A new government report points to increased safety risks brought on by the shale gale.
The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) cites a higher risk of accidents as a result of increased usage of pipeline and rail systems to transport oil and gas. Since many of the production regions that have been unlocked by unconventional drilling technology are in rural areas, pipelines built to transport these volumes are generally not subject to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) safety regulations. These include emergency response protocols.
“Historically, gathering pipelines were smaller and operated at lower pressure and thus posed less risk than long-distance pipelines,” the report said. “But the recent increase in their size and pressure raises safety concerns because they could affect a greater area in the event of an incident.”
The report noted that in 2011, DOT reviewed safety regulations related to gathering pipelines, but had yet to announce any new proposals. In addition, GAO found that most states also do not regulate gathering pipelines in rural areas, which extends the safety risks for new systems.
Rail shipments of hydrocarbons are also in need of increased oversight, according to the report, which describes DOT guidelines for testing and packaging of crude oil as vague. GAO also stated that unit trains transporting crude do not fall under DOT comprehensive emergency response planning requirements as they only pertain to individual tank cars.
“This raises concerns about the adequacy of emergency response preparedness, especially in rural areas where there may be fewer resources to respond to a serious incident,” the report said.
To alleviate these concerns, the GAO recommended that DOT’s move forward with proposed rulemaking to address safety risks associated with gathering pipelines will also improve the clarity of its safety procedures for rail shipments of crude. DOT generally concurred with these assessments and is moving forward on new safety procedures, according to GAO.
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