Cohen EPA Amendment Added to Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Congressman Steve Cohen (D-TN-9) today offered an amendment to the Clean Water Cooperative Federalism Act of 2011 (H.R. 2018) that would ensure the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) maintains its existing authority to regulate pipelines crossing streambeds. The Cohen measure was accepted and added to the bill.

“In the wake of the Yellowstone River oil spill, it is essential that the federal government maintains its existing authority to safeguard the American people from devastating oil spills,” said Congressman Cohen, who spoke on the House floor about his measure. “My amendment has zero cost and does not create a rigorous regulatory system that will hinder the ability of companies to build pipelines. Rather it preserves the ability of the EPA to provide essential federal oversight to ensure that the pipeline is constructed in compliance with federal law. This oversight authority provides an important and effective ‘backstop’ to federal and state regulators and protects the health and safety of the American people.”

In the oil industry, it is an accepted practice that every piece of machinery used for drilling and transportation has numerous safety features and extensive backup safety systems. These features do not hinder the ability of the machine to operate effectively. Rather they exist to avoid catastrophe in the case that the initial safety measures fail. The authority that this amendment seeks to protect is the permitting process equivalent of a backup system and is an essential tool to protect Americans.

Last week Congressman Cohen spoke on the House floor about how the recent pipeline oil spill in Montana is a preview for larger, more significant oil spills if the controversial Keystone XL Pipeline proposal is approved. TransCanada – which supplies some of the biggest oil companies in the world with toxic tar sands oil – is seeking State Department approval to build the Keystone XL Pipeline, a new 2,000 mile pipeline from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf Coast in Texas. The State Department, which has authority over permitting all international pipelines, is expected to make a decision by the end of 2011.

With the 40,000 gallon Exxon spill in the Yellowstone River, Big Oil has once again demonstrated that their safety guarantees are empty promises. No matter how state-of-the-art and safe the oil industry claims their pipelines are, the Montana catastrophe is proof positive that pipelines like Keystone XL are dangerous and pose a serious threat to our economy and environment.