Here’s How You Can Find Out if There’s a Natural Gas or Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Near You

Sep 29, 2016 by

Environment

The National Pipeline Mapping System shows you the unseen dangers that may be right below your feet.


Industry gas (oil) pipeline construction site
Photo Credit: Sergey_R/Shutterstock

The interstate Colonial Pipeline, which shut down for 12 days after leaking at least 336,000 gallons of gasoline in Alabama, has sparked interest not only in gas prices but also public transit timetables.

The pipeline leak also made us curious about the invisible network of tubes and chutes that criss-cross the United States.

The National Pipeline Mapping System shows you the route of pipelines carrying natural gas and even hazardous liquids. Another link allows you to out who operates the pipelines in your area.

The interface is a bit clumsy; you can see the general areas only one county at a time. But the resolution is good enough to indicate that if you live between Apex and Holly Springs, North Carolina, for example, there’s a lot of swooshing happening under your feet.

Whether you want to know exactly what those hazardous liquids are…how well do you want to sleep?

Lisa Sorg is an environmental reporter at N.C. Policy Watch. Before joining the project in in July 2016, Lisa was the editor and an investigative reporter for INDY Week, in Durham, North Carolina. Prior to that, she was the editor of San Antonio Current. Lisa has been a journalist for 22 years, working at magazines, daily newspapers, digital media outlets and alternative newsweeklies.

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