"Natural Gas: Explosive LNG Issues Grab PHMSA's Attention"

"The Department of Transportation's May 19 workshop on liquefied natural gas (LNG) safety started with a bang.

At DOT's headquarters in Washington, D.C., the agency's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) hosted an in-depth discussion of what went wrong during a March 2014 explosion at an LNG facility in Plymouth, Wash., that led to five injuries and $72 million in property damage.

The decision by PHMSA to conduct a broad review of its LNG safety rules -- and kick it off with an unusually open discussion of a fiery accident -- suggests the agency has taken to heart the saltiest criticisms tossed from Capitol Hill. "PHMSA is not only a toothless tiger, but one that has overdosed on Quaaludes and is passed out on the job," Rep. Jackie Speier, a Democrat from San Francisco, said during a congressional hearing in April 2015.

She pointed to the lethal and destructive natural gas pipeline accident in San Bruno, Calif., in 2010. In its aftermath, PHMSA came under fire for being slow to update its safety regulations. Late last year, a leaking Aliso Canyon underground gas storage facility outside Los Angeles, operated by Southern California Gas Co., prompted hand-wringing that regulators were underprepared."

Jenny Mandel reports for EnergyWire June 7, 2016.