Pipelines are among the safest and least costly ways of transporting large quantities of energy products essential to our economy. However, pipeline failures can kill and injure people, damage property, harm the environment and disrupt energy supplies. PHMSA's job is to protect people and the environment from pipeline failures by:

• Analyzing pipeline safety and accident data
• Evaluating which safety standards need improvement and where new rulemakings are needed
• Setting and enforcing regulations and standards for the design, construction, operation, maintenance or abandonment of pipelines by pipeline companies
• Educating operators, states and communities on how to keep pipelines safe
• Facilitating research & development into better pipeline technologies
• Training state and federal pipeline inspectors
• Administering grants to states and localities for pipeline inspections, damage prevention and emergency response.
  

The Pipeline Safety Program has an authorized strength of 151 employees, which includes 90 pipeline inspectors. With the 2003 federal budget allocation, Pipeline Safety will hire an additional 15 regional pipeline inspectors. Proposed allocations include 8 gas integrity management inspectors, 5 state program manager, 4 state and federal agency inspectors and 2 inspectors to review technical issues on hazardous liquid pipelines in Alaska. The administration has supported an additional 19 inspectors in the 2004 budget request.

Signed into law in December 2002, the new legislation provides for the following advancements:

• Requires operators of natural gas transmission pipelines to complete baseline assessments in 10 years, with the riskiest pipelines completed in 5 years, and reassessment within 7 years.
• The successful technology partnership in effect with DOT and Department of Energy will be expanded to include the National Institute for Standards and Technology. These three will collaboratively build on the Administration's current efforts to develop innovative inspection and monitoring technologies that measure the integrity of pipelines, improve reliability, and strengthen pipeline materials
• The legislation allows states to enter into partnering agreements with DOT to supplement federal oversight of interstate pipeline operations in the following ways:
  • States would monitor new construction and investigate accidents. States would be active in local preparedness and damage prevention activities
  • States would not be preempted from enforcing their one-call laws against interstate pipeline operators. These laws require operators to participate in programs conducted by regional centers that provide information to contractors and others planning to excavate
• Requires review of operators' qualification plans for assuring that pipeline employees can safely and properly perform assigned duties. The plans must include testing and periodic examination of employee's qualifications
• Strengthens enforcement authority by quadrupling the maximum civil penalty the Secretary can impose for single violation of the safety standards.
  

Previous concepts of pipeline maintenance and inspection focused on the pipeline itself, investigating chiefly a pipeline's physical qualities, supporting systems and the administration of an operator's inspection program.
Integrity Management takes a broader view, encompassing the environment as well as pipeline. Pipeline operators are required to know more about the areas their pipeline traverses; the nature of the population in the area; the existence of environmentally sensitive areas near the pipeline. Fundamentally, Integrity Management seeks to understand the potential consequences of failure of a specific pipeline in a particular area. It sets priorities for inspection and operations and maintenance based on whether people, property or the environment might be at risk should a pipeline failure occur.
Regulations for Integrity Management of hazardous liquid pipelines have been in effect since 2001. Natural gas pipeline integrity management in High Consequence Areas (HCA) is currently being reviewed as a proposed rulemaking in the Office of Pipeline Safety and is expected to become a final rule later in 2003.
For more information on integrity management please check http://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/iim/

Information on significant pipeline safety rulemakings is available at: http://ops.dot.gov/regs/regsindex.htm

Partnership, coordination and cooperation at all levels are keys to success in protecting this essential part of our critical national infrastructure. While PHMSA is the federal pipeline safety authority, others have responsibilities or interests in pipelines. The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Transportation Security Administration (TSA) has responsibility for coordinating security for all transportation related operations, including pipelines. Both the Department of Energy (DOE), with responsibilities for energy supplies and refinery operations, and the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) with responsibilities for natural gas regulation, depend upon the safe, secure and reliable operation of the nation's pipelines.

PHMSA works closely with DOE, DHS/TSA and FERC, as well as state and local governments and industry to ensure our nation has a pipeline infrastructure that is worthy of the confidence of the American people.

Review an expansive discussion of pipelines or read more Pipeline FAQs.