish an Office of Public Engagement, strengthen carbon dioxide pipeline safety, direct studies and reporting on hydrogen blending in pipeline transportation, increase civil penalties for companies that violate safety laws, and reauthorize the Natural Gas Distribution Infrastructure Safety and Modernization Grant Program.

“We are pleased the pipeline safety reauthorization bill includes our provisions to increase transparency, support public engagement, and protect public safety. Devastating and deadly pipeline disasters, like the 2018 gas explosions in the Merrimack Valley, show why we need a watchdog, not a lapdog, when it comes to pipeline safety regulations,” said the lawmakers. “Companies that put the public at risk need to be held accountable, and our communities and first responders should be given the tools they need to stay safe. Safety regulations must be able to address new substances flowing through our pipes, like carbon dioxide and hydrogen. Thanks to these provisions, our homes, our communities, and our environment will be safer as we continue to work to end our dependence on polluting fuels.”

Trahan and Markey introduced the Pipeline Accountability Act in August, a comprehensive legislative package to modernize pipeline safety standards, enhance public engagement, improve responsiveness to disasters, and address the environmental and climate impacts of pipeline incidents.

Devastating accidents, like the 2018 gas explosions in Massachusetts' Merrimack Valley and the 2020 carbon dioxide pipeline rupture in Satartia, Mississippi, highlight a clear and urgent need. It is critical to implement stronger safety measures, greater transparency, and more accountability.

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