Pipelines 101: A Quick Reference Guide

All across the country people are fighting pipelines that carry fracked gas and oil through their communities. It’s not just the Dakota Access pipeline; activists in Illinois, Florida, New York,  Connecticut and beyond are fighting dangerous pipelines in their area.

This fact sheet provides basic information that will help you begin your fight, with information on the types of pipelines that exist, and how they are different when it comes to regulation and approval. Most importantly, you’ll want to know who is approving these pipelines, who is overseeing them, and who, at the government level, can stop it. 

Here are some quick facts on pipelines included in the fact sheet:  

• The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulates existing pipelines but cannot approve or issue permits for proposed pipelines. 
• States approve and oversee intrastate pipelines (pipelines within a state's borders). This is often done through state public utility commissions. 
• The federal government has more authority over interstate pipelines (pipelines that go across state lines). 
• The pro-pipeline Federal Energy Regulatory Commission has the ultimate authority over interstate gas pipelines, but other federal regulators have important input such as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and the EPA in specific areas. 
• The public can submit objections and demand the pipeline be rerouted. 

Read the fact sheet and then visit your representatives and tell them why you don't want a pipeline in your community. Tell them fracking and the buildout of dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure is bad for our climate, our water and our environment.