The solution to preventing oil and gas pipeline spills: Research and innovation

Technology-related advancements across all industries are moving at a rapid pace, providing countless benefits to the world. Whether it is all your smart phone can accomplish, the safety features of your car, or the speed and accuracy of medical diagnosis, improvements in technology continue to move at an ever-increasing rate.

Safety-focused technology and research can also play an important role in accelerating ongoing efforts to eliminate ruptures and releases from the nation’s nearly 2.8 million miles of gas and liquid pipeline system.

As administrator of the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), I have been tasked with leading the federal government’s pipeline safety program to ensure the safety of our nation’s interstate hazardous liquid and gas pipelines. This was no small task, and I have been fortunate to have the support of PHMSA’s dedicated workforce of pipeline safety engineers and professionals as the agency works toward our goal of zero pipeline incidents.

While it is true that the pipelines that crisscross the U.S. have proven to be a safe means of moving energy products across the country, the system continues to age, and ruptures and releases still occur. The impacts on people and the environment when these incidents happen are unacceptable, and the goal of PHMSA is to eliminate these incidents as fast as possible.

My time serving in the federal government has made me keenly aware that we need to find faster ways to realize the benefits of technological advancements for safety. Regulation is time consuming, taking years if not decades. A better way to advance safety is through research and innovation.

The question is how best to accomplish this ambition. First and foremost, the answer lies in embarking upon an aggressive strategy of pursuing pipeline safety through accelerated research and development that finds solutions to the most significant causes of pipeline failures. This science-based, preventative approach is the fastest and surest way to deliver long-term improvements in public safety and protect the environment.

However, PHMSA alone cannot achieve this objective. Instead, it will take a concerted effort from private industry, safety organizations, and the federal government. Taking the lead in this enhanced focus on pipeline safety research, PHMSA announced in July 2020, an initial investment in a world-class pipeline research testing site at the Department of Transportation’s Transportation Technology Center (TTC) in Pueblo, Colo.

This first-of-its-kind pipeline safety site will do more to accelerate pipeline safety than any other research investment PHMSA has made in its history. At TTC, PHMSA will accomplish the following:

• Stimulate increased focus and investment by industry for development of new safety technologies;
• Expedite validation of pipeline safety improvements;
• Leverage an existing, world-class federal transportation safety research campus for the benefit of pipeline safety;
• Act as a catalyst for innovation of new pipeline safety technology designs;
• Foster greater collaboration, engagement, and trust between the government, researchers, the public, and industry.

In addition, all of this can be accomplished without putting the burden on taxpayers. This targeted investment at TTC is a common-sense solution to achieving enhanced pipeline safety. If our efforts at TTC result in significant progress toward our goal of zero pipeline incidents in the future, the dollars spent on this site will provide countless savings to the American public, safety agencies, and first responders.

Achieving these goals is essential and would not be possible without the continued steadfast support of our partners in Congress for PHMSA’s research budget requests. I applaud Congress for passing the most recent pipeline safety reauthorization bill. This legislation is another helpful step in the right direction toward the accelerated safety-focused technology we seek. 

Let us build on that in the coming years with more efficient and focused safety research. I am hopeful that my successor at PHMSA, as well as elected officials in Washington, will work together to support PHMSA’s efforts at TTC to ensure that our nation has the safest possible pipeline system in the world.

Howard “Skip” Elliott was sworn in as the fifth administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) following his unanimous confirmation by the U.S. Senate on Oct. 5, 2017.