West Virginia University will research new ideas and technologies to improve the safety of pipelines used to transport energy resources.
The research will be supported by a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s pipeline and hazardous materials safety administration.
The research comes as energy companies propose hundreds of miles of pipelines in Virginia and West Virginia, and elsewhere, to deliver natural gas drilled from Marcellus shale deposits.
The funding was announced by U.S. Sens. Joe Manchin and Shelley Moore Capito.