Why the lack of oversight? Two reasons: the lines are operating at lower pressures, and they generally go through remote areas. But that means there are no enforced standards for pipeline strength, welds, or underground depth on the vast majority of these pipes, regardless of their age.
This is not to suggest that pipeline operators are shirking their safety responsibilities. Pipeline integrity is a big business for oil and gas services companies, who are pioneering new and better ways to evaluate the condition of pipelines. Thanks, in part, to newly rigorous inspection rules, spills from crude pipelines have decreased by 35% since the 1980s.
