Federal regulators crack down after pipeline caught spewing CO2
A carbon dioxide warning is displayed on the grounds near equipment installed as part of the Petra Nova Carbon Capture Project at the NRG Energy Inc. WA Parish generating station in Thompsons, Texas, U.S., on Thursday, Feb. 16, 2017. | Photographer: Luke Sharrett/Bloomberg via Getty Images Federal regulators are beginning to crack down on a new generation of pipelines that will be crucial for the Biden administration's plans to capture millions of tons of carbon dioxide to combat climate change.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) proposed penalties yesterday on the operator of one such pipeline that ruptured in Mississippi, sending at least 45 people to the hospital in 2020. The agency also pledged to craft new rules to prevent similar pipeline failures from happening as the US makes plans to build out a network of pipelines to transport captured CO2.
A new generation of pipelines
There are not many of these pipelines (compared to oil and gas pipelines) yet in the US, which are primarily...