A North Carolina US Senator has helped introduce a bill creating stiffer penalties for attacks on oil and gas pipelines that are under construction.
Senator Ted Budd said the legislation would deter eco-terrorists from targeting pipelines for transporting oil and gas in the U.S. by expanding the current criminal penalties to cover vandalism, tampering with, or disrupting the operations or construction of a pipeline.
Right now federal law does allow for criminal charges against people who damage or destroy operating pipelines, but Budd said it does not clearly apply these penalties to those who vandalize, tamper with, or disrupt the operation or construction of a pipeline.
He said the disruptions, whether during construction or operation, are not just inconveniences—they put people’s lives at risk and are direct assaults on the economy and American energy independence.
