NTSB Safety Recommendation P-15-028

NTSB safety recommendation P-15-028.

TO THE FEDERAL GEOGRAPHIC DATA COMMITTEE: Work with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to identify and publish standards and specifications for geospatial data commonly used by gas transmission pipeline operators, and disseminate the standards and specifications to these operators and to inspectors.

Priority: CLASS II

Overall Status: Closed - Acceptable Action

Issued Date: 2015-02-10

Adopted Date: 2015-01-27

Overall Date Closed: 2017-12-27

Synopsis: There are approximately 298,000 miles of onshore natural gas transmission pipelines in the United States. Since 2004, the operators of these pipelines have been required by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to develop and implement integrity management (IM) programs to ensure the integrity of their pipelines in populated areas (defined as high consequence areas [HCAs]) to reduce the risk of injuries and property damage from pipeline failures. An operator’s IM program is a management system designed and implemented by pipeline operators to ensure their pipeline system is safe and reliable. An IM program consists of multiple components, including procedures and processes for identifying HCAs, determining likely threats to the pipeline within the HCA, evaluating the physical integrity of the pipe within the HCA, and repairing or remediating any pipeline defects found. These procedures and processes are complex and interconnected. Effective implementation of an IM program relies on continual evaluation and data integration. The IM program is an ongoing program that is periodically inspected by PHMSA and/or state regulatory agencies to ensure compliance with regulatory requirements.

Ntsbnumber: DCA14SS002

Report Number: SS-15-01

Addressee Name: Federal Geographic Data Committee

Addressee Status: Closed - Acceptable Action

Addressee Date Closed: 2017-12-27

Addressee Acronym: FGDC

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 2017-12-27

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: We also issued Safety Recommendation P-15-7 to PHMSA recommending that it work with you to take similar action. We have not received a response from you regarding these recommendations since they were issued over 2 years ago; however, on August 17, 2016, PHMSA sent us a letter describing the actions it had taken and your contributions. PHMSA previously told us that, due to security concerns, it does not share national pipeline mapping system data with the federal community as a whole, nor does it include that data on distributed datasets, such as the Homeland Security Infrastructure Program Gold. To address these recommendations, FGDC and PHMSA representatives met on May 27, 2015, and confirmed that PHMSA’s proposed positional accuracy standard of 50 feet for the majority of pipe segments was in line with FGDC standards, and that PHMSA’s data comply with FGDC standards. We understand that you worked with PHMSA to standardize other approaches, such as positional accuracy language and North American Datum (NAD) 83 versus NAD 27, and implemented all standards in the FGDC document, “Content Standard for Digital Geospatial Metadata.” Based on PHMSA’s actions, Safety Recommendation P-15-7 was classified “Closed—Acceptable Action” on December 5, 2016. These actions also satisfy Safety Recommendation P-15-28, which is classified CLOSED--ACCEPTABLE ACTION.

Addressee Acronym: FGDC

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 2016-05-25

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: Recipients of our safety recommendations typically complete action to address them within 3 to 5 years. Although we issued this recommendation to you over a year ago, we have received no reply from you regarding your actions or intentions to address Safety Recommendation P 15-28. Accordingly, we would appreciate receiving a prompt update on your plans and actions to satisfy it. We are interested in knowing whether and how our recommendations are implemented, both to ensure the public the highest level of safety and to identify creative solutions that can be shared with others. Safety Recommendation P-15-28 is currently classified OPEN—AWAIT RESPONSE; unless we receive a timely reply from you, we may have to classify this recommendation in an unacceptable status. A copy of our February 10, 2015, letter issuing Safety Recommendation P-15-28 is enclosed. The full report of our safety study, Integrity Management of Gas Transmission Pipelines in High Consequence Areas, is available at http://www.ntsb.gov/safety/safety-studies/Pages/SS1501.aspxx.