Alderton Appointed to Governor’s Pipeline Committee

— by Margie Doyle —

Janet Alderton of Deer Harbor has been appointed by Governor Jay Inslee to the Citizens’ Committee on Pipeline Safety.

Janet Alderton

The Committee meets about every two months to discuss, identify, review and highlight pipeline safety issues on local and national levels. The committee consists of nine voting members representing the public, including local government, and elected officials. Four non-voting members represent owners and operators of hazardous liquid and gas pipelines. The members serve three-year, staggered terms.

Alderton, a  cell biologist and embryologist by education, has always loved the environment, and jokes that she’s “allergic to the indoors.”  She has long been interested in pipelines and has addressed the County Council among other agencies about the risks and dangers of pipelines.

However, she still maintains that pipelines are the safest way to transport oil and gas.

She says many times problems arise with new pipelines, with leaks or other flaws, but if properly maintained, pipelines “can be pretty reliable for decades.

“I’m always curious about how they could be made safer with new technologies,” she says.

The Citizens Committee on Pipeline Safety was funded following a gas pipeline explosion in Hanna and Whatcom Creeks, near Bellingham, where an 18-year old man who was fishing and two 10-year old boys who were playing were killed. Following the tragedy, SAFE Bellingham – a grassroots watchdog group concerned with pipeline safety – and the victims’ families fought for better pipeline oversight and accident prevention measures.

On June 18, 2003, a U.S. District Judge ordered that four million dollars of the criminal fines imposed as a result of the Bellingham tragedy be awarded as an endowment to fund the Pipeline Safety Trust. This fall, PIpeline Safety Trust Executive Director Carl Weimer was honored at the White House as one of 11 individuals from across the country as “White House Transportation Champions of Change.”

Alderton says now is an interesting time to join the Citizens’ Committee because the lead agency for pipeline safety has come out with new rules. “It takes forever to write new rules, so the Citizens Committee will be writing its comments,” she says.

Another current issue arises with the theft from pipelines in Africa and Mexico where thieves tap into big pipelines and divert the contents for illegal sale. Alderton says that when the problem emerged in England, it spurred the industry to install sensitive leak detection systems.

Former San Juan County Council Member Lovel Pratt recommended that Janet apply, and State Senator Kevin Ranker supported her application. Alderton’s appointment as a replacement this fall means she serve on the Committee until July 31, 2016, when plans to apply for the position again. Janet with her late husband Rick Steinhardt has lived on Orcas since 2005. She is Vice President of the Friends of the San Juans non-profit organization.

Concerning local pipeline safety, she recommends that people investigate when they dig any deeper than 12 inches, by calling 811 “Call Before You Dig” in order to avoid propane or natural gas pipelines, and any other buried infrastructure.