A bill that would increase state fines for pipeline safety violations is moving to the state Senate following is overwhelming approval in the House of Delegates Thursday.
Delegates approved the measure on a 91-7 vote and sent it to the state Senate.
The current fine levels used by the state Public Service Commission have been the same since 1969.
The move is in response to last December’s natural gas line explosion near Sissonville in Kanawha County, but the proposed changes would not have applied in that incident.
The PSC only has power to issue civil penalties on pipelines that both begin and end in West Virginia. The Sissonville line, owned by Columbia Gas Transmission, traveled from here to other states.
The Sissonville explosion destroyed homes and a section of Interstate 77. The NTSB is continuing its investigation into the blast.
The governor’s bill raises the state’s civil penalties to the same level as federal penalties.
Fines for violations cannot exceed $200,000 per day per violation under the terms of the bill. The current fine level is up to $1,000 a day. The bill says the maximum civil penalty can be up to $2 million for a series of violations. The cap is currently $200,000.
A company that’s been fined would not be able to pass along the increased cost to customers.