The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America (INGAA) and its member companies announce the update of their Integrity Management – Continuous Improvement (IMCI) program. The IMCI program has guided INGAA’s safety efforts for over a decade. Today’s IMCI 2.0 update builds upon years of safety leadership and technological progress by the natural gas transmission pipeline industry, as well as informed recommendations from third-party stakeholders, and ensures that our safety efforts are complementing our work towards net-zero greenhouse gas emissions. Through the IMCI program, INGAA members reaffirm their commitment to pipeline safety, incorporating the latest advanced technologies and processes to ensure the safe, reliable, and clean transport and delivery of natural gas to families and businesses across the country.
“Safety—of employees, contractors, communities, and the environment—has always been the number one priority for our members,” said Amy Andryszak, President and CEO of INGAA and the INGAA Foundation. “Our updated IMCI 2.0 program reflects this commitment and demonstrates our members’ intense focus on the integrity of our nation’s natural gas systems. The safety of our energy delivery infrastructure is not only fundamental to our economy, but essential to furthering our environmental goals and facilitating the use of next generation fuels.”
The updated IMCI commitments provide a foundation to advance INGAA members’ ongoing pipeline safety efforts while also progressing towards our climate goals. The program is comprised of a series of initiatives to bolster the industry’s work towards zero pipeline incidents and net-zero greenhouse gas emissions from natural gas transmission and storage operations. Key program elements include:
- Regular Stakeholder Engagement
- Transportation and Storage of Renewable Natural Gas
- Transportation and Storage of Hydrogen
- Rupture Detection and Response
- Managing Emissions from Integrity and Maintenance Work
- Development of an American National Standards Institute Standard for Managing Geohazards
- Integration of Electro-Magnetic Acoustic Transducer In-Line Inspection into Standards
- Regulatory Acceptance of Non-Traditional Pipe
“The IMCI program is a cornerstone initiative for our members, reinforcing the safety efforts implemented daily by operators, as well as guiding long-term goals we have set as an industry,” said Ben Kochman, Director of Pipeline Safety Policy at INGAA. “I am proud of the tremendous work and collaboration that went into this most recent update and look forward to continuing to advance the natural gas transmission industry’s safety efforts.”
More information about INGAA’s IMCI program can be found at ingaa.org.
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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.
