Guide for Communicating Emergency Response Information for Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquids Pipelines (2014)

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H A Z A R D O U S M A T E R I A L S C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M HMCRP REPORT 14 Guide for Communicating Emergency Response Information for Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquids Pipelines Charles Jennings Norman Groner Chaim Roberts Andrea Fatica Christian regenhard Center for emergenCy response studies New York, NY Michael Hildebrand Greg Noll hildebrand and noll assoCiates Lancaster, PA Rae Zimmerman rae Zimmerman, inC. New York, NY Subscriber Categories Pipelines • Security and Emergencies • Terminals and Facilities TRANSPORTAT ION RESEARCH BOARD WASHINGTON, D.C. 2014 www.TRB.org Research sponsored by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

HMCRP REPORT 14 Project HM-15 ISSN 2150-4849 ISBN 978-0-309-30831-1 Library of Congress Control Number 2014958651 © 2014 National Academy of Sciences. All rights reserved. COPYRIGHT INFORMATION Authors herein are responsible for the authenticity of their materials and for obtaining written permissions from publishers or persons who own the copyright to any previously published or copyrighted material used herein. Cooperative Research Programs (CRP) grants permission to reproduce material in this publication for classroom and not-for-profit purposes. Permission is given with the understanding that none of the material will be used to imply TRB, AASHTO, FAA, FHWA, FMCSA, FTA, or Transit Development Corporation endorsement of a particular product, method, or practice. It is expected that those reproducing the material in this document for educational and not-for-profit uses will give appropriate acknowledgment of the source of any reprinted or reproduced material. For other uses of the material, request permission from CRP. NOTICE The project that is the subject of this report was a part of the Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program, conducted by the Transportation Research Board with the approval of the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The members of the technical panel selected to monitor this project and to review this report were chosen for their special competencies and with regard for appropriate balance. The report was reviewed by the technical panel and accepted for publication according to procedures established and overseen by the Transportation Research Board and approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council. The opinions and conclusions expressed or implied in this report are those of the researchers who performed the research and are not necessarily those of the Transportation Research Board, the National Research Council, or the program sponsors. The Transportation Research Board of the National Academies, the National Research Council, and the sponsors of the Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program do not endorse products or manufacturers. Trade or manufacturers’ names appear herein solely because they are considered essential to the object of the report. HAZARDOUS MATERIALS COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM The safety, security, and environmental concerns associated with transportation of hazardous materials are growing in number and complexity. Hazardous materials are substances that are flammable, explosive, or toxic or that, if released, produce effects that would threaten human safety, health, the environment, or property. Hazardous materials are moved throughout the country by all modes of freight transportation, including ships, trucks, trains, airplanes, and pipelines. The private sector and a diverse mix of government agencies at all levels are responsible for controlling the transport of hazardous materials and for ensuring that hazardous cargoes move without incident. This shared goal has spurred the creation of several venues for organizations with relat- ed interests to work together in preventing and responding to hazardous materials incidents. The freight transportation and chemical industries; government regulatory and enforcement agencies at the federal and state levels; and local emergency planners and responders routinely share information, resources, and expertise. Nevertheless, there has been a long- standing gap in the system for conducting hazardous materials safety and security research. Industry organizations and government agencies have their own research programs to support their mission needs. Collaborative research to address shared problems takes place occasionally, but mostly occurs on an ad hoc basis. Acknowledging this gap in 2004, the U.S. DOT Office of Hazardous Materials Safety, the Federal Motor Carrier Safety Administration, the Federal Railroad Administration, and the U.S. Coast Guard pooled their resources for a study. Under the auspices of the Transportation Research Board (TRB), the National Research Council of the National Academies ap- pointed a committee to examine the feasibility of creating a cooperative re- search program for hazardous materials transportation, similar in concept to the National Cooperative Highway Research Program (NCHRP) and the Transit Cooperative Research Program (TCRP). The committee concluded, in TRB Special Report 283: Cooperative Research for Hazardous Materials Transportation: Defining the Need, Converging on Solutions, that the need for cooperative research in this field is significant and growing, and the committee recommended establishing an ongoing program of cooperative research. In 2005, based in part on the findings of that report, the Safe, Accountable, Flexible, Efficient Transportation Equity Act: A Legacy for Users (SAFETEA-LU) authorized the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to contract with the National Academy of Sciences to conduct the Hazardous Materials Cooperative Research Program (HMCRP). The HMCRP is intended to complement other U.S. DOT research programs as a stakeholder-driven, problem-solving program, re- searching real-world, day-to-day operational issues with near- to mid-term time frames. Published reports of the HAZARDOUS MATERIALS COOPERATIVE RESEARCH PROGRAM are available from: Transportation Research Board Business Office 500 Fifth Street, NW Washington, DC 20001 and can be ordered through the Internet at: http://www.national-academies.org/trb/bookstore Printed in the United States of America

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C O O P E R A T I V E R E S E A R C H P R O G R A M S AUTHOR ACKNOWLEDGMENTS This guide was prepared under HMCRP Project 15, “Guide for Communicating Emergency Response Information for Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquids Pipelines,” sponsored by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of the U.S. Department of Transportation. A panel of experts, represent- ing diverse aspects of the pipeline industry, regulators, and emergency responders, oversaw this project. The research team acknowledges and thanks the members of the HMCRP Project Panel on Best Practices in Hazardous Materials Pipeline Emergency Response Plans (DHM 015) and the Transportation Research Board Staff Officer for their input and guidance. The team would also like to thank the participants in the research workshops and the reviewers who assisted with developing the guide. We also acknowledge the guidance and support provided by the HMCRP Project 15 panel. In addition, a group of stakeholders met in the summer of 2013 to review a preliminary guide. The stakeholders represented major national public safety and local government organizations. This group contributed valuable insights to the development of this product. CRP STAFF FOR HMCRP REPORT 14 Christopher W. Jenks, Director, Cooperative Research Programs William C. Rogers, Senior Program Officer Charlotte Thomas, Senior Program Assistant Eileen P. Delaney, Director of Publications Kami Cabral, Editor HMCRP PROJECT 15 PANEL Richard L. Scott, Dow Chemical Company, Victoria, TX (Chair) Richard G. Miller, Burke, VA James Narva, Narva & Associates, Inc., Maitland, FL Thomas J. Richardson, Seattle Fire Department, Conway, WA Christina Sames, American Gas Association, Washington, DC Karen A. Simon, American Petroleum Institute, Washington, DC Sam Hall, PHMSA Liaison

F O R E W O R D By William C. Rogers Staff Officer Transportation Research Board HMCRP Report 14: Guide for Communicating Emergency Response Information for Natural Gas and Hazardous Liquids Pipelines provides pipeline operators and emergency responders with guidance on how to share appropriate information in advance of a pipeline emergency so that the response plan can be quickly and effectively put into operation with the assur- ance that the best steps are taken in correct sequence to bring optimum resolution to the pipeline emergency. The guide focuses on the appropriate emergency response content that pipeline operators should provide to emergency responders, effective means of disseminat- ing this guidance by pipeline operators to recipient emergency response organizations and by those emergency response organizations to sub-units, and strategies for implementing and exercising emergency response plans. Pipelines that transport hazardous materials are ubiquitous in the United States, crossing under water and over land from densely populated areas to the most remote uninhabited loca- tions. Current federal regulations require pipeline operators to develop emergency response plans and implement public awareness programs. Under these regulations, pipeline opera- tors must provide the affected public with information about how to recognize, respond to, and report pipeline emergencies. Emergency responders and local public officials must be provided information about the location of transmission pipelines to enhance emergency response and community growth planning. Affected municipalities, school districts, busi- nesses, and residents must be advised of pipeline locations. Under HMCRP Project 15, the Christian Regenhard Center for Emergency Response Studies was asked to (1) summarize current federal and state, and representative local and tribal regulations and ordinances governing emergency response plans for natural gas and hazardous liquids pipelines; (2) identify and describe lessons learned and best practices from recent significant U.S. pipeline emergencies with respect to communicating the emer- gency response plans and their effectiveness; (3) develop a failure mode and effect analysis of the process for disseminating, exercising, and implementing emergency response plans for natural gas and hazardous liquids pipeline incidents, including the roles and responsibilities of both pipeline operators and emergency responders; (4) and prepare a guide for pipeline operators and emergency responders to aid them in how to share appropriate content in advance of a pipeline emergency so that plans can be quickly and effectively put into opera- tions with assurance that the best steps are taken in correct sequence to bring optimum resolution to the pipeline emergency.

C O N T E N T S 1 Summary 3 Chapter 1 About the Guide 3 Purpose and Scope 4 Limitations 4 How to Use the Guide 5 Chapter 2 Introduction: Why Plan for Communications at Pipeline Incidents 5 Selected Characteristics of Pipelines 8 Review of Significant Pipeline Incidents: The Critical Role of Communication 11 Public Safety Emergency Responders: Learning About Pipelines in Your Service Area 11 Pipeline Operators: Learning About Emergency Responders in Your Service Area 12 The Pipeline Regulatory Framework: How It Relates to Planning for Communications and Response 14 Chapter 3 Decisions, Roles, and Organization Affiliations: The Role Determines the Decisions and Information Needs 14 Common Decisions 14 Key Roles in Pipeline Emergencies 18 Key Information Needs 24 Chapter 4 Developing and Exercising the Communications Plans 24 The Critical Role of Public Safety Emergency Communications (PSAP/Dispatch) Centers 25 Planning Process 27 Putting Plans into Practice: Exercises 30 Chapter 5 About the Project 32 References 34 Appendices 1–3 Note: Photographs, figures, and tables in this report may have been converted from color to grayscale for printing. The electronic version of the report (posted on the web at www.trb.org) retains the color versions.