Pipelines Do Not Benefit from High Energy Prices
Shirley Neff, AOPL President & CEO
 In recent weeks, crude oil prices have been hovering in the $120+ per barrel range with retail gasoline prices at and above $4 per gallon. Given these prices, one might ask whether pipeline revenues are increasing as well. In fact, pipelines are making about the same amount per barrel of crude oil and gallon of gasoline transported as they did last year when oil was half as much and gasoline was closer to $2 per gallon.
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Pipeline Informed Planning Alliance
Richard Rabinow
The Department of Transportation (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) has launched the Pipeline Informed Planning Alliance (PIPA) to develop land use guidance for activities on and near pipeline rights-of-way (ROW). Input for PIPA came from the National Academies’ Transportation Research Board (TRB) report regarding population encroachment on pipeline rights-of-way. The DOT contracted with the TRB to prepare the report as mandated by Congress. A panel of experts from a wide variety of disciplines reviewed the available information and prepared Special Report 281: Transmission Pipelines and Land Use A Risk-Informed Approach. The report recommended that PHMSA convene a broad stakeholders group to develop mutually acceptable land use guidance and recommended practices.
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Public Awareness Programs – What are they?
 Public awareness, or the process of informing the general public about risks and how people can reduce their exposure, is of substantial importance to pipeline operators. In order to establish communications and provide information necessary to help the public understand that pipelines are the major transportation system for petroleum products and natural gas in the United States, pipeline operators have many Public Awareness Programs in place.
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Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE)
Subsurface Utility Engineering (SUE) is an engineering process that has evolved considerably over the past few decades. It has been used primarily by State transportation departments (DOTs), local highway agencies, utility companies, and highway design consultants. The SUE process combines civil engineering, surveying, and geophysics. It utilizes several technologies, including vacuum excavation and surface geophysics. Its use has become a routine requirement on highway projects in many states.
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811 – One Year Later
 May 5th marked the one year anniversary of the successful launch by the Common Ground Alliance (CGA) of the national call-before-you-dig number, 811. In the past year, over 15 million calls have been made to one-call centers since 811’s launch. Yet, with surveys showing over 50% of homeowners plan to do some sort of digging on their property over the next year, not to mention the millions of the construction workers on the job every day, use of 811 must continue to rise for Americans to achieve a higher level of safety and service reliability.
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