In January, the NGA Public Awareness Committee official launched its Four-Year Effectiveness Study. Once again, the Committee will work with Great Blue Research. The study seeks to measure the four year effectiveness of each participating companies’ Pipeline Public Awareness Programs in accordance with the Pipeline Safety Improvement Act (PSIA) of 2002 and the American Petroleum Institute (API) Recommended Practice (RP) 1162, ‘‘Public Awareness Programs for Pipeline Operators, 1st edition, December 2003.

A baseline evaluation was completed in 2006 with subsequent evaluations to be done every four years. The most recent evaluation was completed in 2021. The primary areas of investigation for the survey instrument include:

• Overall awareness of natural gas pipelines
• Perceptions and concerns surrounding pipeline safety
• Knowledge and understanding of pipeline leaks
• Behavior in reaction to detected gas leaks
• Awareness of Call Before You Dig/811
• Awareness and recall of applicable NGA/member natural gas pipeline safety efforts
• Sources for information regarding pipeline safety

Great Blue will use a mix of digital and telephone survey methodology as the primary means of data collection. Great Blue will work directly with participating members to determine target audiences and at the conclusion of the study each company will receive their report.