Based on discussions with Jeff Keehler, Dave Johnson and Mike Terraso last 
week, we agreed that it would not be prudent for individual pipelines 
representatives to attend the coalition meetings Sunday & Monday. The tone of 
the meeting announcements made it clear that this grass roots group is not 
receptive towards receiving information on pipeline safety records.  Terry 
Boss of INGAA attended the meeting.  
Included in the audience were the parents of the Bellingham?victims and 
members of Safe Bellingham, and the speeches were not surprisingly political 
in tone -- the inadequacy of OPS and the need for funds for state safety 
measures; OPS should be restructured: FERC should be restructured; the EIS 
process is a joke.   Here are samples of some newspaper articles that INGAA 
forwarded.
Just because we didn't take an active role in the Coalition meeting doesn't 
mean we aren't moving forward at developing our legislative Enron & 
recommended INGAA strategy.  Dave, Phil, Jeff and I met on Monday.  Jeff 
reports that while pipeline oversight legislation is unlikely this year, we 
will absolutely have to deal with the appropriations issue (added user 
fees).  Jeff is outlining a compromise position that he thinks could be 
politically feasible -- something along the lines that we can live with added 
user fees directed towards one call and public education programs.  We'll get 
this outline out shortly.  I want to get it in Bob Hill's hands before the 
INGAA Board meeting.

Pipeline officials hear hard  questions 
SUMMIT: Parents of Wade King, Stephen Tsiorvas speak to  panel. 

Stephen Power, The Bellingham Herald  

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- The  nation's top pipeline regulator and a White House 
environmental aide came under  sharp questioning Monday when the parents of 
two children killed in a Bellingham  pipeline blast confronted them at a 
conference of safety activists.  

With more than four dozen audience members watching, one of the parents,  
Frank King, handed a picture of his 10-year-old son, Wade, to White House 
aide  Gabrielle Tenzer and asked her to deliver it to President Clinton.  

"Ask him what he would have done if Chelsea had been standing by that 
creek,"  King said, referring to Whatcom Creek, where his son was playing 
last June 10  when the explosion occurred in the pipeline of Olympic Pipe 
Line Co.  

Another parent, Katherine Dalen, drew applause when she stood and told  
federal pipeline regulator Richard Felder that the concept of safety "means  
something different to me than it does to you." She later handed Tenzer a  
funeral program with the picture of her 10-year-old son, Stephen Tsiorvas, 
who  died along with Wade and 18-year-old Liam Wood.  

The tense exchanges occurred on the second day of the National Pipeline  
Safety Reform Conference, a gathering of environmentalists, local government  
leaders and citizens who want tougher regulations on underground fuel 
pipelines.  Administration officials who attended the conference Monday -- 
Tenzer, Felder  and Assistant Attorney General Lois Schiffer -- outlined 
their efforts to  prevent pipeline accidents and told participants that the 
federal Transportation  Department planned to propose safety reforms.  

But audience members chortled at some of the panelists'  remarks and 
expressed frustration with the performance of the U.S. Office of  Pipeline 
Safety, the federal agency that regulates the nation's pipelines.  

"We're really chagrined that there was no one here (from the administration)  
the past two days taking notes," said Susan Harper, executive director of  
Cascade Columbia Alliance, a Seattle group that helped block Olympic Pipe 
Line's  proposed cross-Cascades fuel pipeline in Washington last year. "That 
was a big  oversight on your part."  

As part of the U.S. Transportation Department, the Office of Pipeline Safety  
regulates more than 157,000 miles of hazardous liquid lines and more than 
2.2  million miles of natural gas lines throughout the country. But with only 
55  inspectors to cover more than 2 million miles of pipe nationwide, critics 
have  questioned the agency's effectiveness.  

The agency has also drawn attention for sharply limiting the role states can  
play in policing interstate pipelines -- a trend that delights oil and gas  
interests but worries some local governments.  

Felder said his agency has allowed Olympic Pipe Line to continue operating  
because the company has performed "appropriate testing" of its lines. But he  
acknowledged the agency wouldn't know the cause of the Bellingham accident 
until  the National Transportation Safety Board completes its probe. The 
board's  investigation has stalled in recent months because some Olympic 
employees have  refused to cooperate, fearing their testimony could be used 
by prosecutors in a  potential criminal case.  

"We'd also like to know more about how (the Bellingham) accident occurred.  
... In the end, we will have some of these answers," said Felder, who is the  
pipeline office's associate administrator. But, he said, "the less 
information  we have, the more cautious we are and the more conservative we 
are."  

Felder's comments drew an angry response from Frank King, who waved a  
newspaper clipping about a day-care center in his state that was shut down  
immediately when a child in its custody died of undetermined causes.  

"I find it outrageous," King said. "This is the only time I've ever seen  
where one person is allowed to continue operating after murdering three  
children."  

Felder said he is encouraging states to focus on intrastate lines, such as  
natural gas lines that heat homes. The vast majority of pipeline accidents 
--  about 80 percent -- involve such intrastate systems, according to 
federal  records. He also said most accidents occur as a result of third 
parties, such as  construction crews that dig without checking for fuel 
lines.  

"We're very interested in state input," he said. "But you've got to look at  
where the risks are. They aren't in the big lines. They're in the small 
lines."  

Tenzer did not respond directly to King when he approached her, but told a  
reporter afterward that she would make sure Clinton received the picture. 
She  declined to answer when a reporter asked her for the White House's view 
of the  Office of Pipeline Safety's performance.  

Reach Stephen Power at  spower@gns.gannett.com or call (703) 276-5806.

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Pipeline Reform Summit  in Washington, D.C.
Industry lobbyist takes notes for  OPS 
GOVERNMENT: Official shrugs off potential conflict of  interest.  

Khurram Saeed, The Bellingham Herald  

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Just  when it looked like it couldn't get any worse for 
the federal Office of Pipeline  Safety, it did.  

The head of OPS told a reporter Monday that a lobbyist for a natural gas  
association had been taking notes about pipeline safety reform on OPS' 
behalf  for the past two days at a national pipeline conference.  

OPS, the agency responsible for overseeing the nation's interstate 
pipelines,  has been at the center of fierce criticism by pipeline activists 
over the years  for being too close to the fuel industry. That cozy 
relationship has put  corporate profits above public safety, pipeline 
reformers contend.  

Some conference speakers laughed out loud and shook their heads in disbelief  
when told that Richard Felder was relying on the Interstate Natural Gas  
Association of America for information about the conference.  

"It's perfect," said Virginia attorney Jim Pates, an outspoken and longtime  
critic of OPS. "It reflects not only the closeness of the relationship, but 
the  insensitivity of how it appears to the public."  

Felder dismissed any potential for conflict of interest even though his  
agency monitors companies that belong to the gas association. He said he 
knew  half of the 50 people in the room and was familiar with their concerns, 
thus the  notes wouldn't tell him something he didn't already know.  

"I'm not worried about getting the issues, because there's a roomful of  
people who'll send them to me," Felder said after speaking at the 
conference.  

Earlier in the day, several speakers publicly questioned why OPS hadn't sent  
a representative, such as a note taker or public relations person, to the  
meeting that covered such topics as improving pipeline safety standards,  
protecting whistleblowers and granting more authority to local governments.  

"It's a professional organization that should be listening to us," said 
Susan  Harper, head of a Puget Sound environmental group that fought Olympic 
Pipe Line  Co.'s proposed Cascade pipeline. "Whether they like us or not, 
they should be  here."  

Terry Boss, vice president of safety and operations for the natural gas  
association, said he was taking notes on his organization's behalf and 
offered  to share them with OPS.  

"I'm just doing a favor," Boss said. "Would it be better for OPS to have  
someone here or for OPS not to have someone here?"  

Frank King, whose 10-year-old son was killed in last June's Bellingham  
pipeline explosion, said it was ironic that officials from the agency that 
needs  to learn about pipeline safety the most weren't there in person for 
the two-day  conference.  

"Their arrogance is evident everywhere we go," he said.  

"It's perfect. It reflects not only the  

closeness of the relationship, but the  

insensitivity of how it appears to the  

public."  


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Chances dim  this year for pipeline laws 
POLITICS: Keep pushing,  pipeline activists at conference are told. 

Khurram Saeed, The Bellingham Herald  

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Two  congressional bills seeking to reform the nation's 
pipeline industry might not  become law until next year, two Washington state 
pipeline reformers said Monday.  

In itself, the announcement wasn't all that surprising, given that change  
comes slowly here -- particularly for industries with powerful connections 
and  lots of money to spend on lobbying.  

What was unexpected was the concession from pipeline reformers, who have  
stated in the past that the current political climate -- an election year 
with  lingering shockwaves from the Bellingham tragedy and pending 
reauthorization of  the federal Office of Pipeline Safety -- was ideal for 
immediate change.  

Two proposed laws -- Senate Bill 2004, introduced by Sen. Patty Murray,  
D-Wash., and House Bill 3558, brought forward by Rep. Jack Metcalf, R-Langley 
--  would impose strict standards on pipeline operators. Both bills are still 
in  committee.  

The committee chair must support the bill to send it for a full vote. That's  
not likely to happen this session, considering there are 47 bills ahead of  
Murray's bill in the Senate Commerce Committee.  

And Metcalf said he is having a hard time getting colleagues interested in  
buried pipelines.  

"The phrase out of sight, out of mind, certainly applies when pipelines are  
concerned," he told conference attendees in a speech.  

"Even if we don't get a bill out this year, we need to keep working on 
this,"  said Carl Weimer, executive director of SAFE Bellingham, a local 
pipeline  activist group that has gained national stature.  

David Bricklin, the Seattle attorney who has represented several cities,  
including Bellingham, against Olympic Pipe Line Co., said the delay could be 
a  blessing in disguise.  

"Sometimes in a rush to get any bill through, you settle for less than if 
you  waited a little bit longer," he said.  

Although people attending the national pipeline conference here agree either  
bill would be an improvement, they are proposing several changes. The 
pipeline  reformers want to amend the two congressional bills in order to:  

 Broaden a state's power so OPS could reject safety regulations and  
environmental protection programs only if they compromise safety.  

 Mandate use of leak-detection devices.  

 Require water-pressure testing of pipelines every five years.  

 Require use of fail-safe pipeline devices that don't rely on  computers or 
human intervention.  

 Upgrade safety management rules.  

 Create pipeline oversight committees made up of citizens and local  elected 
officials.  

Rick Kessler, an aide to Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., long a champion of  
pipeline reform, said the national pipeline coalition has provided an 
impetus  never before seen in Washington, D.C. Momentum for the bills won't 
wane if  activists remain vigilant, he said.  

"Don't stop pushing," Kessler said. "Once you do, there'll be a void on one  
side. There are people here full-time paid to keep pushing on the other 
side."  

Weimer said pipeline reformers need to come up with the cash to hire their  
own lobbyist to track pipeline happenings in the nation's capital.  

"When we all go away, we need someone here in D.C. to tell us what's going  
on," he said.  

The Associated Press  contributed to this article.

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