Pipeline Safety Improvement Act
The Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 is a United States law designed to improve the integrity and safety of pipelines in the natural gas transmission industry. The law requires each pipeline operator to instigate an "integrity management program."
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One-Call Notification System
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The law created a national one-call notification system that anyone "engaging in demolition, excavation, tunneling or construction in the vicinity of a natural gas or hazardous liquid pipeline" call to locate the pipe. The law outlined procedures for those workers to continue their task and report damage as well as penalties for those who do not comply.
Inspection Cycles
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Companies were to find high consequence areas (HCA) and come up with a plan to make them safe by Dec. 17, 2004. The companies were given a deadline of Dec. 17, 2008 to repair all HCAs and all non-HCA pipe segments were to be inspected by 2010. Every seven years the companies should begin another inspection cycle.
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Other Stipulations
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Other duties the law prescribed for the companies include risk analysis and integrity assessments for both each section of pipe and the pipeline system overall. The act requires the businesses to lay out a schedule and methodology for pipe inspection, describes penalties for safety violations and whistle blower protection for employees reporting faulty constructs. Companies are encouraged under the act to implement training and certification programs for employees and create related research and development initiatives. The companies report to the Office of Pipeline Safety, Research and Special Projects Administration at the U.S. Department of Transportation.
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