Comment from Virgene Link-new

To Whom It Concerns: While the country is still reliant on gas, we must make its transport as safe as possible. The use of gas in our homes is dangerous for health and safety reasons, from the danger of fires and explosions to exacerbating childhood asthma and impeding cognitive development. With safer pipeline protocols, there will be fewer large-scale leaks of greenhouse gases, the main driver of climate change. Methane leaks can cause effects from dizziness and rapid breathing, to injury and deaths from fires and explosions. The policy adheres to Justice40, a policy set forth to promote environmental justice, because it protects people in low-income communities and communities of color, who are more likely to live in close proximity to pipelines. Emergency response plans must be updated, and it is crucial to involve multiple parties, including but not limited to: pipeline operators, first responders, relevant government actors from the local to federal agency level, and local hospital systems. They need to be prepared for any incident along a pipeline. Thank you.