Tuesday, November 29, 2011
Staff report
YOUNGSTOWN
Ohio ranks as the fourth-worst state when it comes to the transparency of pipeline-safety agencies, according to a new study by Pipeline Safety Trust, a nonprofit fuel transportation safety advocate.
The study looked at websites of public-safety agencies and the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration to determine how easily pipeline safety information can be obtained by the public.
The study sought contact information for agency staff; contact information for pipeline companies; pipeline safety regulations; transmission pipeline maps; incident data; inspection records; enforcement records; and excavation damage data.
A state was awarded 3 points if a subject area was “easy to find,” 2 points if it was “moderately easy to find,” 1 point for “difficult to find” and zero points if the information could not be located.
Pipeline Safety Trust gave Ohio zero points in six of the eight categories; it got 1 point for contact information for pipeline companies and 2 points for easy access to regulations.
Ohio this year has experienced two major pipeline incidents.
On Feb. 10, a portion of the Tennessee Gas Pipeline exploded in Hanoverton Township in Columbiana County.
On Nov. 16, a portion of the same pipeline in Athens County exploded, sending flames hundreds of feet into the air.
The study said 75 percent of states “do an abysmal job of providing enough information so the public, local governments, or state legislators can determine much about pipeline safety in those states or how those agencies are performing.”