Former PHMSA Administrator Discredits Activist-Funded Study on Dakota Access

The former head of the federal government’s top pipeline safety watchdog is challenging the findings of recent analysis of the Dakota Access Pipeline authored by pay-for-play consultant Richard Kuprewicz and funded by Earthjustice.

Brigham McCown, a former head of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and current advisor to the MAIN Coalition, refuted many of Kuprewicz’s assumptions and questions the overall manner in which the analysis was conducted.

“My concerns with Mr. Kuprewicz’s report include a lack of understanding and respect for accepted methodology, inferring that an absence of risk is demonstrative of risk, and the inability to accept the importance of the safe transportation of America’s energy,” McCown wrote. “The overall Kuprewicz report runs directly counter to best practices, does not keep with accepted norms, and should not be relied upon when discussing the Dakota Access Pipeline Project.”

McCown proceeds to detail and correct the myriad of errors and false assumptions that Kuprewicz made, including the lack of scientifically accepted methodology, using absence of risk to indicate risk, and disregard for the necessity of petroleum-based resources.

After reviewing both the Army Corps Environmental Assessment and the Earthjustice assessment, McCown concluded that the, “Earthjustice report lacks credibility and was, from its conception, a report designed to undermine confidence in the Dakota Access Pipeline Project as opposed to a paper realistically designed to review the government’s work and decision to fully permit the project.”

Click here to read McCown’s full review.


Federal Inspectors Play Active Role in Dakota Access Construction

The North Dakota Public Service Commission (PSC) met with representatives from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) Tuesday and received an updated on the agency’s safety inspections being conducted on the Dakota Access Pipeline.

“The discussion with PHMSA reinforced the value of new, state-of-the-art pipelines as the preferred method for transporting oil,” said PSC Commission Chairwomen Julie Fedorchak in a press release following the meeting. “It’s safer for the public and for the environment.

According the release, PHMSA officials ensured commissioners that inspectors continue to play an active role in the in the DAPL construction process. While the PSC was responsible for approving the pipeline in North Dakota, PHMSA has regulatory authority over the construction, operation, and maintenance of DAPL. During construction, inspectors focus on a multitude of different areas, including ensuring proper training and observing the pipe’s installation.

“The work of these neutral, third-party PHMSA inspectors provides great comfort for concerned citizens that this important oil transmission pipeline is being installed to meet or exceed all reasonable safety standards,” said Commissioner Randy Christmann.

The release further noted that a majority construction and testing in North Dakota should be complete by the end of October.