Page 20 - Tennessee 811 Magazine 2021 Issue 1

Tennessee’s Pipeline Emergency Responders Initiative
By Craig Ingram
Public Awareness Manager Tennessee811
Most of Tennessee’s pipeline operators run distribution systems (your local natural gas company) or transmission systems (think cross country and high pressure). These pipeline operators have regulatory requirements at the state and federal level that obligate them to engage in awareness and education outreach efforts. Operators use mailings, in-person liaison meetings, and other creative methods to meet their regulatory requirements. Tennessee 811’s Partners
In Protecting Everyone (PIPE) meetings are an example of a cooperative effort to meet operators’ baseline requirements.
One of the target audiences of these efforts are the emergency officials who would be involved in responding in the event of a pipeline incident. As you can imagine, it’s important that emergency officials are aware of the pipeline infrastructure inside their jurisdiction so that they can prepare for an appropriate response, both in terms of training and equipment. Adequate preparation hinges on the relationship between pipeline operators and emergency officials, and operators are routinely able to supplement local emergency response resources when shortcomings are revealed through healthy communication.
The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a division of the U.S. Department of Transportation, is leading an effort to expand the availability of pipeline emergency response training through public-private partnerships that
bring together operators, emergency officials, and other relevant stakeholders. The program is referred to as the Pipeline Emergency Responders Initiative (PERI). PERI Programs are intended to be state specific, so PHMSA is actively coordinating meetings across the country to bring together interested partners and develop steering committees that will drive the program forward in each state.
PHMSA’s website indicates that they have completed PERI outreach efforts in 17 states, including our very own state of Tennessee. A handful of calls and virtual meetings have led to the establishment of a steering committee that includes representation from our state’s operators, response agencies, regulators, and one-call system. While Tennessee’s PERI Program is best described as being in its infancy, we’ve got a pool of resources to help fuel our continued development and growth. PHMSA created a toolkit of existing documentation and has pointed members of the steering committee to contacts in the neighboring state of Georgia where the idea of PERI was first incubated and launched.
Tennessee 811 is excited to explore this concept alongside the other interested parties and we’ll continue to provide updates on the program through this magazine and other channels. To learn more about PERI, visit https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/pipeline/peri/pipeline- emergency-responders-initiative-peri-overview or Google “PHMSA PERI”. If you’d like to serve on the growing steering committee, send me an email at cingram@tennessee811.com and I’ll get you looped in.
18 • Tennessee811 2021, Issue 1