Washington, DC – Representatives Rosa L. DeLauro (CT-3) and Joe Courtney (CT-1) today praised the inclusion of language included in the House of Representatives’ Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee FY2011 appropriations bill calling for OSHA to issue regulations on natural gas procedures.

The report language directs the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to establish safety procedures to prevent disasters like those at the Kleen Energy plant in Connecticut and ConAgra Slim Jim plant in North Carolina by:

• Establishing a standard that addresses the safe handling of natural gas, or methane, the primary component of natural gas; • Drafting guidelines for employers on safe fuel gas handling procedures, and; • Submitting a report on the progress of these actions to the Committees on Appropriations every 180 days.

In the interim, the bill’s language calls for OSHA to adopt the Chemical Safety Board (CSB)’s recommendations to prohibit the use of natural gas for pipe cleaning, the venting of fuel gas indoors, and any work activity where the concentration of flammable gas exceeds a safe level.

The Labor, Health and Human Services Subcommittee is part of the Appropriations Committee, which is responsible for the 12 annual appropriations bills that together fund the federal government. Last night, the Subcommittee passed its FY 2011 appropriations bill, which lays out funding for the next year for the Department of Education, the majority of the Department of Health and Human Services, and the Department of Labor. The bill will now needs to be approved by the full Appropriations Committee and the House of Representatives. Congresswoman DeLauro sits on the Subcommittee, and as a long-time member, she made this a priority and worked with Chairman David Obey (WI-7) to ensure this language was included in the bill.

“I am very pleased to have voted last night to include language in this bill that will establish worker safety regulations for the handling of natural gas. As we saw in Middletown and other cities across the country, the lack of guidelines and procedures can have tragic consequences. We must do right by those who lost their lives and take action to ensure that these kinds of accidents do not happen again,” said Congresswoman DeLauro. “With more than 125 natural gas power plants scheduled to be built over the next five years, this language is a critical first step in protecting our nation’s workers.”

“We saw in Middletown earlier this year that a lack of uniform safety procedures can have deadly repercussions,” said Congressman Courtney. “With more power plants on the way in the coming years, ensuring worker safety today is critical. I applaud Congresswoman DeLauro’s action, and I will continue to work with her on this issue. No one else should lose a father, husband or child because safety regulations have not kept up with technology.”