There are about two pipeline incidents in the United States every day. Half of those are significant incidents — incidents that kill someone, send someone to the hospital, cause $50,000 in property damage, or spill a large amount of fuel into the environment. And the number of pipeline incidents has been increasing in recent years.

Currently, there is a major natural gas spill ongoing in Alaska. An underwater Hilcorp Alaska pipeline is leaking up to 310,000 cubic feet per day of gas into Alaska’s Cook Inlet. Environmental groups say the leak is creating a low-oxygen dead zone that threatens endangered beluga whales, fish and other wildlife.