It's not often that an industry goes before Congress to say, "Hey, we like the way you're regulating us. Keep up the good work!" Fortunately, though, this is the situation the American Gas Association (A.G.A.) faces as we encourage the current 106th Congress to extend for four more years the law that governs safety practices for natural gas and liquid pipelines. Sometime before September 2000, Congress must vote to reauthorize the Accountable Pipeline Safety and Partnership Act enacted in 1996. Until three years ago, federal lawmakers spelled out in great detail how pipeline operators should undertake and maintain safety programs. For example, the 1992 version of the pipeline safety law required the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) to issue new regulations that would have required an operator to test and certify individuals who work on pipelines. The initial price tag for compliance with the original regulation proposed by DOT would have exceeded $500 million. Every natural gas utility would have been forced to adopt a one-size-fits-all program, and operators with successful programs in place would have been required to make changes. That's why it was so significant in 1996 when Congress responded to our industry's advocacy and passed a pipeline safety law based on the principles of risk management and cost/benefit analysis.
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