Bellingham-based pipeline safety oversight group awarded $1 million federal grant
A Bellingham-based organization that monitors the safety of fuel pipelines nationwide received a $1 million federal grant this week.
U.S. Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Everett, whose 2nd District includes Bellingham, announced the award to the Pipeline Safety Trust in a statement Thursday.
“Improving pipeline safety means investing in pipeline safety. This funding is a critical investment in the Pipeline Safety Trust’s ongoing work to educate and engage Northwest Washington and communities nationwide about pipeline safety. I will continue to support the important work the trust does to reduce the risk of incidents, promote transparency of safety information for local communities and increase accountability for pipeline operators,” Larsen said in a statement.
Larsen is the ranking Democrat on the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee. The grant was part of a $41 million program administered by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
The Pipeline Safety Trust was formed with $4 million from fines levied in the wake of the June 10, 1999, Whatcom Falls Park disaster, when 273,000 gallons of gasoline leaked from an underground pipeline and ignited in a massive fireball, fatally burning 10-year-old Wade King and Stephen Tsiorvas and killing 18-year-old Liam Wood, who was overcome by fumes and drowned while fly-fishing in Whatcom Creek.
A reaction from Bill Caram, executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, was included in Larsen’s statement Thursday.
“This grant will allow Pipeline Safety Trust to continue offering technical assistance to community members who live alongside pipelines. An educated and engaged public is a safer public and this grant will help us keep communities both educated and engaged,” Caram said.
In addition, the Washington Emergency Management Division was awarded $379,000 to train emergency responders, Larsen said. Nearly $47,000 went to the Washington Utilities & Transportation Commission for its OneCall initiative to help pay for a state excavation damage prevention investigator.
Larsen, who won his seat in 2000 and is running for re-election in November, has made pipeline safety a priority during his House tenure, he said in his statement.
▪ Larsen co-wrote the PIPES Act in December 2023, a bipartisan bill to reauthorize pipeline safety programs for four years.
▪ In May, Larsen co-chaired a bipartisan hearing on pipeline safety issues.
All told, the 1999 explosion and fire burned 1.5 miles along Whatcom Creek, killing an estimated 100,000 fish and 3,000 birds and other small animals, according to previous Bellingham Herald reporting. It caused more than $58 million in property damage. Fines, penalties and settlements totaled more than $187 million.
In his statement, Larsen said the Bellingham disaster influenced the passage of the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002, which increased fines for negligent pipeline operators, improved pipeline testing timelines, protection for whistleblowers and state oversight of pipeline safety.
This story was originally published August 15, 2024 at 3:44 PM.
