During the APGA Board of Directors meeting on the afternoon of January 27, a resolution to create a Security Task Group was unanimously approved. Several government agencies, including the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, have provided that oil and gas infrastructure, particularly gas pipeline operations, face increasing cyber and physical security threats. Each APGA member already has safety as its highest priority, but given safety and security are integrally linked, this new team will determine the pertinent proactive actions the association should take to maintain the commitment to safety.
There is willingness from the Transportation Security Administration (TSA), who has federal regulatory authority over pipeline security, to collaborate with the industry in physical and cyber security efforts to best defend pipeline infrastructure, so this new Security Task Group will engage as appropriate with that agency. As well, if any legislative activity arises, APGA staff will reach out to this new team for input. Finally, the group will determine the best ways to share lessons learned and other relevant operational items with public natural gas utility peers through webinars, posts on the APGA Community, and additional ways. The Security Task Group will engage the Board of Directors appropriately, as the association begins to better support its members on physical and cyber security issues, all in an effort to maintain the resilient operations of public natural gas systems.
For questions on this article, please contact Stuart Saulters of APGA staff by phone at 202-544-1334 or by email at
ssaulters@apga.org.