In an effort to make sure emergency personnel have the information they need when summoned to pipeline incidents, the U.S. Department of Transportation has announced plans to hold an Emergency Responder Forum November 15, 2011 in Washington, D.C.

During the forum, the DOT’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) will address several recent pipeline incidents which revealed that some communities are not adequately prepared to respond to significant natural gas and hazardous liquid pipeline emergencies

Approximately 150 leaders from the emergency response community, the government and the pipeline industry are expected to attend the forum, which will initiate the development of an action plan for improving emergency responders’ ability to prepare for and respond to pipeline emergencies.

In the coming weeks, information on the forum will be updated at www.primis.phmsa.dot.gov/meetings/and on the pipeline safety awareness website at www.opsweb.phmsa.dot.gov/pipelineforum/index.html.