Report a Pipeline Safety Incident
To report a pipeline safety incident, please FIRST call the Commission's Pipeline Safety Division at the number below, then contact the National Response Center after speaking with the Division. If you witness or are involved in a pipeline emergency or you smell gas, move to a safe location and call 911.
- Reportable Incidents
Operators must notify the Pipeline Safety Division using the emergency contact number posted above as soon as possible but not to exceed one hour following discovery of the following, as referenced in 170 IAC 5-3-4(a):
- Accidents as defined in this rule. "Accident" means a failure in a hazardous liquids pipeline system for which an accident report is required under 49 CFR 195.50.
- Incidents as defined in this rule. "Incident" means an event that:
- involves a release of gas from a pipeline or of liquefied natural gas or gas from an LNG facility and:
- a death, or personal injury necessitating inpatient hospitalization;
- estimated property damage, excluding cost of gas lost, of the operator or others, or both, of $50,000 or more; or
- unintentional estimated gas loss of 3,000,000 cubic feet or more;
- results in an emergency shutdown of an LNG facility; or
- is significant, in the judgment of the operator, even though it did not meet the criteria of the two previous clauses.
- involves a release of gas from a pipeline or of liquefied natural gas or gas from an LNG facility and:
- Other significant events, including, but not limited to, situations involving:
- traditional media attention during the event;
- high profile locations as defined by the operator in writing;
- evacuations:
- of 20 or more people;
- ordered by public safety personnel onsite;
- requested by an operator onsite; or
- of a school, hospital, or health care facility;
- rerouting of traffic or closing a roadway by public safety personnel;
- an over-pressure event that exceeds the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) plus allowable build-up (under 49 CFR 192.201);
- the possibility the same event will reoccur in a short period of time, such as repeated gas odor calls;
- a service interruption described in 170 IAC 5-3-4(d)(1); or
- an event reported to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
- Written Incident Reports
The notification of a pipeline safety incident shall be followed by a written report upon request by the Division. The written report must be provided within 20 days of the request and shall include, but not be limited to, the following, as referenced in 170 IAC 5-4-3(c):
- The name of the operator.
- The date and time of the incident.
- A definite location: street address or, if rural, locate definitely (not R.R.), 911 address.
- The number of employees injured requiring inpatient hospitalization or fatalities, or both (name, sex, age, and address).
- The number of nonemployees injured requiring inpatient hospitalization or fatalities, or both (name, sex, age, and address).
- The estimated value of total property damage and a description of the damaged property.
- A description of the accident.
- The location and a description of the operator's plant, including sketches or maps, if necessary, for clarification.
- The condition of the operator's plant as found on inspection.
- The extent of the investigation and findings.
- Unless submitted electronically, the signature of a responsible representative of the operator.
How to Submit
Written incident reports should be sent to: pipelineinspections@urc.in.gov.
- Preparedness Requirements for Gas Operators
Gas pipeline operators are required to have emergency response plans under federal law (49 C.F.R. 192.615), which are reviewed during inspections conducted by the Commission's Pipeline Safety Division and are also provided to local emergency responders. These plans must include information about how the operator will respond to various emergencies, including the personnel and equipment available, shutdown procedures, notification of fire, police and other public officials, and service restoration.
Each operator MUST also establish and maintain a liaison with the appropriate public safety answering point (i.e., 9-1-1 emergency call center) where direct access to a 9-1-1 emergency call center is available from the location of the pipeline, as well as fire, police, and other public officials.
Below is a link to a presentation by the Pipeline Safety Division that includes additional guidance on applicable regulations such as 49 C.F.R. 192.615, 49 C.F.R. 192.616, and American Petroleum Institute's Recommended Practice 1162.
Rules & Regulations
The Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 established the federal pipeline safety program and led to national safety standards for the transportation of natural gas. The law also established procedures under which states could assume the responsibility for the regulation and enforcement of these standards for intrastate pipelines under a certified agreement with the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). To participate in the program, states must adopt the minimum federal safety standards; however, they can always pass more stringent state regulations.
In 1971, the Indiana General Assembly created the Commission’s Pipeline Safety Division to serve as the state’s pipeline safety authority. The Division operates in partnership with PHMSA under a certification agreement and receives its authority under state law, specifically Ind. Code chapter 8-1-22.5, to conduct inspections, investigate incidents, and enforce state and federal safety regulations over intrastate pipelines. The Division is also responsible for investigating alleged violations of Indiana's 811 law (Indiana Code chapter 8-1-26) and reporting its findings to the Underground Plant Protection Advisory Committee. Ultimately, the Division's mission is to ensure the safe and reliable operation of Indiana’s intrastate pipeline transportation system.
The Commission has jurisdiction over 86 intrastate natural gas pipeline operators, and below are the applicable state and federal pipeline regulations, which are designed to assure safety in design, construction, inspection, testing, operation and maintenance of pipelines. It’s important to note that while there has been an increase in “emerging" pipeline commodities nationwide, such as carbon dioxide, hydrogen blends, and sustainable aviation fuel, the Commission’s Pipeline Safety Division does not have jurisdiction (including for safety and siting) and does not have any pipelines transporting these specific commodities as of 2024.
For questions regarding these and other pipeline safety regulations, contact the Division using the link below.
Federal Jurisdiction
PHMSA has jurisdiction over all interstate pipeline operators. Interstate pipelines are those that transport gas or liquids that cross state boundaries.
State Jurisdiction
The Commission has authority over intrastate pipeline operators only. Intrastate pipelines are those that transport gas or liquids within state boundaries.
Reporting & Other Requirements
In addition to incident reports, state and federal regulations require gas operators to submit other reports and notify the Pipeline Safety Division in certain situations. This section includes some helpful information regarding those reports, as well as instructions on how to submit them.
For reporting requirements for master meter operators, visit the Master Meter Operator section below.
- Annual Reports
- Service Interruption Reports
The following are the requirements for interruption of service reports:
- Each operator must keep a record of interruptions of service affecting:
- its entire system;
- a major division of its system;
- 100 or more customers at once; or
- when the operator deems the interruption of service to be significant.
- The record required in the section above shall include a statement of the:
- time;
- duration;
- extent; and
- cause; of the interruption.
- Whenever the service is intentionally interrupted for any purpose, the interruptions shall, except in emergencies, be at a time that will cause the least inconvenience to customers. Those customers who will be most seriously affected by the interruption shall, so far as possible, be notified in advance.
- Each operator must keep a record of interruptions of service affecting:
- Significant Construction Reports
Each operator must submit to the Division notification of construction that is significant to the operator, in a manner that facilitates unannounced inspections. Examples may include:
- new construction, replacement, or relocation of a jurisdictional:
- gas pipeline facility that is considered transmission by definition under 49 CFR 192.3;
- gas distribution main of a significant footage for a single project, including a cast iron or bare steel replacement project of any length;
- gas purchase point, regardless of number of customers served;
- gas distribution center station that is designed to serve at least 1,000 customers immediately or in the future; or
- hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide facility; or
- significant gas service replacement project that encompasses at least 12 city blocks or 250 services for a single project.
The notification required under this requirement must include the following:
- A description and location of work.
- The type of facility.
- The estimated start date.
- The name and address of the reporting company.
- The name, address, and telephone number of the person to be contacted concerning the project.
- All other significant information concerning the project.
- new construction, replacement, or relocation of a jurisdictional:
- Safety Related Condition Reports
Operators must submit to the Division other reports as may be required by the Division that are relevant to the safe operation of the operator's system, including the following:
- Safety related condition reports as required by 49 CFR 191.25.
- Safety related condition reports as required by 49 CFR 195.56.
- Leak Detection
Federal and state pipeline safety standards require natural gas pipeline operators to systematically patrol and survey all their transmission and distribution pipelines. These patrols and surveys are to be completed at prescribed intervals, which vary depending on specific environmental conditions or circumstances (e.g., earthquakes, construction activity, or weather conditions). The goal of these patrols and surveys is to proactively identify gas leaks or hazardous conditions that can lead to a gas leak. Advances in technology have continued to improve the effectiveness of leak detection equipment. Patrols provide evidence through visual observation of the existence of leaks and potentially hazardous conditions. Surveys, on the other hand, generally require the use of leak detection equipment designed to detect the presence of natural gas.
Indiana pipeline safety regulations go above and beyond federal regulations on requiring leak surveys to be conducted once each calendar year in areas of high-occupancy buildings, such as schools, churches, hospitals, apartment buildings, and commercial buildings. Pipeline safety regulations require natural gas distribution pipeline operators to ensure the gas they deliver is properly odorized.
This is an important safeguard and provides additional assurances that natural gas leaks will be detected. Specific requirements are prescribed to achieve this desired odor. Whichever way it is achieved, the detection and repair of hazardous natural gas leaks are of paramount importance in the safe operations of natural gas pipeline systems.
Inspections & Investigations
Historically, the Division conducts around 900-1,000 inspections days of approximately 80+ jurisdictional natural gas pipeline operators each year. Inspection types include audits of records, procedures, field inspections, and site visits on construction projects. Operator types include:
- Distribution
- Gathering lines
- Hazardous liquid
- Liquified Natural Gas
- Master meter
- Transmission
Probable violations identified during inspections lead to enforcement actions such as notice of violation letters, orders of corrective action, and possible monetary fines. According to Ind. Code chapter 8-1-22.5, the Commission can assess a $200,000 penalty per violation for each day that the violation persists, up to $2 million.
Although federal code sets the maximum time interval for inspections to be completed, the Division seeks to meet this requirement in two ways. First, the Division follows a four-year inspection plan with inspectors to examine each distribution, transmission, gathering and hazardous liquids operator every year (to perform at least one inspection) and each master meter operator every other year. This helps to balance the workload of not just the Division but the operators as well. Secondly, the Division maintains a data-driven risk model that prioritizes pipeline operators based on relative risk. This drives the Division’s risk-based matrix which helps to ascertain if more inspections or training with an operator is needed.
By design, this two-fold approach increases transparency in the inspection process while allowing the Division to evaluate an operator for risk and take proactive measures to address that risk.
- How to Find Pipeline Safety Investigations
To find investigations conducted by the Commission's Pipeline Safety Division, follow these three steps:
- Visit the Commission's Online Services Portal.
- Find the Industry tab. Using the drop-down menu, select "Pipeline Safety". Note: For pending cases, locate the Case Status tab and change the status to "Pending".
- Then, once you have completed the CAPTCHA text (I'm not a robot), click on "Search" at the bottom.
Master Meter Operators
Federal regulations define a "master meter system" as a pipeline system for distributing gas within, but not limited to, a definable area, such as a mobile home park, housing project, or apartment complex, where the operator purchases metered gas from an outside source for resale through a gas distribution pipeline system. The gas distribution pipeline system supplies the ultimate consumer who either purchases the gas directly through a meter or by other means, such as by rents.
This section includes helpful information for master meter operators on topics such as annual reporting, operator qualifications, operations and maintenance, and more.
- Master Meter Annual Report
Operators of a master meter system must file an annual report with the Commission's Pipeline Safety Division by March 15 for the previous year, as required by 170 IAC 5-3-4(e)(3). The Annual Report needs to include:
- Leak Survey
- Cathodic Protection Survey
- Valve inspection information
- Number of leaks reported, repaired, unrepaired
To download the annual report, click the link below.
How to Submit
Once complete, email the annual report to: pipelineinspections@urc.in.gov.
- Master Meter Operator Qualification Plan
Each operator shall have and follow a written qualification program. The program shall include provisions to:
- Identify covered tasks.
- Ensure through evaluation that individuals performing covered tasks are qualified.
- Allow individuals that are not qualified pursuant to this subpart to perform a covered task if directed and observed by an individual that is qualified (span of control).
- Evaluate an individual if the operator has reason to believe that the individual’s performance of a covered task contributed to an incident as defined in Part 191.
- Evaluate an individual if the operator has reason to believe that the individual is no longer qualified to perform a covered task.
- Communicate changes that affect covered tasks to individuals performing those covered tasks. As per 49 CFR 192.801, a covered task is an activity identified by the operator, that:
- Is performed on a pipeline facility;
- Is an operations or maintenance task;
- Is performed as a requirement of this part; and
- Affects the operation or integrity of the pipeline.
- Identify those covered tasks and the intervals at which evaluation of the individual’s qualifications is needed.
- Provide training, as appropriate, to ensure that individuals performing covered tasks have the necessary knowledge and skills to perform the tasks in a manner that ensures the safe operation of pipeline facilities.
- Notify the Pipeline Safety Division of the IURC if the operator significantly modifies the program after the state agency has verified that it complies with this section.
Each operator shall maintain records that demonstrate compliance with this subpart.
- Qualification records shall include:
- Identification of qualified individual(s)
- Identification of the covered tasks the individual is qualified to perform
- Date(s) of current qualification
- Qualification method(s)
- Records supporting an individual’s current qualification shall be maintained while the individual is performing the covered task. Records of prior qualification and records of individuals no longer performing covered tasks shall be retained for a period of five years.
To download the Operator Qualification Inspection Form, click the link below.
Notifying the Pipeline Safety Division
To notify the Division with any changes regarding your plan, please email: pipelineinspections@urc.in.gov.
- Operations & Maintenance
Every natural gas operator must prepare and follow a manual of written procedures for conducting operations and maintenance activities and for emergency response.
This manual must be reviewed and updated by the operator at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least one each calendar year, as required by 49 CFR 192.605(a). This regulation is augmented by the Indiana Administrative Code, 170 IAC 5-3-2(o), to include an additional paragraph (f): "The written manual required by paragraph (a) of this section, referred to as the plan in this subsection, shall ensure the safe operation of the operator's pipeline facilities. The plan shall include, by sections, the emergency, operations, and maintenance procedures for all the pipeline facilities and shall include procedures for handling abnormal operations. This plan, when submitted, becomes a regulation for the particular operator who filed it. In addition, an operator shall:- submit a copy of the plan to the Division;
- keep records necessary to administer the plan effectively;
- revise the plan as:
- experience dictates; and
- exposure of the facilities and changes in operating conditions might warrant; and
- submit to the Division all subsequent revisions of the plan not later than twenty (20) days after the effective date of the changes. Minor revisions may be made in a cover letter."
To download the Operations & Maintenance Standard Inspection Form, click the link below.
- Master Meter Seminar
About the Seminar
In May 2024, the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission’s Pipeline Safety Division hosted two regional seminars for master meter operators to expand their knowledge of the rules and regulations related to pipeline safety. Each seminar included an overview of the compliance inspection and preparation process, how to efficiently work with the PSD, damage prevention safety tips, and a review of important pipeline safety-related regulatory requirements. Click the link below to learn more.
The National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) Public Viewer enables the user to view NPMS pipeline, liquefied natural gas plant and breakout tank data in one county or federal waters area at a time, including attributes and pipeline operator contact information.
NPMS Map
National Pipeline Mapping System
In compliance with state law, the Commission’s Pipeline Safety Division has established this webpage to provide information about interstate pipeline construction throughout the state of Indiana.
Pipeline Construction Map
Interstate Pipeline Construction
This is an interactive map of Indiana buried pipeline damages that have completed the IURC's review process.
Gas Line Damages Map
Indiana Gas Line Damages Map