A new government report points to increased safety risks brought on by the shale gale. As domestic oil and gas production has increased, it has led to changes in the transportation sector as more hydrocarbons are now being shipped by rail.

The U.S. Government Accountability Office (GAO) stated that there are higher risks of accidents as a result of increased usage of pipeline and rail systems to transport oil and gas.

The report cited data from the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA) that refinery receipts of domestic crude by pipeline increased by nearly 25% from 2008 to 2012. However, production continues to outpace this transportation capacity and is requiring other options besides pipelines such as truck, rail and barge with the bulk of the pipeline systems being used to ship production having been built in the 1950s, 1960s and 1970s.

Not only are these systems older, but their designs were originally intended to move volumes south-to-north. As production basins have shifted to Western Canada, North Dakota and the Appalachian Basin, systems have reversed flow.

“While pipelines transport the majority of oil and gas in the United States, recent development of crude oil in parts of the country underserved by pipeline has led shippers to use other modes, with rail seeing the largest percentage increase. Although pipeline operators and railroads have generally good safety records, the increased transportation of these flammable hazardous materials creates the potential for serious incidents,” the report said.

According to the EIA, crude deliveries to refineries by rail have increased from 4 million barrels (MMbbl) in 2008 to 30 MMbbl in 2012 while truck deliveries have increased 90% and barge deliveries have increased an astounding 200% in this same time frame.

Since many of the production regions that have been unlocked by unconventional drilling technology are in rural areas, pipelines built to transport these volumes are generally not subject to U.S. Department of Transportation (DOT) safety regulations. These include emergency response protocols.

“Historically, gathering pipelines were smaller and operated at lower pressure and thus posed less risk than long-distance pipelines,” the report said. “But the recent increase in their size and pressure raises safety concerns because they could affect a greater area in the event of an incident,” the report said.

According to the Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, shale development will lead to the construction of about 14,000 miles of new gas gathering pipelines and about 7,800 miles of new oil gathering pipelines from 2011 through 2035.

The report noted that in 2011, DOT reviewed safety regulations related to gathering pipelines, but had yet to announce any new proposals. In addition, GAO found that most states also do not regulate gathering pipelines in rural areas, which extends the safety risks for new systems.

While the federal government has been slow to react to the construction of these gathering systems, both Texas and North Dakota have created their own legislation to create more oversight of rural systems.

The report noted that many of the new unregulated gathering systems are safer than older systems because they are less susceptible to corrosion and are built to the same specifications as large transmission lines.

Despite the safety improvements, the report stated that the lack of oversight was a safety concern, especially since many of these new pipelines were being built near populated areas.

“Response planning in rural areas with unregulated gathering lines may be inadequate to address a major incident. Transmission pipeline operators with pipelines similar in size to the new gathering pipelines are required to develop comprehensive emergency response plans and coordinate with local emergency responders,” the report. It also noted that these responders may not be able to adequately respond to emergencies related to gathering lines if they don’t have access to certain information.

Rail shipments of hydrocarbons are also in need of increased oversight, according to the report. From 2007 to 2011, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration reported an average of 14 fatalities per year related to pipeline accidents compared to 3,675 fatalities from large truck accidents and 730 fatalities from rail accidents in 2010.

The report describes DOT guidelines for testing and packaging of crude oil as vague. GAO also stated that unit trains transporting crude do not fall under DOT comprehensive emergency response planning requirements as they only pertain to individual tank cars.

“This raises concerns about the adequacy of emergency response preparedness, especially in rural areas where there may be fewer resources to respond to a serious incident,” the report said.

To alleviate these concerns, the GAO recommended that DOT’s move forward in a timely manner with proposed rulemaking to address safety risks associated with gathering pipelines will also improve the clarity of its safety procedures for rail shipments of crude. DOT generally concurred with these assessments and is moving forward on new safety procedures, according to GAO.