According to National Transportation Safety Board statistics, pipelines are the safest and most efficient means of transporting natural gas and hazardous liquid products. In the United States alone, there are over 200,000 miles of petroleum pipelines and 300,000 miles of natural gas transmission pipelines in use every day. These pipelines transport natural gas, which provides about 24 percent of all the energy used in the United States, and over 700 million gallons of petroleum products per day, to American consumers and businesses. Local distribution companies (LDCs) deliver natural gas to most homes and business through underground main and utility service lines. These lines cover over 800,000 miles of underground pipeline in the United States.

However, pipeline incidents do occur. According to industry studies, the leading cause of pipeline incidents is third party damage caused by excavation without notification to the One-Call. Emergency response agencies are critical partners for pipeline companies to plan coordinated responses to these incidents when they occur. The Kansas Pipeline Association educates emergency responders through a series of seminars put on throughout the state each year. These seminars are free to agencies that wish to attend.