ASME cosponsors briefing on genomes and nanotechnology

To highlight the need for interdisciplinary environment research, including adequate and sustained funding for the National Science Foundation's (NSF's) Environmental Initiative, this month, ASME cosponsored a Congressional Noontime Briefing on "Genomes & Nanotechnology: The Future of Environmental Research" in Washington, D.C.

Joining ASME to host the event were the American Association of Engineering Societies, the American Institute of Chemical Engineers, the American Society of Civil Engineers, and the Association of Environmental Engineering and Science Professors.

The panel of speakers featured both academic and industry experts on topics including Genome-Enabled Environmental Science, Environmental Applications of Nanotechnology and an overview of NSF's Environmental Initiative.

For more information about the briefing, contact Mary Legatski at (202) 785-3756, or legatsim@asme.org.

Pipeline safety legislation introduced in Senate

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., recently introduced legislation (S.141) that would tighten pipeline safety requirements and increase the fines that can be levied for violations. The bill is identical to a measure (S.2438) that was approved by the Senate in September 2000, but failed to pass the House.

The legislation would raise the maximum civil penalty for a violation from $25,000 to $500,000, and double the maximum civil penalty for a series of safety violations from $500,000 to $1 million.

The bill also would require the Department of Transportation to issue regulations that would require pipeline operators to periodically determine the adequacy of their lines: The operators would have to adopt and use integrity management programs to reduce any identified risks.

House Democrats also have reintroduced a pipeline safety bill (H.R. 144) that would require pipelines to be inspected every five years and subject pipeline operators to civil penalties for hazardous liquid spills.

The bills are available to review online at http://thomas.loc.gov/.

Position statement cites roles of standards development groups

The Department of Transportation's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America

(INGAA) held public meetings last month in preparation for the issuance of a final rule on Integrity Management of Natural Gas Pipelines.

An ASME-led Ad Hoc Standards Development Coordinating Task Force presented a summary of a task force paper, "Redefining the Role of Standards and Standards Development Organizations (SDO) to Further Improve Pipeline Safety." Richard E. Feigel, past senior vice president of ASME's Council on Codes and Standards, made the presentation on behalf of the task force.

The paper, endorsed by 12 organizational members of the task force, summarizes the roles and responsibilities of SDOs in developing the voluntary consensus codes that cover the design, construction operation and testing that assure the performance, quality and safety of natural gas pipeline transmission in the United States and the world.

As these organizations are working to maintain currency in their standards, develop new standards as needed and coordinate standards development activities among each other, the task force is recommending closer ties with federal and state regulators. The task force notes that "industry, the SDOs and research and development organizations are committed to improving public safety and the integrity of pipelines. Toward that end, they are committed to providing the necessary supporting standards to new regulations in a timely and effective manner." They hope that DOT/OPS will respond in kind with effective, performance-based regulations, fully using by reference, the standards and guidelines that exist and are currently under development by the SDOs.

The paper is available at www.asme.org/ gric/ps01.html.

Senate introduces legislation to permanently extend section 127

Sen. Max Baucus, D-Mont., and Senate Finance Committee Chair Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, recently introduced a bill (S. 133) that would make permanent the tax exclusion for employer-provided education assistance programs.

Section 127 of the Internal Revenue Code (IRC) is the tax provision that allows an employer to provide up to $5,250 per year in tax-free educational assistance to its employees for tuition, books and fees.

The bill would expand the exclusion to cover costs associated with graduate, as well as undergraduate courses. Former House Ways & Means Committee Chair Bill Archer, R-Texas, had consistently opposed the exclusion.

The new committee chair, Bill Thomas, R-Calif., is expected to be more receptive to making it permanent for both graduate and undergraduate courses.

The bill is available to review online at http://thomas.loc.gov/.

— Kathryn Holmes
ASME Government Relations

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