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Senate Commerce Committee reauthorizes pipeline safety program, adopts amendment to study extreme‑weather impacts
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Summary
The Senate Commerce Committee voted to report the bipartisan Pipeline Safety Act of 2025 favorably after adopting an amendment to include extreme‑weather events in safety studies and planning.
The Senate Committee on Commerce, Science and Transportation voted to report the bipartisan Pipeline Safety Act of 2025 favorably after adopting an amendment to expand studies of extreme‑weather impacts on pipeline operations.
The bill, moved for favorable reporting by Ranking Member Cantwell and cosponsored across the aisle, would reauthorize the pipeline safety programs overseen by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) for five years and direct the agency to update storage tank rules, test new safety technologies, guard against risks from composite pipelines, strengthen state “call before you dig” programs, and address hydrogen blending and carbon dioxide pipelines.
Senator Luhan called up an amendment (Luhan Amendment No. 2, as modified) to require that studies of pipeline safety include extreme weather events such as the February 2021 winter storm Uri and other recent cold‑weather natural gas failures. "Ensuring that these storms are a part of the study would help understanding how extreme weather poses a risk to the integrity and normal operations of natural gas pipeline facilities, which I would argue is critical to protecting public safety," Luhan said, noting the storm’s wide outages and citing an estimate of 246 storm‑related deaths during Uri. The chairman agreed to adopt the amendment by voice vote after Luhan withdrew two other proposed amendments.
After adopting the Luhan amendment by voice vote, the committee proceeded without further amendments. The committee then agreed to Ranking Member Cantwell’s motion that S.2975, the Pipeline Safety Act of 2025, as amended, be favorably reported; the motion was agreed to by voice vote. Senator Blunt Rochester asked to be recorded as voting no on S.2975 and was so recorded.
Committee members emphasized that the bill is intended to give PHMSA multiyear funding and authorities to address aging materials, land‑movement risks, and other vulnerabilities. The legislation would also permit pilot testing of modern safety technologies in real‑world conditions.
The committee’s action sends the bill to the full Senate for further consideration.
