Stacey Gerard, OPS Associate Administrator, says that rather than respond to each of the proposals on a piecemeal basis, OPS is developing a long-term plan to deal with NTSB's concerns, a strategy she feels will ultimately be more effective.
According to OPS's annual figures (which are subject to change as more data come in), pipelines in 2000 suffered their worst year in terms of causing economic damage--$156,925,184 worth to be exact--nearly double the $86,856,82 OPS totaled for 1999.
Because of the tensile properties of
OPS, sub-mil gauges must be run at less than half the extrusion output of 1-mil film, and at a narrower final width, perhaps as narrow as 70-80 in.