American Gas - December 2011 - (Page 16)

safety security reliability safety first assessing Pipeline safety Now A critical milestone is approaching for transmission integrity management operators. n about one year—on Dec. 17, 2012—a critical milestone will occur for everyone involved in supporting transmission integrity management. By that date, gas transmission pipelines in high-consequence areas (HCA) must have a baseline integrity assessment completed. (Note that some pipelines have an alternative time frame for the baseline assessment completion, including those pipelines constructed after Dec. 17, 2002.) This deadline was established by Congress under the 2002 pipeline safety legislation, giving operators 10 years to complete integrity assessments on covered pipelines. Unfortunately, the industry essentially lost a year of preparation time because the U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) did not publish a final regulation on transmission integrity management until Dec. 15, 2003. That said, assessments are well under way. Assessments are completed by the use of in-line inspection, pressure testing, direct assessment and/or other technology that an operator demonstrates can provide an equivalent understanding of the condition of the pipe. Assessment methodologies vary by the pipe segment being assessed, based on a variety of factors, including the threats determined to be applicable to the pipe. Re-assessments are required to be completed for each HCA pipeline within seven years of the completion of the baseline integrity assessment. Based on unofficial information collected by AGA, it appeared midway through 2010 that most of its members had completed at least 80 percent of their integrity assessments for pipelines in HCAs. The landscape of transmission integrity was forever altered on Sept. 9 of that year. On that day, the natural gas industry suffered one of the most tragic accidents in its history when a 30-inch-diameter segment of an intrastate natural gas transmission pipeline ruptured in a residential area in San Bruno, Calif. The released natural gas ignited, resulting in a fire that destroyed 38 homes and damaged 70. Eight people were killed, and many more sustained injuries. The San Bruno accident serves as a painful remind16 december 2011/january 2012 AmericAn GAs I

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

American Gas - December 2011
Contents
President’s Message
In the News
Safety First
Ask AGA
Future Ready
At Your Service
Places to Be
Noteworthies
Jobline
Marketplace
Advertisers’ Index
Facts on Gas

American Gas - December 2011