Better Safe Than Sorry

RRC’s Damage Prevention Program Works to Diffuse Potential Dangers to State’s Pipelines

The Railroad Commission does not just enforce standards on the immediate safety of intrastate pipelines, but it also enforces standards on the prevention of damage to such pipelines. Pipeline companies, excavators and any other individual who digs have a responsibility to make every effort to prevent the damage of pipelines. Think of pipelines as having internal threats, such as lack of servicing and poor maintenance, and also external threats, such as those from mechanical diggers, scrappers and augers; and hand tools, such as shovels and pickaxes. Much of the focus of RRC’s Pipeline Damage Prevention Program, which started on Sept. 1, 2007, is preventing external threats from becoming reality and to make sure that proper preventative measures have been taken to protect public safety and the environment. The program enforces regulations laid out in Chapter 18 of RRC’s section of the Texas Administrative Code.

The Damage Prevention Program is based in Austin with staff that includes compliance analysts. They also utilize field inspectors from the Pipeline Safety Program, who are based at district offices across the state. “The number one thing for us is safety,” said Pete Longoria, a Pipeline Safety inspector and the specialized lead over public awareness and Damage Prevention inspections, who is based in Corpus Christi. “The goal of Damage Prevention is to reduce damage to pipelines.” Since it started, RRC’s Damage Prevention Program has made significant strides in reducing incidents resulting in pipeline damage in large part because more people are calling before digging. In 2008, there were 6.44 pipeline damage incidents per 1,000 requests to locate underground utilities. In 2020, the number dropped to 2.5 incidents per 1,000 requests to locate.

Damage prevention rules include requirements for pipeline companies to notify nearby residents of the presence of certain pipelines, signage warning of the presence of pipelines and providing locators for parties who