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Committee forwards more than $54 million in federal PHMSA grants for gas pipeline repairs
Summary
The committee unanimously recommended council accept two federal grants totaling $54.8 million from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to repair and replace cast-iron gas mains and related equipment; the grants are full reimbursements to the city’s gas utility.
The Finance and Economic Development Standing Committee voted to forward two ordinances to city council to accept federal grant funds from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to repair, rehabilitate and replace natural gas pipelines and related equipment.
City staff described the grants as full-reimbursement awards: the gas utility spends enterprise funds and then applies for PHMSA reimbursement. The ordinances before the committee were listed as accepting $15,700,000 and $39,100,000 from PHMSA from 2023–24 grant rounds; the city previously accepted $10,000,000 in 2022 as part of the same multi-year federal program.
Dan Reifenberg, director of Richmond Gas Works and Utilities, told the committee these awards are part of a multi-year PHMSA grant program totaling $1 billion available over five years; Richmond plans to apply in future rounds. The committee held a public hearing; no members of the public spoke for or against the grants.
A motion to forward both ordinances—listed in the committee packet as ordinance 202051158 and ordinance 202051159—with a recommendation to approve passed by voice vote recorded as: Ms. Lynch, Aye; Vice Chair Jones, Aye; Chair Robertson, Aye.
