American Gas - June 2011 - (Page 2)

President’s Message Hearing from a Very important safety Partner DOt Secretary Ray Lahood talks about how to make our pipeline system even safer—just in time for the annual aGa Operations Conference. Given that our annual AGA Operations Conference is the oldest, best attended and most important of the meetings that AGA hosts, we are honored that the issue of American Gas magazine being read at that conference features on its cover Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood. As Transportation secretary, he is one of the most important, if not the most important of our industry’s safety partners. In an interview starting on p. 24 of this issue, Secretary LaHood shares with us his thoughts on the one issue that is paramount to everyone who works in our industry: how to make the safest energy delivery system in this country even safer. Secretary LaHood’s interview is one step in an ongoing series of steps he has proactively taken to bring together all of the stakeholders involved in natural gas pipeline safety. The critical players include national and state legislators, regulators, safety groups, public interest groups, consumer groups and, of course, the thousands of AGA member company employees who work in operational safety. Among those steps was the first-ever Pipeline Safety Forum, which Secretary LaHood hosted this past April, and which I and several other AGA staff members attended. The goal was to look at the best methods to rehabilitate, repair and, where necessary, replace critical pipeline infrastructure, and as the secretary notes in our interview, this forum was a successful beginning to what he believes will be a lengthy and involved process in which better and more frequent stakeholder communication and interaction are critical. “We brought stakeholders and the public together and heard from some people we don’t often hear from,” he says. DAve mccurDy President and ceO dmccurdy@aga.org All of those stakeholders are represented at the AGA Operations Conference, where old partnerships are renewed and new ones made, whether it’s partnering with the Common Ground Alliance on excavation damage, partnering with the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives on state safety programs, or partnering with the National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners on regulatory issues that affect, and are affected by, safety issues. In meetings, round tables, panels or just in informal oneon-one discussions, the conference attendees share information and ideas about any number of safety topics, including better data exchange and risk assessment, more effective compliance procedures—especially with respect to the distribution integrity management program—and even greater investment in research and technology. As Secretary LaHood sums it up in our interview, “We owe it to the public to ensure pipelines are a safe method of transporting energy across the country.” We could not agree more, and there is no more effective venue for accomplishing that goal than by participating in the AGA Operations Conference, which is being held this year in the country music capital of the world, Nashville, Tenn. That is certainly fitting because, as Secretary LaHood has put it on several occasions, his job is to make sure all of our safety stakeholders are “singing from the same song sheet.” We at AGA are certainly in tune with that goal. Barry Myers 2 june 2011 AmericAn GAs

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of American Gas - June 2011

American Gas - June 2011
Contents
President’s Message
In the News
To Be the Best
Tech Talk
Ever Vigilant
Listing of Exhibitors in Alphabetical Order
AGA Operations Conference Exhibit Hall Floor Plan
Listing of Exhibitors by Booth Number
In the News
Marketplace
Places to Be
Jobline
Advertisers’ Index
Facts on Gas

American Gas - June 2011