Energy

Pittsburgh is what it is because of energy, and its future will be because of new energy development. The world was literally built by Pittsburgh energy. After all, Andrew Carnegie didn’t manufacture steel here because we had iron ore. It is because we had coal, and the water resources to transport it. To this day, Pittsburgh sits on a 250-year supply of coal—the Pittsburgh coal seam is one of the most valuable natural resource stockpiles in the world.

First the steel industry was born, and then came the railroads and names like Westinghouse, developing airbrakes for trains, electrical systems, and the first commercial nuclear power plant. These advances inspired companies like Alcoa, Gulf Oil, and Rockwell who depend on oil to move to the area.

The nation’s demands on industry were answered by Pennsylvania workers, who responded with innovation, invention and production. The legacy of that workforce remains here in our manufacturing and universities.

It is no accident that Pittsburgh continues to be a world leader in nuclear, chemical and environmental engineering, robotics, and medical technology. Though many of our steel mills are closed, Pennsylvania still generates nearly one-tenth of the nation’s output. And Pennsylvania ranks fourth among states in coal production.

As a member of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Congressman Murphy is at the forefront of the energy debate.

Making America Energy Independent

With demands for oil increasing by fifty percent in China and Asia over the next ten to fifteen years, conservation will not be enough. Nuclear, clean coal, and other alternatives all have a role to play in reducing the need for oil. Pittsburgh is, and will continue to grow as a leader in building these alternatives and this will help create new, high paying jobs right here at home. 

The Infrastructure Jobs and Energy Independence Act

Congressman Murphy, leader of the Bipartisan Energy Working Group, introduced the Infrastructure Jobs and Energy Independence Act – an energy independence plan that rebuilds America’s aging locks, dams, bridges, and roads; creates American jobs; and ends America’s dependence on foreign oil by using the wealth generated by authorizing the 2010-2015 OCS Oil and Gas Leasing Program and expediting the review process, lease sales, and extending the boundaries of coastal states from 3 miles to a uniform nine nautical miles. This provides jurisdiction for state royalty payments within the nine miles. The legislation provides for federal agency coordination with adjacent states on the construction of pipelines for OCS oil, petroleum and natural gas; and repeals the 125 mile moratorium on gas and oil production in the Eastern Gulf of Mexico.

In the 112th, the legislation was rolled into the House Republican surface transportation plan. In previous years, Rep. Murphy's bill was the only Republican-introduced energy bill to be considered before the Committee on Natural Resources. Congressman Murphy and Rep. Neil Abercrombie (D-HI) met with Energy Czar Carol Browner, EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson and White House officials to advance the bill’s goals of raising the capital to invest in clean technologies, conservation, infrastructure investments and environmental legislation without raising taxes or increasing debt.

Marc and Chelsea's Law

Requires excavators to immediately notify emergency responders any time a gas pipeline is broken. Violators face a penalty of up to a million dollars in fines or five years in prison. Congressman Murphy wrote the Pipeline Safety Emergency Notification Act after a work crew ruptured a gas line in Moon Township, causing a house to explode and injuring two children, Mark and Chelsea Rateau. Previously, a patchwork of local laws that differed from community to community led to prolonged delays in notifying residents of danger.