Pipeline Safety

For Our Neighbors in the Community

We operate about 17,000 miles of natural gas pipelines, as well as compressor stations, storage wells and other facilities across more 17states. Please read on to learn how our neighbors, emergency responders and public officials can play a key role in pipeline safety.

The links immediately below show an image of our public awareness brochure, titled: "Please be our partner in safe, reliable energy delivery." Learn about the purpose of our facilities, how to recognize a pipeline leak, what to do if you suspect a pipeline leak, and other important information. This material is mailed regularly to residents and emergency responders in our operating territory. Please click on the link for the pipeline company in your area (Note: Since this is a printer's proof, some parts of the brochure appear upside down).

Our Pipeline Safety Program

We are experienced at building and operating facilities that safely and efficiently deliver energy to our customers. Through more than a century of operating experience and technological advancement, our companies and their partners in the natural gas pipeline industry have developed one of the safest and most reliable energy transportation networks in the world.

One of the ways our pipelines stay safe is care by those around the pipeline system. Before digging in your area, call your state's One Call Program, or dial 811. If there is a Columbia pipeline facility in your area, be sure to follow Columbia's Minimum Guidelines for construction near natural gas pipeline facilities.

Safety: From Design to Delivery

Pipeline safety starts long before natural gas actually begins flowing through our pipes. It begins during the design phase, when we apply strict industry standards, research-based company policies and regulatory mandates to every aspect of a facility's development, from basic design to selection of materials, construction plans, operational plans and monitoring requirements.

Today's natural gas facilities benefit from numerous modern technologies and materials that have been developed and improved over the last 40 years. The natural gas pipeline industry spends millions of dollars each year on research and improving pipeline safety. The results are facilities that incorporate a wide array of innovative and highly effective features to ensure safety as well as efficiency. Some of the safety measures we apply to our facilities include:

  • Welding. Our pipelines are made of sections of steel pipe of varying diameter, strength and wall thickness, welded together in a manner to ensure integrity. The welded pipe joints are designed and installed to be stronger than the pipe itself. Before beginning, all welders on our projects must pass stringent qualification tests. All critical welds on the pipe are required to pass visual and other non-destructive tests before the pipeline is activated.
  • Proof testing. Before being placed in operation, our pipelines are proof tested — pressurized to a level that far exceeds the stress the pipeline will ever operate under. This procedure ensures the strength and integrity of our pipelines before they are placed into active service of transporting natural gas.
  • Protection against corrosion. Our steel pipelines are protected against corrosion in several ways. First, they are covered externally, and sometimes internally, with a protective coating. Second, a modern advancement in pipeline safety technology called cathodic protection uses a slight electrical current to ensure a pipeline's integrity. The small electric charge is harmless to the surrounding ecology.
  • Auto-close valves. Many of our pipelines are built with auto-close valves. In the event of a rapid pressure drop in the pipeline, as might happen in an emergency, these valves are designed to close automatically and lessen the time required to get the situation under control.
  • Identification. The natural gas industry has adopted a standard yellow marker to alert excavators and the public of the presence of an underground pipeline. Our pipelines are marked according to federal guidelines, and list our emergency telephone number for information or to alert us to any problems. Look for markers to signify a Columbia pipeline.
  • Commissioning. Before operating the pipeline, all systems for providing power, communication, gas compression, transmission and monitoring are thoroughly tested and calibrated to make sure they work together safely and efficiently Tests are conducted on all electrical instrumentation communications and mechanical and computer

Safety Around-the-Clock

  • Once in operation, our facilities are kept under a constant watch — 24-hours a day, seven days a week — by the staff at our Gas Control monitoring centers. These high-tech computer centers continuously gather and monitor data from pipelines and related facilities across our entire 17,000-mile pipeline network. From the centers, our team members can remotely operate some valves and other equipment to control the flow of gas throughout our system. Their job is to make sure energy arrives where it is needed, when it is needed, and that a rapid response is available to any problems on the system.
  • Meanwhile, in communities along our pipelines, local operating teams oversee the day-to-day operations of our facilities. Following strict procedures and safety standards, our operating teams provide our local link to the community, often working closely with our facility neighbors and others in the community.
  • In particular, our operating teams are constantly on the alert for third-party excavators who may unknowingly dig near our pipelines. Damage by outside parties is the leading cause of damage to pipelines in the United States, and we work hard to protect our facilities. To help prevent outside damage, we conduct regular communications with landowners, contractors and others who might be working around the lines so that they understand precautions they should take. We also participate in state "one-call" programs, which notify utilities and other underground facility operators before people begin excavating. Our operating teams also conduct regular face-toface meetings with local community officials and emergency responders to discuss the nature of our facilities and our operations, as well as the cooperative steps to be taken in the event of a natural gas emergency.

Inspecting and Re-Inspecting

  • Periodic inspections of our facilities help us detect potential problems before they become safety concerns. These inspections, many of which are prescribed by law, include detailed analysis of the underground corrosion protection systems along our pipelines, as well as above-ground surveys for detecting signs of leaks or other potential problems. Advanced internal inspection tools also can be used to physically inspect the condition of many of our pipelines from the inside out. In addition, regular aerial patrols of our main pipeline rights of way help us spot changes or conditions that could potentially affect our pipelines.
  • All of these steps are in accordance with strict safety regulations prescribed by the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Employee Safety Principles

The commitment of the NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage companies is to enable each employee to assume the responsibility for working and living in a safe and healthy environment. To achieve and maintain this environment takes commitment by everyone to the following principles:

  • Safety and productivity are mutual partners — to do one without the other is unacceptable.
  • Communicate clearly the safety values, vision and strategy to employees, customers and communities that we serve.
  • Set consistent high health and safety standards and expectations — strive to continuously improve.
  • Establish mutually beneficial partnerships and alliances that promote safety with our customers, vendors, regulators and companies.
  • Create a culture that promotes safety at work, at home and in the community.
  • Provide safe, reliable and cost-effective services to our customers by constantly using creative and innovative ways to ensure regulatory compliance.
  • Think Safety - recognize and take action to prevent unsafe conditions.

Our strong belief in safety makes adherence to these principles the only acceptable way to operate our business. Nothing is so important that it cannot be done safely. To continuously advance safety within the company, a Safety Steering Committee (SSC) comprised of field operations, engineering services and EHS employees meet regularly.