"WASHINGTON — The nation’s top pipeline regulator has taken too long to impose congressionally ordered safeguards, including changes that could have blunted the impact of a recent spill in California, lawmakers said Tuesday.

The stalled reforms include regulations governing how quickly companies must notify authorities after a pipeline spill, leak detection systems and the use of automatic and remote-control shut-off valves that can be triggered in emergencies to swiftly halt flowing oil and natural gas. All told, more than a dozen of the 42 mandates Congress gave the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration in a 2011 law remain unfinished, lawmakers said Tuesday.

'Some of these provisions, I am convinced would have made a difference in the recent oil spill in Santa Barbara had they been implemented by PHMSA in a timely manner,' said House Energy and Commerce Chairman Fred Upton, R-Mich. And with more oil and gas flowing through the United States’ sprawling pipeline network, 'the urgency for pipeline safety is greater than ever.'   "

Jennifer A. Dlouhy reports for FuelFix July 14, 2015. [2]