An advocacy group wants to reduce leakage from natural gas pipelines. According to the U. S. Energy Information Administration, the nation has about three million miles of natural gas pipelines, with 47,000 miles in Georgia. Almeta Cooper is the National Manager of Health Equity, Mom's Clean Air Force. The organization says those pipelines leak about 2.7 million tons of methane each year, having the same climate impact as 50 million passenger cars.
“Methane, which is 87 times more harmful to the atmosphere than carbon dioxide, it’s a greenhouse gas, contributes to a multitude of illnesses,” Cooper said.
The organization is pushing for legislation to reduce the leaks.
“The rule that we’re talking about is the Advanced Leak Detection Repair Rule. What we have been urging is to get the rule in place to get the standards in place and therefore, get these protections to the leaky and old pipelines in place.”
Cooper says the most disadvantaged populations are the most affected.
“There’s a high correlation between lower income and communities of color where more leaks are detected, and where there are more affluent neighborhoods, there is a better job being done in terms of monitoring and repairing theses leaks,” according to Cooper.
She says about a billion dollars has been dedicated to addressing the leaks.
