Texas has more miles of pipelines than any other state. But the agency charged with pipeline safety, The Texas Railroad Commission (it has nothing to do with railroads—that's a long story) lacks the inspectors the agency says it needs. Meanwhile, the state has seen hundreds of pipeline accidents in the past decade that resulted in 17 deaths and, in some cases, severe environmental damage. If they were put together, Texas pipelines would stretch from the Earth to the moon and halfway back. And with oil and gas booming, several new pipelines are under construction.