NM pipeline operators benefit from state safety efforts

According to local press reports, regulators in New Mexico are cutting fees for residential and commercial pipeline operators due to the state’s efforts to prevent pipeline damage.

Fees imposed by the Pipeline Safety Bureau, part of the state’s Transportation Division, are determined based on grant money that the organisation receives from the government. The Bureau has six inspectors and oversees some 27 000 miles of pipelines in New Mexico. The government funding is based on the Bureaus’ success in preventing pipeline damage through measures such as inspections and enforcement.

Jason Montoya, Head of the Pipeline Safety Bureau, said that the better the state does in ensuring the safety of its pipelines, the more federal funding it receives to continue its work and the less it has to charge pipeline operators. In 2014, fees are reportedly being reduced from US$ 0.86 to US$ 0.17 for residential service and US$ 8.83 to US$ 1.75 for commercial service.

Edited from various sources by Rosalie Starling

Read the article online at: https://www.worldpipelines.com/business-news/20062014/nm_pipeline_operators_benefit_from_state_safety_efforts_526/