Data collected from pipeline operators are made available to the public to identify trends and to measure performance or other related information on pipelines and pipeline infrastructure. PHMSA's goal is to provide transparent and quantifiable performance metrics, and to improve industry performance and communications in order to prevent pipeline incidents, accidents, injuries, and fatalities. PHMSA tracks data on the frequency of failures, incidents and accidents. PHMSA also analyzes the causes and the resulting consequences, and reports this data in various categories.
Gas Pipeline Performance Measures
OPS worked with the Pipeline Safety Trust, the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives, the American Gas Association, the American Public Gas Association, and the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America to develop performance measures for gas distribution and gas transmission. Incidents, leaks, immediate repairs, excavation damages, and miles of higher risk material are used in the measures. You can view the measures by individual operator and by safety program. If the measure uses incident data, you can view details about the incident reports.
Pipeline Mileage and Facilities
Pipeline Mileage and Facilities display nationwide and State tallies of pipeline operators, mileage, and facilities. The tallies are provided by commodity, pipeline material, and system type - gas distribution, gas gathering, gas transmission, hazardous liquids, and liquefied natural gas (LNG). You can download the raw annual report data or view summaries:
Pipeline Incidents: 20-Year Trends
PHMSA's incident data trends use data submitted by pipeline operators and data created by PHMSA to facilitate the trend line displays. You can view or download these Pipeline Incident Flagged Files or download the raw incident data. Twenty-year trends are provided for each system type - gas distribution, gas gathering, gas transmission, hazardous liquids, and LNG - and three incident categories - serious incidents, significant incidents, and all reported incidents.
- Pipeline Incidents: 20-Year Trends
- Serious Incidents
"Serious Incidents" include a fatality or injury requiring in-patient hospitalization. Gas distribution incidents caused by a nearby fire or explosion that impacted the pipeline system are excluded from this definition.
- Significant Incidents
"Significant Incidents" are those including any of the following conditions: (1) Fatality or injury requiring in-patient hospitalization; (2) $50,000 or more in total costs, measured in 1984 dollars; (3) Highly volatile liquid releases of 5 barrels or more or other liquid releases of 50 barrels or more; and (4) Liquid releases resulting in an unintentional fire or explosion. Gas distribution incidents caused by a nearby fire or explosion that impacted the pipeline system are excluded from this definition.
- All Reported Incidents
Incidents Caused by Excavation Damage
Excavation damage to gas and hazardous liquid pipelines is a leading cause of life-threatening incidents, but they can be prevented. PHMSA tracks incidents by cause, including excavation damage to pipelines.
Integrity Management (IM) Performance Metrics
Since 2004, pipeline operators under PHMSA's jurisdiction have been required to submit performance measure reports for hazardous liquid and gas transmission pipeline infrastructure covered by Integrity Management (IM) programs. PHMSA uses data from these reports to monitor and report on industry progress in meeting the requirements of the hazardous liquid and gas transmission IM rules, to prioritize operators for future agency inspections, and to respond to inquiries about PHMSA's oversight program. The IM rules specify performance metrics that are to be measured, tracked, and - in certain cases - reported to PHMSA.
- Hazardous Liquid IM Performance tracks pipeline mileage, large spills, incident trends, numbers of miles inspected/ assessed, and repairs in High Consequence Areas (HCAs).
- Gas Transmission IM Performance tracks pipeline mileage, significant incidents, failures, numbers of miles inspected/ assessed (both baseline and reassessment), repairs, and leaks in HCAs versus in non-HCAs.
- Gas Distribution IM Performance (DIMP) shows total leaks eliminated and repaired, data on the causes of gas distribution incidents (e.g., excavation damage), and information emergency flow valves (EFV's).
Incidents and Leaks Repaired on Federal Land or Outer Continental Shelf (OCS)
Incidents and Leaks Repaired on Federal Land or OCS display tallies of incidents and leaks by system type and cause. Users can find incident and leak causes by clicking on the blue figures in the number columns. Leak data is included in the Annual Reports pipeline operators submit to PHMSA. Federal lands are all lands the United States owns, including military reservations, with the exception of National parks and lands held in trust for Native Americans. The OCS includes all submerged lands lying seaward of state coastal waters which are under U.S. jurisdiction.
