Pipeline transport oil-contaminated sediment and debris from the Kalamazoo River system. However, oil was still being found in affected waters in October 2012. Fossil fuels can be transported by pipeline, rail, truck, or ship, though natural gas requires compression or liquification to make vehicle transport economical. For transport of crude oil via these four modes, various reports rank pipelines as proportionately causing less human death and property damage than rail and truck, spilling less oil than truck, and having more environmental impact than truck or rail (mostly due to impact on habitat; ship transport impacts marine habitat to a large degree). Pipelines
Pipeline transport operational commands (open/close valves, turn on/off compressors or pumps, change setpoints, etc.) through the SCADA system to the field. To optimize and secure the operation of these assets, some pipeline companies are using what is called "Advanced Pipeline Applications", which are software tools installed on top of the SCADA system, that provide extended functionality to perform leak detection, leak location, batch tracking (liquid lines), pig tracking, composition tracking, predictive modeling, look ahead modeling, and operator training. Pipeline networks are composed of several pieces of equipment that operate together to move products from location to location. The main elements of a