Equitrans Midstream Logo
Governance

Security & Cybersecurity

To ensure safety and business continuity, Equitrans recognizes the importance of security, particularly for our pipeline assets, compressor facilities, and project sites. In addition, cybersecurity is a core component of Equitrans’ digital transformation, and our cyber philosophy begins, but does not end, with compliance. We build our capabilities based on relevant industry standards and continually review our progress to effectively enhance our cybersecurity capabilities. 

Approach to Security

103-1
Explanation of the material topic and its Boundary

103-2
The management approach and its components

103-3
Evaluation of the management approach

410-1
Formal training on safety and security practices

103-1
103-2
103-3
410-1

From both a safety and business continuity perspective, Equitrans recognizes the importance of security, particularly for our pipeline assets, compressor facilities, and project sites. Trespassing and vandalism by those opposed to the fossil fuel industry can damage or destroy assets; create safety risks and hazards for our employees, contractors, and communities; and impact our ability to deliver natural gas to our customers. The disruption of natural gas delivery for our customers can impact consumers, businesses, and manufacturing facilities.

Equitrans works closely with the U.S. Transportation Security Administration (TSA) to ensure our enterprise abides by all federal security regulations and we continually optimize our security strategies and plans. Our Security Team implements a wide range of security measures including:

  • Site Support: In the event of an emergency or physical security threat, our Security Team supports site work by providing employees field encampment equipment, such as shelter, food, water, and portable bathroom facilities.
  • Mobile Surveillance: Our Security Team oversees potential security threats by monitoring mobile surveillance, including security cameras and drones. When our Security Team detects a threat, team members evaluate potential risks, or the extent of the incident, and deploys proper mitigation strategies.
  • Physical Security: We use barriers and other physical security measures, such as locks, fencing, and barbed wire, to prevent facility tampering and trespassing.
  • Security Personnel: The Security Team deploys static and roving security guards to provide physical security at our critical sites and in areas where they detect security threats. The Security Team also works with local law enforcement to protect sites and respond to threats.
  • Drone Support: Our Security Team trains and licenses drone pilots. In addition to aerial security surveillance, our drone teams support operational needs, such as land surveys and data gathering.

Security Training

Security guards are stationed 24 hours, 7 days a week at our headquarters office in Canonsburg, PA, and are also routinely scheduled at various compressor station facilities and along the Mountain Valley Pipeline (MVP) route. Our Operations Team determines the criticality of a site by analyzing the level of risk for disruption and the potential impacts on our local communities, on-site employees, contractors, equipment, and capacity throughput. Equitrans contracts all guards, excluding those for the Mountain Valley Pipeline project, from a third-party security vendor. We provide all of our Security Team members and third-party security personnel with formal security training and information on our security standards. Our training program includes the following concepts:

  • Pipeline Security: How to protect our pipelines from trespassing, physical threats, and disruptions.
  • Law Enforcement: How and when to involve law enforcement agencies.
  • Crisis Events: How to respond to a crisis or emergency on or near a project site.
  • Field Sabotage: How to detect sabotage efforts that could affect pipeline integrity.

Prior to starting work at any site, security guards are required to attend a comprehensive security training session to identify and be familiar with any site-specific hazards or risks.

Safety & Security
100%
of our security personnel receive formal training on Equitrans’ safety and security practices

We also train guards on the legal requirements and technical use of body cameras, as well as techniques for effective and safe protest management. At our operational facilities, our security guards increase overall safety and minimize the risk of serious incidents by providing direct oversight and immediate response to opposition incidents. In the event of a dangerous incident, Equitrans’ Security Team works to safely evacuate work crews and initiates assistance from law enforcement, if needed.

Pipeline & Operations Security

The security of our pipelines and facilities is integral to the success of our operations. Ensuring we are safeguarding our assets also reduces risks of environmental incidents and potential safety hazards. For pipelines and compressor stations that are in operation, Equitrans continuously gathers information regarding their security. We protect our assets with fences, building locks, electronic monitoring, and 24/7 surveillance at many of our sites.

At construction sites, we deploy various levels of security, depending on their criticality and vulnerability. For critical sites, we secure pipe storage yards and worksites with 24/7 security guards or advanced analytic camera systems. At sites where an increased threat may exist, we employ both security guards and camera systems simultaneously.

The majority of our pipeline construction projects require us to hire guards during non-work hours and Equitrans’ Security Team oversees the security at all construction sites. If theft, vandalism, or other threats are encountered, a combination of roving and static guards along with varying levels of camera coverage will be employed to secure the site. For projects that encounter hostile persons or opposition during construction, we assign security teams to protect workers during the day and static guards to protect equipment during non-work hours. As an example, during 2020 the Mountain Valley Pipeline project contracted more than 100 roving and/or static guards to protect workers, equipment, materials, and construction sites. If we encounter a hostile person or group during construction, we contact the appropriate law enforcement groups and implement security and static guards to ensure our workers and equipment are safe.

Security guards also protect compressor stations and various other sites during construction based upon criticality and vulnerability. After construction is completed, we secure compressor stations with barbed wire fencing and access controls, along with high-resolution analytical camera systems, where deemed necessary. Other sites such as interconnections and metering stations incorporate fencing, cameras, or both, depending on the perceived threat to the specific location.

Office Security

Equitrans uses physical security measures in our offices to protect our employees and IT infrastructure. We use gates, trespassing signs, and motion-activated cameras to deter unauthorized guests from entering our offices. In 2020, we implemented an anti-tailgating system at the entrance of our headquarters office in Canonsburg, PA. The anti-tailgating system signals an alarm when two people walk into the office together when using only a single employee badge. We continue to evaluate emerging risks and explore new ways to ensure the safety and security of all our offices.

Evaluating Our Security

Equitrans’ security program is intended to reduce the risk of both major and minor incidents, and our Security Team works diligently to ensure all aspects of our enterprise are safe. For the safety and security of our employees, we recently implemented an overseas travel process that assesses U.S. State Department information and provides travel safety guidance for specific destinations. We track global protests utilizing the Welund database and regularly inform the Board regarding any potential opposition movements that have the potential to significantly impact our business. In addition, we routinely update our Board on general security measures in relation to our guards and video surveillance. Equitrans continuously looks for new ways to improve our security and expects to standardize our security measures in accordance with the U.S. TSA regulations during 2021.

Approach to Cybersecurity

Cybersecurity is a core component of Equitrans’ digital transformation. Our cyber program is designed to:

  • Establish situational awareness of evolving threats and vulnerabilities to our technology presence
  • Proactively detect and respond to cyber-attacks
  • Leverage technology to achieve business objectives

Equitrans’ cyber philosophy begins, but does not end, with compliance. We build our capabilities based on relevant industry standards and continually review our progress to effectively enhance our cybersecurity capabilities. Because a cyber incident could have a significant impact on business continuity, customer relationships, and brand reputation, we consider cyber risk as a Tier 1 Enterprise Risk; therefore, Equitrans’ cybersecurity program is reviewed and monitored by executive management, with oversight by our Board of Directors, including the Health, Safety, Security, and Environmental Committee and Audit Committee of our Board. Our full Board of Directors also receives periodic updates on cyber-risk management throughout the year.

Multiple security controls are employed to protect our systems, applications, and data including next generation firewalls; strong authentication and access controls; and malware prevention technologies. Operationally, we continuously monitor for cyber intrusions, augmenting our internal resources and capabilities with that of third-party service providers. Our monitoring is informed by threat intelligence that is gathered from multiple sources, including the Oil and Gas Information Sharing and Analysis Center (ONG-ISAC).

In addition to prevention, detection, and response capabilities, we prioritize workforce training and awareness, which includes annual cybersecurity training for our employees and applicable partners. Our educational outreach teaches employees about suspicious emails, identification of data breach attempts, and the reporting process on phishing. We also conduct routine phishing exercises through email simulations to reinforce the importance of protecting our business and assets. Additionally, data and network encryption technologies are used to respect and protect the privacy of our assets and customers.

In 2019, Equitrans began a Network Modernization Program that increased security and efficiency data flow throughout our Company. As part of our program, increased bandwidth, improved resilience and redundancy, and advanced detection, prevention, and monitoring technologies resulted in a modern, high-speed, more secure network. Our workforce utilizes a virtual cloud productivity suite to communicate, collaborate, and manage daily activities as well as securely access data throughout our entire workforce. In 2020, Equitrans boosted our cloud performance by collaborating with a computing services partner. Our partnership helps to increase our ability to quickly mitigate operational incidents and increase cyber resilience.

We understand that introducing new technologies to our digital ecosystem can increase cyber risk and threaten our business operations and data. We mitigate this risk by partnering with security experts from private organizations, industry groups, and government agencies to benefit from the latest threat intelligence. To determine the appropriate breadth and depth of our program, we benchmark our capabilities using the NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and the Oil and Gas Cybersecurity Capability Maturity Model (ONG-C2M2).

Operationally, Equitrans uses supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) and process information systems to operate our gathering, storage, and transmission systems. Equitrans’ increase in technological maintenance systems helps to manage routine asset maintenance checks and ultimately increases our operational efficiency and performance.

Evaluating Our Cybersecurity

To ensure that our program is effective, we routinely participate in third-party reviews to maintain and enhance the resiliency of our systems. This continuous improvement approach to cyber protection allows our program to be dynamic and adapt to the changing threat landscape. We provide routine updates to our Board of Directors, including its relevant committees, on cyber risk and best management practices, and we consider cybersecurity a Tier 1 Enterprise Risk and are focused on mitigating this risk.

Highlight Story

Physical Security of Our Operations

The safety and security of our employees, our contractors and vendors, and our communities is of primary importance to Equitrans. Our security personnel work to be well-prepared to manage disruptive incidents and with safety as our top priority—above all else.

Since 2019, there has been a notable increase in opposition related to the fossil fuel industry. In response, in 2020 we launched a new training for all employees on what to do in the face of protests, sabotage, and vandalism. Individuals are directed to prioritize their safety and that of their co-workers, including contractors, and to report incidents and obtain help, including by calling Police, Fire, or EMS, as required. In addition, certain of our security guards received additional training on appropriate opposition response, such as legal requirements for the usage of body cameras; and the role law enforcement plays, if needed, in a response. We consistently evaluate opportunities to provide additional trainings as appropriate.  

Vigilance and proactive measures are critical to our maintaining security. We ask employees to pay attention to suspicious persons or vehicles, be mindful of broken locks or gates and the appearance of equipment that may have been tampered with or damaged, and to always remain vigilant about their surroundings. As a result of our safety trainings, we have increased our equipment inspections and continue to improve the overall safety of our assets and facilities.

As an example, a potential opposition incident occurred in October 2020 at a facility in Pennsylvania. At the end of the workday, staff leaving the facility observed several fully masked persons on the access road to the facility, and the group’s vehicles were observed to have out-of-state license plates. In recent years, there has been a trend regarding opposition groups—with observations noting that several site protests and/or equipment tampering incidents are being orchestrated by persons outside of the local communities.

In response to this incident, Equitrans security notified operations leadership and dispatched guards to provide fixed and roving patrol coverage of the facility. The Pennsylvania State Police were also notified and patrolled the area for additional support. It is also standard practice to share information regarding possible threats—and Equitrans released a message to the Marcellus Security Operators Coalition, a working group representing the physical security teams of member companies in the area. As a result of our security training and preparedness approach, no people were harmed, no equipment was damaged, and no further actions ensued from the potential threat incident.

To view security information, please visit: Security & Cybersecurity.

Highlight Story

Emergency Response & Preparedness

In early December 2020, a dehydration unit ignited in the early morning hours at the Equitrans Callisto Compressor Station, a natural gas gathering facility located in Greene County, Pennsylvania. No injuries were reported, and, in an abundance of caution, one home was temporarily evacuated. 

Upon notification of the incident, the Equitrans Crisis Team quickly convened. Our Operations and Safety and Compliance teams, working in conjunction with the Equitrans Crisis Team, determined that the ignition occurred due to an over-pressurization of one of the station’s dehydration units. This was confirmed by a review of the scene, as well as surveillance video at the station. 

As part of our response, Equitrans technicians were immediately dispatched and, once on site, began to implement necessary safety procedures, including the closing of appropriate valves to isolate the facility. The local volunteer fire department was also on site to assist with fire safety protocols.

Equitrans’ emergency procedures and closing of valves successfully allowed the primary fire to self-extinguish and all residual flames were extinguished by the fire department. Within a short time, the unit was fully isolated and depressurized and the incident was brought under control and the station locked down. The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection was notified, and, as a courtesy, local township officials and the PA PUC received notification of the incident.

Once it was safe to do so, internal and external teams conducted a root cause investigation of the incident, as well as an environmental assessment of the facility and surrounding area. Our Crisis Team, with the assistance of our Legal department, also retained an independent third-party to assist in evaluation efforts and certain equipment was shared with the relevant vendor for further analysis. 

After reviewing the internal and external analyses and understanding the cause of the incident, the Crisis Team enlisted the assistance of our Corporate Compliance and Internal Audit teams to determine what measures, if any, could be implemented to minimize the risk of similar incidents from occurring in the future. Our Corporate Compliance group completed a full investigation of the processes that led to the incident and made recommendations to Internal Audit, which allowed for the refinement of existing procedures, such as valve inspections, valve repairs, and record keeping.

For more information on Pipeline Safety & Integrity, please visit: Pipeline Safety & Integrity.

Highlight Story

Safety – Above All Else

In January 2020, Equitrans’ construction personnel were tasked with excavating a pipeline asset at an Equitrans’ compressor facility that was built in the early 1900s.

Following industry-recognized best practices, a One Call was placed, and our Operations team marked the location of the underground gas lines in the area. Additionally, station drawings were examined to identify any potential underground utilities. During the line excavation process, an unidentified conduit that was supplying power for lighting was struck. The conduit separated at a coupler and exposed 110-volt wiring inside. Two spotters were present at the time of the strike and the crew was utilizing a probe rod to assist in identifying unknown objects in the area.

The event underscored the need to always remain vigilant when conducting excavation work, as well as during any type of construction or operational activity, and was a reminder that there are inherent risks in excavating older, legacy stations. For example, there is a potential for imprecise drawings and/or unknown underground utilities. Because of the implementation of our Incidents with Serious Potential (ISP) concept, we undertook a review process and evaluated procedural changes in light of the incident, even though the incident only involved the accidental striking of a conduit with 100-volt wiring and the crew was following applicable procedures and policies.

To mitigate excavation-related risk in the future, a more comprehensive process was designed and implemented for excavating in not only legacy facilities, but all Equitrans facilities. In addition to our standard One Call, drawing review, and pot-holing techniques, an extensive Simultaneous Operations (SIMOPS) procedure is now being used in conjunction with soft digging techniques to further minimize the risk of striking unidentified underground assets. This new process was the catalyst for our 2021 Instrument Air Conversion Project safety plan that is in the final stages of completion, exemplifying our commitment to Safety—above all else.

For more information on Occupational Health & Safety, please visit: Occupational Health & Safety.

Highlight Story

Our Sustainability Progress During 2020

As part of our sustainability journey, we embrace the opportunity to enhance the accountability and leadership mechanisms we leverage to ensure responsible practices across our operations. To reinforce our sustainability commitment, in 2020 Equitrans appointed its first Chief Sustainability Officer (CSO), Todd Normane.

Through his work, and together with several working groups, our CSO is advancing our management practices across our business. He sets our sustainability strategy, with a special focus on climate change given that it is one of the most critical topics our world is facing. During the past year, he has led the development of policies formalizing our commitment to responsible practices. Additionally, he collaborates with subject matter experts by leading our sustainability working groups to implement our strategy. To promote transparency regarding our initiatives, our CSO collaborates with our Communications team on our annual corporate sustainability report, disclosures on our corporate website, and our CDP Climate Change response.

In line with our commitment to strong sustainability practices, Equitrans recognizes the importance of transparency and continues to improve and expand on our related disclosures. We have always taken our environmental, social, and governance practices very seriously and we work to ensure that our stakeholders have access to information regarding our sustainability efforts. Most recently, we developed our new, sustainability-focused web pages that are prominently available on Equitrans’ corporate website, with associated topics easy to locate by using our new Sustainability navigation menu.

By disclosing information through our corporate site, and linking to our annual corporate sustainability reports, we enable more stakeholders to learn about our management practices and key data points, which are reflective of our commitment to sustainability.

To view sustainability information on our corporate website, please visit: www.equitransmidstream.com.

Highlight Story

Commitment to Global Sustainability Frameworks

Like many other companies, Equitrans considers external sustainability guidance in determining the best management practices and methods for communicating information to our stakeholders. Last year, we incorporated the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) Standard and Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) Standards in our 2020 Corporate Sustainability Report. Since then, we have also committed to the inclusion of two additional frameworks as part of our management and reporting practices.

In 2021, we will submit our first CDP Climate Change response to provide additional transparency about our climate governance, strategy, risks, and opportunities. Providing this information to our investors, customers, and other stakeholders demonstrates our focus on mitigating our climate impact and preparing for the transition to a lower-carbon economy. Once published, a full copy of our CDP Climate Change response can be accessed on the Sustainability pages of our website.

Additionally, our recently released Stakeholder Engagement and Community Investment Policy signified our intention to operate in the spirit of United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). In the near term, we intend to focus on the seven SDGs listed below, which we believe are most aligned with our business and operational footprint. We will continue to evaluate opportunities to focus on additional, relevant SDGs in the future.

Highlight Story

Supporting the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe

Strong community engagement is the cornerstone of Equitrans’ social license to operate. We recognize the importance of empowering the communities we serve and giving back to the populations with whom we are fortunate to connect with through our work. And we are not limiting our stakeholder engagement efforts to only our local communities – instead, we reach beyond our local footprint to identify opportunities to engage with additional cultural, historical, and environmental organizations.

As part of our ongoing commitment to community engagement, and in alignment with Equitrans’ Inclusion Program, we identified an opportunity to support the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe. The Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe is located in King William County, Virginia, and boasts a strong history of caring for its local population.

“I and the citizens of the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe are ecstatic to finally have a piece of property along the banks of the Mattaponi River, a river that made it possible for us to survive for thousands of years by offering bountiful fish and wildlife to feed our forefathers for so many generations,” said W.Frank Adams, Chief, Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe. “It has been at least two hundred years since the tribe has owned property along our beloved river and I want to thank Equitrans for helping to make this dream come true.”

Chief Adams continued,“We have a lot of ideas and plans for this property, including a nice escape for our tribal citizens, as well as being able to offer a sacred place for some of our tribal rituals. Our long-term goal is to establish a kayak launch and cabins along this section of the river to provide our citizens a place to connect with the river that was our namesake.”

Equitrans provided support for the Tribe’s ongoing social programs and environmental resource preservation, which efforts promote the health and strength of the community. Through our relationship, Equitrans hopes to be a trusted community partner and to support the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe’s continued well-being. We look forward to further developing similar types of important partnerships and connections in the future.

For more information on the Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe, please visit: The Upper Mattaponi Indian Tribe.

Highlight Story

Adapting to Change During the Pandemic

In connection with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have proactively undertaken and continued a number of companywide measures intended to promote the safety and health of field and office-based employees and contractors. Through these measures, the Company’s operations have been able to maintain a consistent level of effectiveness. In early March 2020, we established an Infectious Disease Response Team to manage our pandemic response efforts; implemented a mandatory work-from-home protocol for a significant majority of the Company’s employees; and instituted stringent pandemic-related working protocols, including mandatory face coverings and social distancing for field operations, where feasible. We also shared our Infectious Disease Response Plan with suppliers and contractors to ensure alignment of required working protocols across our operations.

Additional Company-wide efforts included eliminating non-essential business travel; implementing self-declaration forms to further protect our workforce; providing certain medical benefit enhancements; implementing strict office and fleet vehicle sanitation measures; and offering a list of preferred items for employees’ home office set-ups. In preparation for the future, post-pandemic, we conducted a Workplace Modernization Survey in June 2020, which had an outstanding 84% participation rate. The survey asked employees to rank their workplace preferences based on a set of three “workplace personas” (anchor, flex, and remote). The results of the survey have helped us to understand how and where our employees prefer to work, which is critical for the development of a long-term plan for Equitrans’ office needs.

Since implementing our many pandemic protocols, our E-Train employees have not missed a beat in continuing to safely operate our assets and our business. We have taken steps to ensure employees are actively engaged and informed by continually providing communication updates; producing a variety of video messages by our executive team; encouraging team-building events via our technology platforms; and delivering COVID-19 care packages to employees’ homes. The Company’s Infectious Disease Response Team continues to monitor and assist in implementing mitigation efforts in respect to potential areas of disease-related risk for the Company.

To learn more about employee safety, please visit: Occupational Health & Safety.

Highlight Story

Protecting Endangered Species

The United States has the highest biodiversity of freshwater mussels in the world and is home to more than 300 species of mussels. The aquatic organisms benefit their ecosystem through filtering water. As sedimentation, pollution, and climate change increase, the United State Fish & Wildlife Services (USFWS) has noticed a severe drop in mussels. Approximately 70 percent of American mussels are extinct or at risk of becoming extinct and 78 species are classified as federally endangered.

The linear nature of pipelines sometimes requires the crossing of aquatic resources, and Equitrans is mindful of the impact our projects could have on various sites and species and seeks to utilize additional precautionary measures to mitigate potential aquatic impacts. Certain of Equitrans’ pipeline assets in Pennsylvania and West Virginia are located in an area known for its abundance of mussels.

We are committed to working to preserve our nation’s mussel population and we take extra precautions in respect of freshwater systems near our operations. For example, prior to construction of one of our pipeline assets in Monongalia County, West Virginia, we reached out to the USFWS and discussed the procedures and additional precautions necessary to ensure our pipeline project would not affect mussel habitat in a particular locale. At relevant crossing locations along the pipeline route, Equitrans enlisted qualified malacologists to conduct mussel surveys. Immediately following the surveys, mussels were relocated to suitable habitat locations upstream. We also trained our employees on aquatic safety and the value of mussels to the area. Our efforts helped to preserve approximately 41 protected mussels in the area.

Close button for share
SHARE