INGAA Board Creates New Pipeline Safety Task Force
March 23, 2011
The development of new pipeline safety standards is the charge of a new task force formed by the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA). The new executive-level task force on pipeline safety will be headed by chairman Christopher A. Helms, executive vice president and group CEO of NiSource Gas Transmission and Storage. Helms was appointed by the INGAA board of directors.
“INGAA had taken a leadership position in the establishment of the Integrity Management Program from 1999 to 2002, and we felt it was an appropriate time to renew our commitment to this issue,” Helms says. “For the past several years, the focus of the nation’s interstate natural gas pipelines has been on a safety culture for both our companies and our suppliers, and we believe we can provide leadership and work with regulators and other stakeholders toward the common goal of safe transportation of natural gas. We feel it is of utmost importance that best practices and lessons learned be shared and that safety standards be applied throughout the industry.”
The task force, which will consist of INGAA board members, will oversee the development of the next level of pipeline safety standards because natural gas is and will continue to be a critical fuel for America’s energy future.
