The History of the Pipeline Safety Trust

The Pipeline Safety Trust was born from tragedy: the rupture of apipeline in a city park in Bellingham, Washington, that resulted in the death of two boys and a young man, as well as significant environmental damage. From this tragic beginning, the Pipeline Safety Trust has evolved from a local group of concerned citizens determined to protect their community from future pipeline failures into the only national organization that works for pipeline safety on behalf of the public.

For over a decade, the Pipeline Safety Trust and its predecessor , SAFE Bellingham, have been involved in a wide range of accident prevention activities: from spearheading efforts for stronger and more vigorous government oversight of petroleum and natural gas pipelines to educating communities about pipeline risks and ways of reducing them.

What the Trust Does

To help ensure that the nation’s energy resources being transported by pipeline are being carried safely, the Pipeline Safety Trust and SAFE Bellingham have assumed a variety of roles and undertaken many activities including:

  • An Advocate
  • Working with Congress to enact landmark pipeline safety laws: the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (PSIA) of 2002 and the Pipeline Inspection, Protection, Enforcement, and Safety (PIPES) Act of 2006.
  • Working with the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in developing effective regulations for carrying out the mandates of these laws.
  • An Educator
  • Holding an annual conference on pipeline safety for the public, government officials, and industry.
  • Commissioning papers and reports on pipeline standards, technology applications, Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) risks, and other pipeline safety-related topics.
  • Educating local government planners and officials about wise land use practices in the vicinity of pipelines.
  • Developing a primer for the public on pipeline safety rules and regulations.
  • A Liaison
  • Serving as a public representative on federal and state technical and advisory committees.
  • Speaking as a public representative at pipeline industry conferences and meetings.
  • A Facilitator
  • Advising government and industry officials on improving communications with the public on pipeline safety issues.
  • Bringing together local government officials, developers, pipeline operators and the public to address land use issues around pipelines
  • Hosting the SafePiplines and LNGSafety listservs.
  • A Resource
  • Providing information to communities around the country that are concerned about the siting and safe operation of pipelines.
  • Responding to local, regional and national media inquiries about pipeline safety issues.
  • Advising groups wanting to establish state-sanctioned citizen advisory committees on pipeline safety.
  • Creating and maintaining a web site dedicated to pipeline safety issues.
  • Publishing a pipeline safety newsletter.

How The Trust Is Funded

After the Bellingham disaster, the federal government brought criminal charges against the pipeline operators and several of their employees. As part of the settlement of this case in 2003, the defendants were required to pay $4 million of their criminal penalties into an endowment fund for a nonprofit organization that “will act as a clearinghouse for pipeline safety information and an impartial watchdog of government and industry practices in the area of pipeline safety”—the Pipeline Safety Trust.

Since that time, the bulk of the funding for the Pipeline Safety Trust’s work has come from the investment interest earned on this endowment. This, however, has limited the Trust in expanding its services into the area where the need is the greatest—helping urban and rural communities around the nation that must co-exist with operating pipelines or that have significant concerns about a proposed pipeline in their midst.

Why Public Support Is Necessary

Relying primarily on investment interest for its annual operating expenses not only restrictsthe activities the Pipeline Safety Trust can undertake, but jeopardizes its status as a publicly supported501(c)(3) tax exempt organization. And it’s because the pipeline industry and government know from experience that the Trust is credible, independent, and is working in the public interestthat they carefully consider the Trust’s viewpoints and concerns.

To retain its publicly supported status without running into complex Internal Revenue Service (IRS) requirements, the Trust needs to receive at least 1/3 of its annual funding from the public and/or government. Should this funding drop below 10 percent, then it would lose its publicly supported status and become a private foundation.

This change in status could greatly imperil the Trust’s pipeline safety work in several ways. Those whom the Trust is holding accountable to prevent pipeline failures might claima lack of public financial support means the Trust is no longer acting on behalf of the public. Although this wouldn’t be true, it could make the Trust less credible in the eyes of some.

Financially, the Trust would have to carry out its many activities with less money: as a publicly supported organization the interest earned from investing its endowment is not taxed; as a private foundation it would have to pay an excise tax on this interest. There also would be other requirements on how its remaining investment income could be used. At a time when pipeline infrastructure is aging, pipeline operators are cutting costs, and new pipelines are being proposed to meet the nation’s energy demands, the Trust needs to expand its pipeline safety activities, not curtail them

How You Can Help

The Pipeline Safety Trust responds as best it can to public requests for information and help, whether it’s assisting in the aftermath of a pipeline tragedy, providing information about risks and property rights concerns when a pipeline is proposed, working with communities to prevent or resolve conflicts between existing pipelines and growing populations, or contracting with technical experts to review industry practices. But with a small staff and budget, the Trust has to make difficult choices about where its resources can best serve the public interest in advancing the cause of pipeline safety.

Donations that will enable the Trust to continue and expand its current activities are, of course, always welcomed. And should you want to make a contribution towards an undertaking by the Trust on a pipeline safety concern in which you’re particularly interested, the Trust would like to explore this opportunity with you. Because the Trust is a 501(c)(3) organization, your contributionwould be tax-deductible to the extent allowed by law.

For further information about the Pipeline Safety Trust, please contact Carl Weimer, the Trust’s executive director, at (360) 543-5686 or .