Fossil fuel companies and trade groups are using essential pipeline safety legislation to further criminalize pipeline protests.
By Emily Sanders, The Lever
At the urging of their fossil fuel donors, lawmakers are quietly working to massively expand criminal penalties against people who protest pipelines as part of negotiations over essential new federal pipeline safety regulations.
Congress is negotiating the pipeline safety legislation, a reauthorization of the Pipeline Hazardous Materials and Safety Administration program, in the wake of disastrous carbon dioxide pipeline leaks that have endangered nearby communities, stumped emergency responders, and left residents with health issues for years to come. In total, 124 new oil, gas, hydrogen, and carbon dioxide pipelines have been announced or are in the preconstruction or construction phase in the U.S., according to data from fossil fuel infrastructure tracker Oil and Gas Watch.
The federal penalty for damaging or destroying interstate pipelines is already a felony charge mandating up to 20 years in prison. But the industry’s proposed additions, described in executives’ congressional testimony and policy briefs posted online, would widen the definition of and punishment for “attacks” on pipelines using vague language that could implicate a far broader set of activities used to protest fossil fuel infrastructure. Such language has already begun to make its way into the legislative effort to reauthorize the pipeline safety administration as Congress decides the agency’s funding and legislative mandates for the next few years.
Recent Posts
The FBI Sought Search Warrants For Columbia Students’ Social Media
Take Action Now New court documents reveal how the feds tried to unmask the Columbia students — and got blocked by federal judges on First Amendment…
Greta Thunberg Speaks From Aid Ship Heading To Gaza Despite Israeli Threats: It’s My Moral Obligation
Take Action Now “We cannot have climate justice without social justice. The reason why I am a climate activist is not because I want to protect…
Democratic Party Leaders Just Met For The First Time In Months. When Will They Take Real Action?
Take Action Now Countless Americans want the party leadership to stand up for democracy. Instead, the executive committee remains in a bubbleBy…
In California, The Biggest State Democratic Party Is Adrift
Take Action Now Many in the party are tired of the status quo — but few are willing to say so publicly.By Josh Koehn, The San Francisco Standard……