Senate bill would enhance emergency response at wells
Washington – A new bill seeks to enhance emergency response at oil and gas wells through new OSHA regulations that place additional safety and preparedness requirements on operators.
Introduced May 15 by Sen. Robert P. Casey Jr. (D-PA), the Faster Action Safety Team Emergency Response Act (S. 589) would require:
- An employee knowledgeable in emergency response to be present at the well at all times
- A certified response team to be available within three hours of ground travel in the event of an emergency
- Availability of communication technology, such as satellite phones, at the well site
- OSHA to be contacted within one hour of the start of an emergency
Casey introduced FASTER in the previous legislative session following several gas well site incidents, but the bill was not called up for a vote.
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