FreemanGIS has routinely submitted data to the National Pipeline Mapping System (NPMS) and Texas Pipeline Mapping System (TPMS) since their inception.

Our approach is efficient and cost-effective. We work closely with our clients to identify available source data and verify positional accuracy of the centerline, facilities, and breakout tanks as work progresses. We stay abreast of changing submittal requirements and take pride producing topographically correct line work free of spurs, breaks, and replications that can impede future analysis with GIS pipeline routing tools.

We are familiar with the data submittal requirements for One Call centers and have worked with many centers to improve their ability to accept and handle GIS data. In addition to verifying centerline accuracy and logically applying operator-specified radii to generate urban and rural buffer zones, our One Call mapping services typically include revisions to the NPMS populated area HCAs.

The wholesale adoption by the NPMS of Census Bureau urban and rural designations does not translate seamlessly into integrity management objectives. The Census Bureau created the designations for statistical purposes, not as definitive areas of human occupation. This is very apparent at the detailed scale of One Call buffers, which are typically one to two miles across.

Drawing from our HCA expertise, we revise NPMS populated areas so operators can clearly see where people live. The benefits are manifold. Identifying where people live and do not live in relation to the pipeline concentrates One Call buffers on areas that are truly at risk from third-party damage. Spill model results that indicate risk to populated areas are more reliable, thus enhancing business decisions about integrity management and public safety. And knowing where communities are in relation to the pipeline focuses resources on reaching targeted audiences through public awareness campaigns. These operator-identified populated areas can even improve knowledge about pipeline right-of-ways.