Congresswoman Hahn Meets with Phillips 66 Refinery In Washington, DC to Discuss Wilmington Oil Spill

Statement

Today, Congresswoman Janice Hahn (CA-44) issued the below statement following a meeting with Phillips 66 Refinery regarding her concerns about the Wilmington residents due to the recent leak of a Phillips 66 pipeline in a residential neighborhood:

"This afternoon in my Washington, DC office, I met with executives from the Phillips 66 Refinery to discuss the aftermath of the recent oil spill in Wilmington, CA. In my discussions with Phillips 66, I learned that there is a regulatory loophole -- that when idle pipelines are acquired by another company there is no requirement that a third party verify whether that pipeline has been "purged" or properly cleaned out. This is simply unacceptable and reveals a glaring gap in our pipeline oversight and safety laws. This is why I plan to introduce legislation that will provide third party verification of the safety and status of any and all idle pipelines that are sold and acquired by another company, in order to ensure an incident like this one never happens again. I also expressed my concerns for the well-being of the residents of Wilmington who are having to endure the horrible stench from the crude oil and disturbing chronic jackhammer noise. I want to ensure that the community members impacted by this incident are fairly compensated for the hardship they have endured due to the failure of Phillips 66. I have urged Phillips 66 to hold a community meeting with residents and community stakeholders to provide updates of their ongoing efforts to resolve this situation in a transparent and timely manner. My office will continue to monitor this situation closely until this issue has been resolved."

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