Union-Sponsored SB 1371 is a Good Start to Creating and Sustaining Jobs, While Reducing Methane Emissions
Washington, DC - After today's passage of SB 1371 by the State Assembly—a bill authored by State Senator Mark Leno of San Francisco that will spur the repair of California’s natural gas pipelines—the Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA) applauded the effort to reduce methane emissions and create and sustain good jobs. The bill now goes to Gov. Brown’s desk.
“Our nation's largest state has taken an important step toward rebuilding America by passing legislation to protect public health and the environment while creating good jobs by reducing methane emissions from aging gas pipelines," said UWUA National President D. Michael Langford. “Utility workers are the first on the scene and often the last to leave when there’s a leak in the system. Being proactive in repairing and upgrading these vital pipes will create and sustain good jobs for workers throughout the state and help protect our environment.”
The legislation directs the California Public Utilities Commission to develop and implement a comprehensive statewide strategy to identify and repair leaks in the state’s natural gas pipeline system. California has 3,430 miles of bare steel pipeline and 29 miles of cast/wrought iron pipeline. According to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline & Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, both of those types of pipe are considered “higher risk” and “candidates for accelerated replacement programs.” If all these miles of higher risk pipeline were laid out from coast-to-coast, they would exceed the distance from Los Angeles, California to New York, New York.
Under SB 1371, the California Public Utilities Commission would commence a process that will yield a set of policies and requirements to reduce pipeline emissions of natural gas to the greatest extent technologically feasible. The proceeding will determine best practices for leak identification, repair, and avoidance adapted to the realities of each gas utility. It will address ratemaking procedures and ratepayer impacts of improving pipeline integrity and performance by repairing leaks when they are found.
“Fixing outdated infrastructure will help maintain and grow family-sustaining jobs,” said Robert Hoffman, President of UWUA Local 132 which represents SoCal Gas workers. “Climate change is also a big concern because I want future generations of Californians to have the same or better opportunities than I did. Climate change threatens both our economy and our environment and that’s why we need to address it now, not later.”
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its fifth assessment (AR5) assigns uncombusted methane a Global Warming Potential (GWP) factor of 84, indicating that over a 20-year time frame it has about 84 times the heat trapping capacity of carbon dioxide.
UWUA is a member of the BlueGreen Alliance, a national coalition of labor and environmental organizations. “Repairing our natural gas pipelines goes beyond creating family-sustaining jobs across our state, it also reduces emissions that contribute to climate change,” said JB Tengco, California Director of the BlueGreen Alliance. “We’re proud to support this important legislation that will create family-sustaining jobs and help the environment.”
SB 1371 has garnered broad support from both labor and environmental groups.
“Getting Californians back to work fixing our aging pipelines makes sense for our economy and our environment,” said UWUA President Langford.
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The Utility Workers Union of America (UWUA), AFL-CIO represents more than 50,000 active members employed in the energy, electric, gas, steam, water, telecommunications, generation, and related professional, technical and service industries. The UWUA was chartered in August 1945 to replace the former Utility Workers Organizing Committee, the CIO union for utility workers. D. Michael Langford is the UWUA National President.