By MATTHEW BROWN Associated Press
锦标牌，勃艮第。（ap） - 美国周四的美国官员通过了一项规定，旨在减少石油和天然气管道破裂的死亡和环境损害 - 这是一种延迟延迟的反应fatal explosions和massive spills在加利福尼亚州，密歇根州，新泽西州和其他州几十年来。
But safety advocates said the move by the U.S. Transportation Department would not have averted the accidents that prompted the new rule. That’s because it applies only to newly constructed or replaced pipelines — and not to hundreds of thousands of miles of lines that already crisscross the country, many of them decades old and corroding.
该规则要求公司安装在管道破裂时可以快速关闭油，天然气或其他危险燃料流动的紧急阀门。它是回应加利福尼亚州圣布鲁诺的巨大煤气爆炸，在2010年杀死了八人，并将大型石油泄漏到密歇根州的卡拉马祖河和蒙大拿的黄石河等溢出物。
自20世纪90年代以来，国家运输安全委员会建议在大型管道上使用自动或遥控阀 - 无论是现有的还是新的 - 减少事故的严重程度。继1994年的燃气管道爆炸和火灾摧毁了泽西州泽西州的八栋建筑物，安全委员会敦促运输部门加快城市和自然地区关闭阀门的要求。
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但由于牺牲了安装它们的费用，管道公司多年来抵制了新的阀门要求，并担心他们可能意外关闭并关闭燃料供应。
Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg said the more stringent regulations for the industry were needed because too many people have been harmed by pipeline failures.
他说，安装阀门还将防止甲烷的大释放，这是一种高效的温室气体，以帮助推动气候变化。
“今天，我们正在为保护社区免受危险管道泄露的重要一步 - 帮助拯救该国各处的人们的生命，财产和工作，同时防止超级污染甲烷泄漏。”Buttigieg说。
The Pipeline Safety Trust, a Bellingham, Washington-based advocacy group, said the rule marked progress since Congress mandated more stringent pipeline regulations over a decade ago.
But the group said exempting pipelines that are already in the ground means it would not prevent a repeat of the accident at San Bruno, which involved a pipeline that was more than 50 years old.
“这条规则远远缩短了NTSB建议，并将为生活在现有管道附近的社区提供额外的安全性，”安全信托执行董事贝克·克兰克说。
The government estimated it would cost a combined $5.9 million annually for companies to comply with Thursday’s rule. By comparison, industry representatives said a single valve on an existing line could cost up to $1.5 million and it would take billions of dollars to retrofit lines nationwide.
行业代表密切参与制作规则。他们的要求允许阀门更广泛地沿管道间隔开，并删除一些低风险管道的要求被拒绝。但是，运输官员采用了一些行业建议，将使运营商境地提供对阀门放置的地方的调整。
石油管道副总统约翰斯特族的协会表示，最终规则仍然包含“任意要求”，管道运营商不反映现实世界的运营条件或在某些情况下溢出的低风险。
Amy Andryszak是美国州际天然气协会的总裁，表示，她的组织和公司仍在审查该规则，而是“一般支持”的规则，鼓励安全。
Experts say automatic valves can help eliminate some human-caused errors that contribute to accidents, such as a delay of more than 17 hours to confirm the 2010 Kalamazoo, Michigan, pipeline rupture because workers ignored alarms indicating a possible spill. The break released more than 800,000 gallons (3,600,000 liters) of crude oil and caused roughly $1 billion in property and environmental damage.
在圣布鲁诺，30英寸（76厘米）的燃气管道爆炸并像一个郊区加州邻居的大规模喷气机一样烧毁，在手动阀门闭嘴之前89分钟。AP调查发现，管道运营商太平洋燃气公司同意重新追溯到1997年，遥控阀门做得更好的保护公共安全，而是因为他们没有必要或所需而选择广泛使用它们。
Officials with the Transportation Department’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration did not immediately respond to questions about the new rule.
Also missing from the new rule are standards for equipment that can detect when and where leaks hit, a recurring problem in pipeline accidents, Caram said.
Instead, the rule says pipeline companies must quickly take steps to confirm a spill if they get an alarm or other notification, but the confirmation process itself remains up to the company.
泄漏检测系统故障在最近的意外发挥了作用，包括一个350000加仑柴油泄漏in December into a wetlands在新奥尔良之外和an underwater rupture off California’s coast去年十月核成了几万加仑原油的海洋。
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