Wetlands under threat of a Line 5 pipeline or tunnel disaster (Photo: Bill Latka)
For the first time since 2006, federal pipeline safety regulators failed to show up where it really matters —at the annual Pipeline Safety Trust conference taking place today and tomorrow in New Orleans. This unprecedented absence speaks volumes about priorities at a moment when pipeline safety enforcement appears to be in freefall while the Trump administration pushes for the expansion of oil and gas.
The Trump administration’s decision to skip this conference—made well before any government shutdown excuse could be invoked—represents more than just poor optics. It’s a slap in the face to families like Marlene Robinson’s, who transformed unimaginable grief into decades of advocacy after losing her 18-year-old son Liam in a 1999 Bellingham, Washington pipeline disaster. Robinson, who recently died, was honored by the conference this year.
The numbers tell a damning story. According to a Pipeline Safety Trust analysis, the number of pipeline safety violation enforcement actions dropped 50 percent between January and September 2025, while civil penalties plummeted by an astounding 98%. Other recent data shows enforcement actions in the first quarter of Trump’s second term fell 92% compared to the same period in his first administration—from 68 actions down to just five.
Tao Talk 
Looks just like the Orwell Bridge in Suffolk that takes you over the river to Ipswich.
The marshes can be very beautiful at the right time of year.
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Just googled photos of Orwell Bridge. What a beauty! Yes, they can. My grandparents lived near a marsh.
The bridge in my pic is Mackinac Bridge, that connects the lower and upper peninsulas of Michigan.
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Michigan. Such an exotic word to those of us who have never been there. Michigan
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I think the Indigenous Peoples named it. I call it home.
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Yikes
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And yet, some people still admire him as a great leader.
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Jim, I have to wonder what lenses they are looking through.
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He has opened up of millions of acres of Alaska’s Federal lands for oil and gas leasing- counted in that number are 1.56 million acres that are currently protected wildlife refuges. He will maim this country beyond repair if he stays in office the full four years.
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what’s the term for fast spreading cancer?
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Right?!
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That is so shocking
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Ruining the government and the environment. It’s beyond shameful. (K)
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He is the epitomy of “they” in Big Yellow Taxi. I saw pics of what he’s doing inside of the White House with the “remodeling.” ::::GAG::::
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So much that can never be undone.
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