The Biden administration released Friday the final draft of its plan to crack down on natural gas pipeline leaks, but it will be up to the Trump administration and Congress to decide whether proposed changes go into effect.
Tristan Brown, deputy administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration — which wrote the rule — said officials in the new administration should recognize that the rule has significant industry support. He also noted that the crackdown was mandated by legislation signed into law by President-elect Donald Trump near the end of his previous term.
“There should be nothing controversial about a rule with industry support that comes from a mandate from Donald Trump,” Brown said in an interview Friday.
The proposed regulation, which would require pipeline companies to find and fix methane leaks from pipelines, was sent to the Federal Register on Friday by the Department of Transportation. Normally, that would lead to publication in a few days, which kicks off a process that leads to enactment.
