Ehrlich sponsors bill to save money lost to gas leaks

A recent report found that Massachusetts residents are paying $38.8 million a year for leaking gas pipes across the state, but state Rep. Lori Ehrlich is on top of it with a bill in the Senate awaiting approval.The report from the Conservation Law Foundation showed that customers are paying for the “fugitive gas emissions” that are lost into the air, but the cost doesn?t stop at the wallet. The gases getting into the air are a “significant source of greenhouse gases,” that Ehrlich says is the reason municipalities keep spending thousands replacing trees.In CLF?s blog, staff attorney Shanna Cleveland, a writer of the original report, writes that the explosions last Friday in Springfield are an example of what could happen in other parts of the state due to the leaking gas pipes.Ehrlich, who has been pushing the issue for years as one of her pet projects, said there are approximately 20,000 known gas leaks in 21,000 miles of state pipelines. “Much of what the report covers, my legislation covers,” she said. “The CLF report gives a tremendous boost to the urgency of dealing with the issue and passing my pipeline safety bill.”The bill passed the state?s house in June, and is awaiting action in the senate, said Ehrlich. “The bill has strong bipartisan support because this infrastructure is throughout the commonwealth. If it passes, not only will the public and first responders will be safer but many will be savedThe CLF gives a list of “practical solutions for the state and gas companies” similar to Ehrlich?s solutions on her bill, with five policies that read, “establishing leak classification and repair time lines; limiting cost recovery for lost and unaccounted for gas; expanding targeted infrastructure replacement programs; changing service quality standards; and enhancing monitoring and reporting requirements. “Ehrlich said her bill will grade the pipes to find which ones are most hazardous and charge the gas companies with fixing them, and will require more transparency between the gas companies and the Department of Public Utilities. She said with the fixes, customers and municipalities will save money.?The big point is public safety. The explosions that are occurring show what risky business natural gas can be. We should be able to feel secure that our infrastructure won?t kill us, and the bill will go a long way to getting us there,”Ehrlich said despite added vigilance, the cost to gas customers will be minimal.Senators will have until the end of 2012 to pass the bill.?This has really been elevated to point of national urgency,” said Ehrlich. “I hope they see urgency in this as well.”Kait Taylor can be reached at [email protected].