In its report to Governor Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania’s Pipeline Infrastructure Task Force this week identified a dozen top recommendations, along with a broader set of 184 suggestions, to help Pennsylvania achieve responsible development of natural gas pipeline infrastructure in the Commonwealth. The task force presented the recommendations in six major categories, listed below and showing the top two recommendations under each:
- Amplify and engage in meaningful public participation
- Establish early coordination with local landowners and lessors
- Educate landowners on pipeline development issues
- Develop long-term operations and maintenance plans to ensure pipeline safety and integrity
- Train emergency responders
- Enhance emergency response training for responder agencies
- Employ construction methods that reduce environmental impact
- Minimize impacts of stream crossings
- Use best available combination of technologies to protect exceptional value and high quality waters
- Maximize opportunities for predictable and efficient permitting
- Ensure adequate agency staffing for reviewing pipeline infrastructure projects
- Implement electronic permit submissions for chapters 102 and 105
- Plan, site and route pipelines to avoid/reduce environmental and community impacts
- Expand PA1Call for all classes of pipelines
- Identify barriers to sharing rights-of-ways
- Enhance workforce/economic development
- Attract military veterans to the energy workforce
- Enhance science, technology, engineering, and math education
More information, along with the complete set of recommendations, may be found here.
