Smart Talk: Locations of many PA pipelines unknown; A facility that cares for children with behavioral issues

 

What to look for on Smart Talk Tuesday, August 11, 2015:

The Wolf Administration estimates that 30,000 miles of new pipelines will be built in Pennsylvania over the next two decades. Unfortunately, the development of new pipelines may grow more and more difficult in the future.

Utility companies have been building pipelines throughout the state for over 100 years.  In the past, mapping their locations was not a priority, because there were fewer utilities to manage and smaller areas to cover. If there were any maps of older pipelines, they were vague, based off of visible landmarks that may or may not still exist.

Today, even large interstate pipelines are not being mapped as accurately as they should be. The Pipeline Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) only requires that interstate pipelines be mapped within 500 feet of accuracy.

This pattern of inexact mapping has led to a lot of uncertainty for pipeline workers. There have been plenty of instances where workers have drilled into pipelines that they did not know were there, leading to accidents, injuries and high repair costs.

Susan Phillips, a reporter for StateImpact Pennsylvania, joins us on Tuesday’s Smart Talk to discuss what efforts are being made to resolve the problem. For more information about this topic, check out Susan’s StateImpact article at https://stateimpact.npr.org/pennsylvania/2015/07/31/pipelines-paths-remain-a-risky-mystery-beneath-our-feet/ .

Also, a series on the growing number of prison inmates who are mentally ill in the Patriot-News and on PennLive was the impetus for a Smart Talk program last month.  It raised the question what about younger people and children who are mentally ill or have behavioral issues? What options are available to them?

We heard from Hoffman Homes for Youth in Littlestown, a psychiatric residential treatment facility for children.

Since 1990, the facility has been caring for children who are troubled or mentally ill.

Appearing on Smart Talk is Brittanee Varano, the Director of Special Events & Community Development at Hoffman Homes for Youth.