Integrity management: Keeping gas pipelines safe
Our integrity management program helps us maintain safe, compliant natural gas pipelines.
How it started
The Pipeline Safety Improvement Act of 2002 requires natural gas pipeline operators like Alliant Energy to develop and implement integrity management programs. These are processes to inspect, assess and maintain natural gas pipelines based on industry best practices.
Through our integrity management program, we:
- Identify high-consequence areas.
- Regularly inspect pipelines through leak surveys and other methods.
- Promptly address potential problems.
- Perform routine maintenance such as corrosion control.
- Communicate pipeline safety issues to public officials, emergency responders and the public.
What are high-consequence areas?
These are spaces that require special focus on safety, including:
- Facilities difficult to evacuate such as hospitals, prisons, schools and assisted-living facilities.
- Outdoor areas where 20 or more people gather, like playgrounds, campgrounds, stadiums and beaches.
- Buildings occupied by 20 or more people on a regular basis such as churches, office buildings and malls.
We prioritize pipeline inspections based on these locations’ specific risks or threats (for example, extreme weather or potential pipeline damage from digging).
If we discover a potential problem during an inspection, our crews respond and fix it, following current industry standards.