Planning and Development Services

Distribution pipelines are all around us. Are you planning to dig? Doing a home-improvement project? Planting a tree? Installing a fence or a deck? CALL 811 BEFORE YOU DIG! It's the law.

Whether you are planning to do it yourself or hire a professional, smart digging means calling 811 before each job. Homeowners often make risky assumptions about whether or not they should get their utility lines marked, but every digging job requires a call-even small projects like planting trees and shrubs. The depth of utility lines varies and there may be multiple utility lines in a common area. If you hit an underground utility line while digging, you can harm yourself or those around you, disrupt service to an entire neighborhood, and potentially be responsible for fines and repair costs.

The "Call Before You Dig" program provides a national phone number to help protect you from unintentionally hitting underground utility lines while working on digging projects. Calling before you dig is required by state law. See RCW 19.122.

If you smell natural gas and suspect a small natural gas leak in your home, take the following steps:

• Evacuate everyone.
• Do not operate any electrical switches. Sparking could ignite the gas.
  
• Do not light matches.
• Turn off the gas valve located at the gas meter with a wrench or other suitable tool.
• If the leaking gas ignites, do not try to put out the flames. Call the fire department at 911.
• From a phone outside your home and away from the gas leak, call Cascade Natural Gas from the toll-free emergency number. Do NOT use the phone in your house! Even tiny sparks can ignite gas vapors.

24-hour emergency contact number for Washington and Oregon: 1-888-522-1130

Four transmission pipelines cross Skagit County carrying natural gas or other hazardous liquids. To see if a transmission pipeline runs through your property, use our iMap program. 1. Click here to open iMap in a new window. 2. In the upper right corner, choose "View Layers." 3. In the upper right hand corner, under "Select View," choose "Transmission Pipelines." 4. On the left side, click to search by address (or another method) to find your property.

iMap instructions

Underground pipelines are everywhere. More than two million miles of pipelines crisscross the United States safely transporting natural gas, gasoline and other products every day. Understanding where pipelines are located, potential hazards, and how to identify and respond to a potential leak will keep your family, employees, and community safe.

If you're within 100 feet of a transmission pipeline in unincorporated Skagit County, SCC 14.16.835 requires you to consult with the pipeline operator before the County can issue you a building permit or approve a land division. Consultation Area Diagram [Pdf]

Why pipeline consultation?

Early consultation is recommended by the Pipelines and Informed Planning Alliance November 2010 Final Report, sponsored by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's Office of Pipeline Safety, part of the U.S. Department of Transportation.

The report recommends local governments require early consultation between property developers and pipeline operators, before a project is approved, to "avoid situations where transmission pipeline operators learn of proposed land use and development projects only after the design is complete or construction begins. In those situations, it is often difficult or impossible to make cost-effective changes that may be needed to enhance public safety and ensure operator access to the pipeline facilities.

"How does consultation work?

After you submit a complete application to the County planning department, the County will e-mail your application to any nearby pipeline operator and request consultation. The pipeline operator will respond directly to you, with a CC to the County.

Being able to recognize a pipeline marker is very important. Below are some examples of what a pipeline marker may look like in your area.

Call Before You Dig

• Washington Call Before You Dig
• Regional Utility Notification Center
• National Call Before You Dig
• National One-Call Ticket Management System
• RCW 19.122
  

• Utilities and Transportation Commission's pipeline safety website
• Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
• United States Department of Transportation
• Interstate Natural Gas Association of America
• Pipelines and Informed Planning Alliance
• Pipeline Safety Trust
• National Association of Counties PIPA Summary Report for Elected and Appointed County Officials
• Skagit County Department of Emergency Management Pipeline Preparedness for Emergency Responders
• Final Skagit County Report for PHMSA Pipeline Safety Technical Assistance Grant
  

• Williams Northwest Pipeline
• Olympic Pipe Line Company
• Kinder Morgan
• Cascade Natural Gas

• Pipeline Safety in Washington State [pdf]
• www.safetyadvantage.com
• Archived Skagit County Pipeline Ordinance Adoption Process

• NTSB report on Bellingham pipeline accident
• Bellingham Herald reporting on Bellingham pipeline accident
• New York Times: Pipeline Spills Put Safeguards Under Scrutiny

What are pipelines? Where are they? And why do we need them in the first place?

The energy transportation network of the United States consists of over 2.5 million miles of pipelines. That's enough to circle the earth about 100 times. These pipelines are operated by approximately 3,000 companies, large and small.

Based on data generated from annual reports to PHMSA from pipeline operators, the network includes approximately:

• 175,000 miles of onshore and offshore hazardous liquid pipeline
• 321,000 miles of onshore and offshore gas transmission and Gathering pipelines
• 2,066,000 miles of natural gas distribution mains and service pipelines
• 114 active LNG plants connected to our natural gas transmission and distribution systems
• Propane Distribution System pipelines

Although pipelines exist in all fifty states, most of us are unaware that this vast network even exists. This is due to the strong safety record of pipelines and the fact that most are located underground. Installing pipelines underground protects them from damage and helps protect our communities as well.

Most hazardous liquid and gas pipelines are buried underground. To ensure your safety and avoid damaging underground lines, you must call your state One-Call center before digging. Call Before you Dig!

Most hazardous liquid and natural gas transmission pipelines are located underground in rights-of-way (ROW). A ROW consists of consecutive property easements acquired by, or granted to, the pipeline company. The ROW provides sufficient space to perform pipeline maintenance and inspections, as well as a clear zone where encroachments can be monitored and prevented. ROW Briefing.

Pipeline operators are required to post brightly-colored markers along their ROW to indicate the presence of - but not necessarily the exact location of - their underground pipelines. Markers come in a variety of shapes and sizes. They contain information about the nearby pipeline as well as emergency contact information for the company that operates it. Pipeline Markers Briefing

Natural gas distribution systems consist of distribution main lines and service lines. Distribution main lines are generally installed in underground utility easements alongside streets and highways. Distribution service lines run from the distribution main line into homes or businesses.

Distribution main and service lines are not generally indicated by above-ground markers. To ensure safety and avoid damaging underground lines, anyone planning to dig or excavate is required by law to contact their state One-Call center 48 to 72 hours before digging. Call Before You Dig!

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Pipelines play a vital role in our daily lives. Cooking and cleaning, the daily commute, air travel and the heating of homes and businesses are all made possible by the readily available fuels delivered through pipelines. Click here to see a list of products transported through pipelines.

These routine activities really add up in terms of energy use. Natural gas provides for 24% of our country’s total energy consumption, and petroleum provides for another 39%.

Because such huge volumes of hazardous liquid and natural gas must be transported, the only feasible way to do so is through pipelines. Pipelines do not crowd our highways and waterways as trucks and barges would, nor do they contribute to traffic congestion or highway accidents.

Pipelines, in short, are practical and safe. Here is more information about pipelines that you may find interesting:

• Natural Gas Pipeline Systems: From the wellhead to the consumer
• Petroleum Pipeline Systems: From the wellhead to the consumer
• Basics of gas and oil exploration
• Technologies of gas and oil exploration
• Early days of the oil industry
• Pipeline construction

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Natural gas is a colorless, odorless substance. Because natural gas cannot be detected on its own, an odorant is added to help consumers smell gas. These signs may also indicate a natural gas leak: a hissing sound; dust, water or vegetation blowing around pipeline; or discolored or dead vegetation around pipelines.

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If you encounter a problem trying to locate a utility, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission can assist you. You can have underground utilities located, for FREE, by calling 811 or 800-424-5555. You will be asked for the address where the work is taking place, a description of the work being done, the area where the utility lines need to be located, and the date the work will be taking place.

If your locate doesn't happen, is late, inadequate, or inaccurate, please call the commission at 1-888-333-WUTC

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