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Congressional
Research Service
Pipeline Security: Homeland Security Issues
in the 116th Congress
March 1, 2019
Ongoing threats against the nation's natural gas, oil, and refined product pipelines have heightened
concerns about the security risks to these pipelines, their linkage to the electric power sector, and federal
programs to protect them. In a December 2018 study, the Government Accountability Office (GAO)
stated that, since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, new threats to the nation's pipeline systems
have evolved to include sabotage by environmental activists and cyber attack or intrusion by nations. In
a 2018 Federal Register notice, the Transportation Security Administration stated that it expects pipeline
companies will report approximately 32 security incidents annually-both physical and cyber. The
Pipeline and LNG Facility Cybersecurity Preparedness Act (H.R. 370, S. 300) would require the Secretary
of Energy to enhance coordination among government agencies and the energy sector in pipeline security;
coordinate incident response and recovery; support the development of pipeline cybersecurity
applications, technologies, demonstration projects, and training curricula; and provide technical tools for
pipeline security.
Pipeline Physical Security
Congress and federal agencies have raised concerns since at least 2010 about the physical security of
energy pipelines, especially cross-border oil pipelines. These security concerns were heightened in 2016
after environmentalists in the United States disrupted five pipelines transporting oil from Canada. In
2018, the Transportation Security Administration's Surface Security Plan identified improvised explosive
devices as key risks to energy pipelines, which are vulnerable to terrorist attacks largely due to their
stationary nature, the volatility of transported products, and [their] dispersed nature. Among these risks,
according to some analysts, are the possibility of multiple, coordinated attacks with explosives on the
natural gas pipeline system, which potentially could create unprecedented challenges for restoring gas
flows.
Congressional Research Service
https://crsreports.congress.gov
IN11060
CRS INSIGHT
Prepared for Members and
Committees of Congress](ViewImageLocal?handle=hein.crs/govyij0001&div=1&collection=&method=preview&ext=.png&size=3)