Model Urban Pipeline Initiative Panel

Discussion

Karen EdelsteinEastern Program CoordinatorFracTracker Allianceedelstein@fractracker.org

Mayor’s Council on Pipeline SafetyLest History Repeat Itself – Pipeline Safety

InitiativesMay 14-15, 2015Philadelphia, PA

• Shares maps, data, and analyses to communicate environmental and public health impacts of the oil and natural gas industry

• Staff in PA, NY, Ohio, California, West Virginia• Launched in June 2010, 501(c)(3) status since

2012

• Data transparency and availabilityo Gathering, preparing, displaying, hosting data

• Verified information shared publicly via interactive maps

• Cultivation of partnershipso Communitieso Environmental organizationso Mediao Government agencieso Academia

• Research• Internships

What we value

Schools and hospitals within ½-

mile oil train derailment

evacuation zone, Buffalo, NY

Mapping wells, leases, and public

lands

Mapping wetlands around pipelines

Accessing agency data (e.g., soil survey)

Pipeline mapping to increase

safetyIn the events of pipeline-related accidents, mapping can help to increase• Public safety

o Risk modelingo Identification of high-risk areas

• Personal safetyo In urban, suburban, and rural areas

• Environmental safetyo Air, earth, and water

• Efficiency of emergency responders

• More precise mapping can lead to damage prevention, and heightened safety for communities and responders

Models exist!

https://www.npms.phmsa.dot.gov/

PublicViewer/

Chester County, PAPipeline Information Center

(PIC)

A pilot project for FracTracker, in collaboration with partners…pending

funding

Berks Bradford AlleghenyLancaster Tioga Washington

Addressing needs of multiple stakeholders• Elected officials• Regulatory bodies• Agency staff• Utilities• Emergency responders• General public

Following recommendations of the Pipelines and Informed Planning Alliance (PIPA)

Pipelines (85,451 miles of them in PA, alone!)• Gathering (Class 1) lines

o Not subject to Public Utility Commission (PUC) registrationo Accuracy unknown

• Transmission lineso General routes publicly accessible on PHMSA website, +/-

~1000 ft accuracy

• Distribution lineso Not well-mappedo Need for shut-offs during emergencieso Risks from excavation

What could/should an ideal map of pipelines include?

Basic content Other features• Population centers• Schools• Hospitals• Recreation facilities• Wetlands• Streams• Karst topography• Watershed boundaries• Soils• Demography• Protected lands and core habitat• Underlying mining operations• Other industry infrastructure• Compressor stations• Pigging launch sites

Features important to maintenance and emergency response

• Planning areas /buffer zones around pipelines

• Pipeline easements• Abandoned pipelines• Multiple base maps

o Satellite imageryo Road networks

• Distance and area measurement tools

• Geolocated image input• Current pipeline problems• Smartphone apps for info

upload

Location information on pipelines is closely held • By pipeline companies • By utilities

Concerns about information security issues

Technical solutions exist…Keep security high, but safety high, too• Password protection access to mapping

system• ArcGIS Server: built-in security• Defined privileges and role types

determine level of information access• $$ considerations

ArcGIS for Server• Covers basics, user

accounts and role/permission assignments

• ESRI 60-minute webinaro http://training.esri.com/

Courses/ts_ServerSecurity10_1/player.cfm

• Info videoo http://video.esri.com/watch/

2381/understanding-arcgis-for-server-security

Questions….?

Karen EdelsteinEastern Program CoordinatorFracTracker Allianceedelstein@fractracker.org