Weimer to discuss pipeline safety May 8 in Huxley lecture

Carl Weimer from the Pipeline Safety Trust will discuss the safety of the Keystone Pipeline and other U.S. pipelines as part of the Huxley College of the Environment Speaker Series at 4 p.m. on Thursday, May 8, in Environmental Studies Room 100 on the Western Washington University campus.

The presentation is free and open to the public.

In his talk, Weimer will provide an overview of the nation's aging pipeline infrastructure and will discuss some of the most current issues around pipeline safety. The talk is titled “Keystone and Other Pipelines You've Never Heard of—How Safe is Safe?”

More than 2.5 million miles of pipelines exist in the United States, but for the most part they remain largely out of sight and out of mind. Yet a pipeline incident occurs somewhere in this country every day, incidents that cause on average more than half a billion dollars in property damage each year. The Keystone Pipeline controversy has raised public awareness about the U.S. pipeline system even as a new drilling technology—fracking—has created a glut of natural gas and oil in various parts of the country.

Weimer is the executive director of the Pipeline Safety Trust, a national non-profit that advocates for greater pipeline safety. He also serves on the Washington State Citizens Committee on Pipeline Safety, as a member of the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Technical Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Standards Committee, and on the steering committee for the Pipelines and Informed Planning Alliance. In 2005, Weimer was elected to the Whatcom County Council, where he currently serves as chairman. 

The presentation will include a question-and-answer period. Anyone interested in the topic is encouraged to attend and participate. The Speaker Series, sponsored by Western’s Huxley College of the Environment, is intended to bring together environmentally-minded members of the WWU and Bellingham communities. Speakers address topics of contemporary environmental concern in the region and the world.

WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment is one of the oldest environmental colleges in the nation and a recognized leader in producing the next generation of environmental professionals and stewards. Huxley’s distinctive, interdisciplinary curriculum reflects a broad view of the physical, biological, social, and cultural world, and has earned international recognition for quality.

For more information, please contact Jen VanderWeyden at WWU’s Huxley College of the Environment at 360-650-2554.