List of pipeline accidents in the United States in 2023 explained

The following is a list of pipeline accidents in the United States in 2023. It is one of several lists of U.S. pipeline accidents. See also list of natural gas and oil production accidents in the United States.

Incidents

This is not a complete list of all pipeline accidents. For natural gas alone, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), a United States Department of Transportation agency, has collected data on more than 3,200 accidents deemed serious or significant since 1987.

A "significant incident" results in any of the following consequences:

• fatality or injury requiring in-patient hospitalization
• $50,000 or more in total costs, measured in 1984 dollars
• liquid releases of five or more barrels (42 US gal/barrel)
• releases resulting in an unintentional fire or explosion

PHMSA and the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) post incident data, and results of investigations, into accidents involving pipelines that carry a variety of products, including natural gas, oil, diesel fuel, gasoline, kerosene, jet fuel, carbon dioxide, and other substances. Occasionally pipelines are repurposed to carry different products.^[1]

• On January 4, Colonial Pipeline's Line 3 leaked about 2,500 gallons of petroleum products, near Danville, Virginia. The cause was not immediately known.^[2]
• On March 29, a crude oil pipeline controller switched receiving tanks at a crude station without reducing pressure, causing a high pressure condition on a connected pipeline in Midland County, Texas. A valve on the pipeline shut off, causing a filter pot to break. Leak sensing alarms went off, but the pipeline controller continued to pump crude through the broken filter for about 2 1/2 hours. About 402,000 gallons of crude were spilled at the leak.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Pipeline Incident Flagged Files PHMSA. Phmsa.dot.gov. https://web.archive.org/web/20191213220458/https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics/pipeline/pipeline-incident-flagged-files. December 13, 2019. 2019-04-12. live.
2. News: January 5, 2023 . U.S. pipeline regulator probing 60-barrel leak on Colonial's Line 3 -source . Reuters . January 8, 2023.
3. https://portal.phmsa.dot.gov/analytics/saw.dll?Dashboard&PortalPath=%2Fshared%2FPDM%20Public%20Website%2F_portal%2FOperator%20Dashboard&Action=Navigate&var1=dashboard.variables[%27opidss%27]&cov1=%22PHP%20-%20Operator%20Information%22.%22Operator%20ID%22&val1=32634