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ripciuie ouiciy 1cbuuiiuiiy uy ociiawi ivi trruy one -time event. If you live near a pipeline, you should have a right to know the possible hazards, to know when there are problems or changes, and to know the results of any tests. - more- The victims of the Bellingham tragedy might still be with us today if their parents had been informed about the pipeline's dangerous potential to rupture. Pipeline companies should have an on -going process of informing the public when things aren't working correctly and when changes are made to a pipeline. The second thing we need to do is make sure that the people who operate and test pipelines have the highest training and certification. That means we need to establish minimum federal standards of competency, and we need to enforce them. We should train operators and inspectors more thoroughly We should test them periodically. And they should be certified by the government. We -- as lawmakers -- have a public duty to establish minimum federal standard to protect our constituents. Mr. Chairman, we also need better testing and monitoring procedures. Too many of the current tests are not reliable. We need new, high -tech ways to make sure pipelines are safe. That means investing in the research and development, which will allow us to better detect pipe corrosion -- both internally and externally. We must also work to make forms of internal detection more reliable and accurate. One of the biggest causes of pipeline leaks is "third party" damage. This usually occurs when there is construction or other disruptions on or near a pipeline. We should invest in the technology that will tell us when these activities damage a pipeline. I hope we can help prevent "third party" damage by promoting "one -call" centers -- places people can call to find out where pipelines are and what type of activities can damage them. Statistics show that many excavators and builders don't call for pipeline information before digging or building. While "one -call" centers have not worked as well as many people expected, I think they can be an important part of our overall efforts. We should work to improve and finance "one -call" centers. And we must do more. We need to set federal standards for leak detection. We need to lower the threshold for reporting spills. We need to establish more periodic federal testing and inspection of pipelines. We need to finalize appropriate standards for pipelines in highly populated and environmentally sensitive areas. And we need to address the problem of aging pipelines. Senator Gorton and I sit on the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Transportation. I promise to do all I can to fight for increased funding for the Office of Pipeline Safety -- so it can achieve the objectives we require it to meet. Mr. Chairman, before I close let me just add, that I read in this morning's Seattle Post Intelligencer that the Department plans to conduct a comprehensive review and inspection of all underground pipelines within Washington state. http: / /murray. senate .gov /pipelinetestimony.html 8/22/02