Report: Damaging methane gas pipeline leaks happen every 40 hours in the U.S.

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Michael Lewis

Former Clean Air and Water Advocate, Environment Texas Research & Policy Center

AUSTIN, Texas – Methane gas – commonly referred to as “natural” gas – has been piped through our communities for heating and cooking for a century, and for just as long, has been subject to dangerous leaks. On Thursday, Environment Texas Research and Policy Center, TexPIRG Education Fund and Frontier Group released a new report that finds from 2010 through nearly the end of 2021, almost 2,600  gas pipeline incidents occurred in the United States that were serious enough to require reporting to the federal government. That’s the equivalent to one every 40 hours.

“For as long as we have used methane gas to heat and cook in our homes, it has posed a risk both to people who heat their homes with it and those who live in neighborhoods above gas pipes,” said Matt Casale, U.S. PIRG Education Fund Environment Campaigns director and co-author of the report. “House explosions and leaking pipelines aren’t isolated incidents – they’re the result of an energy system that pipes dangerous, explosive gas across the country and through our neighborhoods. It’s time to move away from gas in this country and toward safer, cleaner electrification and renewable energy.” 

Of the 287 incidents recorded between 2010 and 2021 in Texas (the most in the nation), 68 resulted in fires and 33 in an explosion. Those incidents killed 14 people and injured 58. The total costs to communities from things such as property damage, emergency services, and the value of intentionally and unintentionally released gas, totaled more than $116 million. These incidents also resulted in the leakage of 4.4 billion cubic feet of gas, equivalent in its effects on global warming to emissions from over 53,700 passenger vehicles driven for a year. 

The serious pipeline incidents addressed in the report represent just a fraction of the leaks experienced in the production, transportation and burning of gas. Smaller gas leaks are rife in urban areas, while large methane leaks from oil and gas production threaten the climate. A study from 2018 found that leaks from gas lines over the previous two decades had nearly doubled the climate impact of gas. In addition, some serious gas explosions that have caused death or injury in Texas are not included in the data as they did not occur in the pipeline system.

“Leaks, fires and explosions are reminders that transporting methane gas is dangerous business,” said Tony Dutzik, associate director and senior policy analyst at Frontier Group and lead author of the report. “The incidents included in this report were caused by a wide variety of factors, from operator errors to equipment failures, and excavation damage to natural causes. Fully protecting the public requires us to reduce our dependence on gas.”

The report recommends that the U.S. stop relying on methane gas for home heating and cooking as well as electricity generation. Instead, policy makers should incentivize and accelerate the transition to all-electric buildings and renewable sources of energy, which are cleaner and safer for communities. During the transition, the report recommends that gas infrastructure investments focus on fixing leaks. 

“When rooftop solar panels can power an induction cooktop or electric heat pump, it becomes increasingly unacceptable to saddle society with the risks associated with pumping methane into our homes and throughout our communities,” said Michael Lewis, Clean Air and Water Advocate for Environment Texas Research and Policy center. “It’s time to leave explosive and polluting fossil fuels like methane behind and embrace a future powered by 100% renewable energy.”

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