Title: Public Awareness and Pipeline Safety
1Public Awareness andPipeline Safety
- BC Oil Gas Symposium
- February 27, 2007
- Dan Kirschner
- Executive Director
25335 SW Meadows Rd., 220 Lake Oswego, OR
97035 (503) 624-2160 www.nwga.org NWGA
Members Avista Corporation Cascade Natural Gas
Co. Intermountain Gas Co. NW Natural Puget Sound
Energy Duke Energy Gas Transmission Terasen
Gas TransCanadas GTN System Williams NW Pipeline
3Public Awareness and Pipeline Safety
- Publics right to know where pipelines are
- Understand and assess risk
- Partner in safety
- Owners responsibility to operate safely and
securely - Ensuring the public has access to appropriate and
useful information - How much information is too much?
4A Little History
- June, 1999 Bellingham, WA petroleum pipeline
explosion kills three young people, June 1999 - August, 2000 Carlsbad, NM natural gas pipeline
explosion kills twelve people - September 11, 2001
- December, 2002 Pipeline Safety Improvement Act
signed requiring Public Awareness efforts
5Public Awareness Drivers
- Enlightened Self-Interest
- Improved Pipeline Safety
- Enhanced Damage Prevention
- Effective Emergency Response
- Emergency Contacts
- Federal mandate 02 Pipeline Safety Improvement
Act - OPS incorporated API RP 1162 in 49 CFR Parts 192
and 195 - RP 1162 a set of guidelines/best practices for
Public Awareness programs developed by - Industry representatives
- Office of Pipeline Safety
- National Assn. of Pipeline Safety Representatives
- Public stakeholders
6Establishing a Baseline
- WUTC-commissioned research questions
- What do people who live along pipelines NEED to
know? - What do they WANT to know?
- How can we BEST keep them informed?
- Research methodology
- Review existing published data
- Key Leader/Organizational interviews
- Public Opinion Research
- 500 Statewide 400 Pipeline error /- 4.5
- Focus groups
7WUTC Key Leader Survey
- Includes 31 Interviews
- Elected and state agency officials, local
governments, operators and advocacy groups - Weighted toward residents/activists and first
responders - Findings
- No clear consensus on how to deliver message.
- Message delivery seems to be disparate,
uncoordinated, difficult to access - Local community involvement is paramount
- People should know
- Where it is
- Whats in it
- Who it serves
8WUTC Stakeholder Survey
- Includes 201 automated phone surveys
- Local governments, contractors, community and
environmental groups, media - Findings
- All messages tested important (70) most
important - Pipeline location
- How to recognize problems
- What to do when a problem arises
- Including emergencies
- Current processes inadequate to task
- Should utilize radio, TV, Direct Mail
9WUTC Public Opinion
- They want to know it all
- Emergency plans
- Potential dangers
- Rights of property owners
- Who to contact
10What they dont know
- More than 60 percent living within 1,000 feet of
major pipeline knew it - Only 45 percent said they knew whom to call in a
pipeline emergency.
11To be or not to be (aware)
- More likely to strongly agree pipelines essential
- More likely to strongly believe safer than trucks
barges - More likely to feel safer living near a pipeline
- More likely to pay attention
12Key to awareness
- Those aware want to receive information
- Canvassing direct mail preferred
- Those unaware want info available when THEY want
it
13Who has the trust?
1 No trust 5great trust
14WUTC Recommendations
- Cohesive, coordinated message
- Use existing communication channels
- Unite expertise with credibility
- Focus on personal contacts
- One-stop information location
- Common visual tool/branding
15RP 1162 Principle Objectives
- Make public education and pipeline awareness
campaigns along pipeline routes more effective by
standardizing frequency and content - Provide recommended baseline public awareness
program and guidance for determining supplemental
activities - Provide guidance for evaluating program
effectiveness and continuous improvement
16So, Whats the Rub?
17Making Useful Information Available Without
Comprising Security
- Post Bham, pre 9/11
- NPMS to the web
- WA Pipeline Safety Act calls for creation of
statewide geospatial (GIS) database - For first responders/local jurisdictions
- Post 9/11
- Retrench recognition of CEII and securing
certain information from disclosure - Present
18Federal
- PHMSA finalizing process of re-posting NPMS data
to the web with restrictions - Data sharing restrictions will be lifted for
county and local government users - Nothing will change for Federal users, state
users, and pipeline operator users
19Proposed General Public Access
- Public may view NPMS maps for one county per
session - Adjacent county pipeline data will be hidden
- Level of detail limited to 124,000
- Certain layers will be removed
- Unusually Sensitive Areas
- Public facilities (schools, nursing homes, etc.)
- Quads and aerial photographs
- Public will not have access to raw (downloadable)
data
20(No Transcript)
21Public users may only view one county at a
time (Shown here Onondanga Co., NY)
22Public users can zoom to 124,000 scale
23Publicly Viewable Pipeline Attributes
- Operator ID and name
- System and subsystem name
- Commodity
- Inter/intrastate designation
- Status In service/abandoned/retired
24Data Sharing Policy
- Retain nondisclosure agreement for state/federal
officials requesting raw data - Revise policy for county/local officials
requesting raw data - One county only
- No restrictions in sharing the data can display
data on public web site if desired - May not make data available for downloading
25Washington State
- Leader in pipeline safety and public awareness
efforts - Bellingham legacy
- Citizens Committee
- Pipeline Safety Trust
- Maps and map images publicly available since 2004
- Maps on the web
26User interface www.wutc.wa.gov/pipelinemaps
27County
28124,000
29What about the raw data?
State-wide, including
- Attributes
- Diameter
- MaOP
- Pipe wall thickness
- Manufacturer
- Installation date
- Commodity
- Coating
- Seam type
- AND, certain features
30Disposition of Raw data
- Subject to public disclosure
- An artifact of law not intentional
- Feds dont but cant preempt state
- No other state treats data similarly
- BC, AB carefully managed
- Managing the situation
- Seek voluntary withdrawal of data requests
- Legislation
- Litigation
31Conclusion
- Striking the right balance
- Public Awareness Is Important
- Investing in
- Informing partners
- First responders
- RoW landowners/residents
- Providing communities with appropriate, useful
information - Maps and map images
- Certain information must be secured
- Shared with regulators
- Otherwise shared with discretion and conditionally
325335 SW Meadows Rd., 220 Lake Oswego, OR
97035 (503) 624-2160 www.nwga.org NWGA
Members Avista Corporation Cascade Natural Gas
Co. Intermountain Gas Co. NW Natural Puget Sound
Energy Duke Energy Gas Transmission Terasen
Gas TransCanadas GTN System Williams NW Pipeline