The federal government requires the removal of abandoned pipelines.
Posted by The Michael Berry Show, Checked Updated
- Sources
- 4 contradict1 support
- Said
- 2 times·
- Confidence
- 60%
The Michael Berry ShowSep 15, 2026
The claim is partly supported: offshore seafloor pipelines are generally required to be removed, per Oceana's summary of federal rules.
This claim is about the present, so it is judged as of the day it was checked.
What we found
Contradicts. GAO, as reported by Reuters, found the federal government had authorized industry to leave over 97% of decommissioned Gulf pipelines in place, and that BSEE did not properly address risks from idled seafloor infrastructure.[1][2]
Contradicts. The federal pipeline abandonment rule (49 CFR 192.727) requires abandoned pipelines to be disconnected, purged, and sealed at the ends, with offshore pipelines filled with water or inert material; it does not require physical removal.[3][4]
Supports. Oceana states that generally companies must remove defunct pipelines from the seafloor, though the government can grant exceptions.[5]
Context. The post's specific claim concerns a single pipeline running from Louisiana to Alabama that a Georgia listener was abandoning; no source addresses that pipeline, so the case itself cannot be checked. The extraction generalizes it into a broad rule, which is graded here as written.
Sources
5 sources: 2 fact-checkers, 2 primary, 1 not rated
- 1Explainer: Stronger storms test aging U.S. offshore oil facilitiesreuters.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 2Group sues federal government, claims it ignores harms of idle ...apnews.com · fact-checker · cited for: contradicts
- 349 CFR 192.727 -- Abandonment or deactivation of facilities.ecfr.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 4Pipeline and Haz. Mat. Safety Admin., DOT § 192.731govinfo.gov · primary source · cited for: contradicts
- 5Abandoned oil pipelines pollute our oceanusa.oceana.org · not rated · cited for: supports
Where this claim was made
Said in 2 published posts
- The Michael Berry Show · “I had a listener in Georgia, and they had a pipe that ran from Louisiana all the way to Alabama, and they were abandoning that pipe, and the federal government says, "Hey, you gotta get that pipe out of there. You can't just leave it there."”Post →
- The Michael Berry Show · “I had a listener in Georgia, and they had a pipe that ran from Louisiana all the way to Alabama, and they were abandoning that pipe, and the federal government says, hey, you gotta get that pipe out of there. You can't just leave it there.”Post →
Checked 2 times
Each check reads the sources again. The newest verdict is the one this page states.
- · latestMixed
- Mixed