Officials Mark New West Virginia Pipeline Safety Law

State and local officials are marking West Virginia’s new pipeline safety law.

Media outlets report that Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin held a symbolic bill signing Monday at the Sissonville Volunteer Fire Department. Tomblin had signed the bill into law on April 29.

The legislation raises state penalties for safety violations to federal levels.

Fines levied by the Public Service Commission increase from $1,000 to $200,000 per violation. Maximum penalties per incident jump from $200,000 to $2 million.

The law applies to an estimated 11,000 miles of pipeline that run within the state’s borders. Federal rules apply to interstate transmission lines, such as the one in Sissonville that ruptured last December. No one was killed, but the resulting inferno destroyed a section of highway and four homes.