Emergency Responder Info

The Pipeline Emergencies Project

Easton Utilities operates over 129 miles of distribution natural gas pipelines in and around the Town of Easton at pressures ranging from 0.25 psi to 60 psi. At our interconnect with the Transmission pipe system, pressures typically operate at 300 pounds. That interconnect is also the location of a Propane Air Peak Shaving Facility.

Easton Utilities' goal is to operate its system as safely and efficiently as possible. To do so, in the event of an incident, we need the coordination of local emergency responders. Yearly, Easton Utilities meets with the Easton Fire and Police Departments to discuss emergency response and planning as it pertains to pipeline incidents. As a resource, the Pipeline Emergencies Project is utilized.

The goal for the Pipeline Emergencies Project is to develop a technically accurate and credible Pipeline Emergency Response Training Curriculum for use by the oil and gas pipeline industry, federal, state, and local government agencies, and the emergency response community. The long-range vision of this project is to make these training materials available to every emergency response agency in the United States (approximately 30,000 locations), at no cost to the end user, through funding from the U.S. Department of Transportation's Office of Pipeline Safety.

The Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) at the Department of Transportation (DOT) administers a national regulatory program to assure the safe transportation of natural gas, petroleum and other hazardous materials by pipeline. OPS develops regulations and other approaches to risk management to assure safety in design, construction, testing, operation, maintenance and emergency response of pipeline facilities. Since 1986, the entire pipeline safety program has been funded by a user fee assessed on a per-mile basis on each pipeline operator OPS regulates.

The National Association of State Fire Marshals' Partnership for Excellence in Pipeline Safety is funded through a grant from OPS.

Please refer to the following resources for more information:

http://phmsa.dot.gov
http://pipelineemergencies.com