Solutions for Infrastructure Challenges

A boom in American energy production has, in many cases, exceeded capacity in existing pipelines and forced energy producers to turn to rail and trucking. Nebraska grain producers recently told me because of this increase in demand they are finding it more difficult and expensive to transport their crops by rail, causing shipments to be weeks and even months behind schedule.

While rail companies are working to meet the increased demand of moving petroleum and natural gas from reserves in the middle of America and Canada to refineries, these complaints are not unique. Producers of other commodities and value added products such as ethanol are now having difficulty shipping their products by rail as well.

The spike in demand for oil and gas transportation by rail is a result of the North American energy revolution. New drilling techniques and technology are making it possible to develop petroleum and natural gas from reserves previously considered unreachable. While this revolution in energy production is undoubtedly a positive development for our economy, consumers, and our national security, we do not yet have the energy infrastructure in place to take full advantage of this opportunity.

We need to enact smart policies to encourage construction of new pipelines and to upgrade and fix existing lines. Forward-thinking energy policies could encourage public and private infrastructure investment to alleviate the bottlenecks in the delivery of domestic supplies. More pipelines would allow energy producers to move oil and gas efficiently and safely. This in turn would free up rail capacity to move other products such as grain, wheat, corn, ethanol, propane, and coal.

American energy producers and agriculture producers have proven highly innovative and successful. We must be thoughtful to seize the economic benefits of increased American energy without causing harm to other sectors of our economy. Building and upgrading pipelines is a commonsense solution which will help all domestic industries to thrive.