Over the same time period, pipeline mileage increased 1.6 percent annually from 1.9 to 2.2 million miles of pipelines. OPS Has Made Progress in Implementing Integrity Management Programs and Other Initiatives

Partly on the basis of OPS’ experience with the Risk Management Demonstration Program, the agency has moved forward with a new regulatory approach that requires pipeline operators to comprehensively identify and address risks to the segments of their pipelines that are located in “high consequence areas” where a leak or rupture would have the greatest impact. According to the Safety Board and industry groups, OPS’ initiatives address the underlying data problems and will enable OPS to better understand the causes of incidents so the agency can focus its efforts to improve safety. States Are Taking a Greater Role in Overseeing Interstate Pipeline Safety Activities

OPS is allowing more states to help oversee a broader range of interstate pipeline safety activities. OPS Has Not Implemented Significant Safety Board Recommendations and Statutory Requirements

OPS is taking action on open recommendations from the Safety Board and statutory requirements, but has still not implemented important recommendations and requirements. Some of these recommendations were more than a decade old. As of February 2002, OPS had not implemented 42 recommendations, several of which date from the late 1980s and deal with issues considered critical to pipeline safety, such as requiring operators to inspect their pipelines. These issues include (1) performance measures for the integrity management approach, (2) sufficient resources and expertise to oversee operators’ integrity management programs, (3) consistent and effective enforcement of integrity management program requirements, and (4) requirements for integrity management programs for operators of gas transmission pipelines. OPS has taken steps to improve its data, but it may be several years before the agency can accumulate sufficient data to evaluate trends in the pipeline industry.
What GAO Found

The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) oversees 2.2 million miles of pipelines that transport potentially dangerous materials, such as oil and natural gas. OPS has been slow to improve its oversight of the pipeline industry and implement critical pipeline safety improvements. As a result, OPS has the lowest rate of any transportation agency for implementing the recommendations of the National Transportation Safety Board. In recent years, OPS has taken several steps to improve its oversight of the pipeline industry, including requiring "integrity management" programs for individual operators to assess their pipelines for risks, take action to mitigate the risks, and develop program performance measures. OPS has also (1) revised forms and procedures to collect more complete and accurate data, which will enable OPS to better assess the causes of incidents and focus on the greatest risks to pipelines; (2) allowed more states to oversee a broader range of interstate pipeline safety activities; and (3) increased the use of fines. OPS has made progress in responding to recommendations from the Safety Board and statutory requirements, but some key open recommendations and requirements, such as requiring pipeline operators to periodically inspect their pipelines, are now more than a decade old. OPS faces challenges that include (1) developing performance measures for the integrity management approach, (2) ensuring sufficient resources and expertise to oversee operators' integrity management programs, (3) providing consistent and effective enforcement of integrity management program requirements, and (4) issuing requirements for integrity management programs for operators of gas transmission pipelines.