Pipelines are a vital part of America’s energy revolution, providing effective, safe, and affordable transportation for natural gas and other fuels, often over great distances. Pipelines are regarded as one of the safest ways to transport fuel compared to alternatives such as tanker trucks or train cars. Utilizing the latest technologies and practices, robust industry safety measures and smart government oversight ensures that existing and new pipeline infrastructure can be operated in a manner that protects the communities and environment in which they operate. These same factors also make pipelines a reliable means to deliver the energy people use every day without interruption and in the most affordable manner possible.
Unfortunately, there have been many misguided efforts to push back against pipeline operations.
This summer, the Atlantic Coast Pipeline was suddenly canceled after spending years bogged down in politics and legal challenges brought about by opponents, many of whom had an anti-oil and natural gas agenda rather than legitimate concerns about the pipeline itself. These groups are manipulating the permitting processes–such as National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and the Nationwide Permit—to present challenges to the future of safely transporting energy across the country. In the end, it’s the people that depend on this energy and work on these projects that pay. This project would have supported 17,000 jobs and brought $2.7 billion in economic activity in communities from West Virginia to North Carolina. The pipeline also had broad support from labor unions such as the North America’s Building Trades Unions (NABTU). For America’s energy revolution to continue, we will need to use every tool at our disposal. This includes tested and proven technology like safe and secure pipelines.