Quick Start Guide Natural Gas Utilities

SECTION 03: KEY SAFETY MESSAGES

Who: Key Audiences & Languages Local, city, municipality, county, or state elected or appointed officials as well as employees of these entities with responsibilities for planning, land use, or street management, such as:

• Planning and zoning boards • Licensing, planning, and permitting departments • Building code enforcement departments • City and county managers • Public utility boards • Local governing councils • Military installations • Tribal authorities • Departments of transportation

What: Core Messages The core message is the most important point or essential idea to be understood and remembered by the target audience. For public officials, the core message is: Natural gas transmission pipelines may cross in or near your jurisdiction. Damage to these pipelines can cause dangerous leaks that have the potential to ignite or explode. We encourage you to learn the location of natural gas pipelines in your community and to help us protect them from damage by educating the public, your staff, and your excavation contractors about pipeline safety. Additional messages should be designed to inform and engage this audience. Inform public officials about: • The purpose and reliability of natural gas pipelines • The potential hazards of natural gas • Your utility’s pipeline integrity management efforts • The location of local high-consequence areas (HCAs) in their jurisdictions

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Developing a Public Safety Communications Program