NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter P-15-028

Page 1Official PDFNational Transportation Safety Board Washington, DC 20594 Safety Recommendation Date: February 10, 2015 In reply refer to: P-15-28 Ms. Jennifer Gimbel Chair, FGDC Steering Committee Federal Geographic Data Committee 590 National Center Reston, VA 20192 The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) is an independent federal agency charged by Congress with investigating every civil aviation accident in the United States and significant accidents in other modes of transportation—railroad, highway, marine, and pipeline. We determine the probable cause of the accidents and issue safety recommendations aimed at preventing future accidents. In addition, we carry out special studies concerning transportation safety and coordinate the resources of the federal government and other organizations to provide assistance to victims and their family members affected by major transportation disasters. We are providing the following information to urge the Federal Geographic Data Committee to take action on the safety recommendation being issued in this letter. On January 27, 2015, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) adopted its safety study, Integrity Management of Gas Transmission Pipelines in High Consequence Areas. Additional information about this study and the resulting recommendation(s) may be found in the study, which can be accessed at our website, http://www.ntsb.gov, under report number SS-15/01. As a result of this investigation, we reiterated Safety Recommendation P-11-7; reclassified Safety Recommendation P-11-17; and issued 28 new recommendations, including 22 to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 2 to the American Gas Association, 2 to the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, 1 to the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives, and the following recommendation to the Federal Geographic Data Committee: 201500076 8612#

Page 22 P-15-28 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. Acting Chairman HART, and Members SUMWALT and WEENER concurred in this recommendation. The NTSB is vitally interested in this recommendation because it is designed to prevent accidents and save lives. We would appreciate receiving a response from you within 90 days detailing the actions you have taken or intend to take to implement it. When replying, please refer to the safety recommendation by number. We encourage you to submit your response electronically to correspondence@ntsb.gov. If it exceeds 10 megabytes, including attachments, please e-mail us at the same address for instructions. Please do not submit both an electronic copy and a hard copy of the same response. [Original Signed] By: Christopher A. Hart, Acting Chairman#