WASHINGTON, District of Columbia, April 7, 2025 – Amy Andryszak, President & CEO of the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, released the following statement in appreciation of the U.S. Department of Transportation for recognizing the importance of pipeline safety as one of their first official acts.
“The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) commends U.S. Transportation Secretary Sean P. Duffy and Acting Administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration Ben Kochman for issuing the advisory recognizing the critical importance of Pipeline Safety Management Systems (PSMS) and safety culture. Safety guides everything we do, and INGAA’s goal is zero pipeline incidents. These safety management systems are important tools in our journey to achieve that goal.
“INGAA members began developing PSMS in the mid-to-late 2000s, continuously improving and maturing these systems through their system-wide application. Moreover, INGAA representatives served on a task group formed in 2012 to develop a consensus standard on PSMS to address the National Transportation Safety Board’ recommendation. This standard, known as Recommended Practice 1173. Since the publication of RP1173, INGAA and the INGAA Foundation have promoted the implementation of PSMS through annual workshops and the sharing of leading practices among members.
“We are committed to improving safety culture, which is demonstrated by conducting safety culture assessments every three years since 2013. Participating members collaborate to develop improvements based on learnings from these assessments, benchmark against their peers, and identify continuous improvement opportunities. Subsequent assessments are used to evaluate progress and identify further areas for improvement.
“Our members acknowledge that improving safety performance is both essential and an ongoing journey, and we appreciate the support of Secretary Duffy and Acting Administrator Kochman in advancing safety management systems.
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INGAA represents the U.S. natural gas pipeline industry. INGAA’s members deliver clean, abundant, affordable natural gas throughout North America and operate approximately 200,000 miles of pipelines that serve as an indispensable link between natural gas producers and consumers.
