Presenters
Steven Allen, Executive Director of Pipeline Safety
Decatur, T.X.
Steve Allen is the Executive Director of Pipeline Safety for ENERGY worldnet (EWN) where his efforts are focused on PSMS Advocacy. Prior to joining EWN, Steve was the Director of Pipeline Safety for Indiana’s Utility Regulatory Commission. Steve served as the chairman of the National Association of Pipeline Safety Representatives (NAPSR) from 2015-2016. In 2016, he was appointed by the U.S. Secretary of the Department of Transportation to serve as a government representatives on the Gas Pipeline Advisory Committee (GPAC).
Prior to his time as a state pipeline safety regulator, Steve spent over 20 years working for a mid-sized private local distribution company in Indiana in a variety of roles. He also spent several years providing consulting services to the utility industry. Steve received his BS in Business from Indiana University and his MBA from Butler University and is a non-practicing Certified Public Accountant (Inactive Status) in the state of Indiana.
David Appelbaum, State Evaluator
U.S. Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
Washington, D.C.
David Appelbaum, a resident of Jupiter, FL, is a State Evaluator for the State Programs Division. In addition to conducting pipeline safety program evaluations, he performs the excavation damage prevention adequacy reviews for the 31 states where the pipeline safety office has oversite of their one-call enforcement. David has been with PHMSA for six years and has operator experience in the fields of damage prevention, emergency response and operations.
Melissa Baruth, DOT Supervisor
Huron, S.D.
Melissa Baruth is the DOT Supervisor at NorthWestern Energy. She has worked for NorthWestern for 25 years in various roles throughout operations and has spent the last 18 years focusing on pipeline compliance. Melissa earned a bachelor’s degree in industrial engineering from South Dakota School of Mines and Technology in 1995 and a master's degree in business administration from the University of South Dakota in 2002. She also holds a NACE corrosion certification. Melissa and her husband, Rob reside on the family farm outside of Huron and have four children.
South Dakota Firefighters Association
Viborg, S.D.
Charlie Kludt, of Viborg, S.D., is President of the South Dakota Firefighters Association (SDFA) and State Director of the National Volunteer Fire Council. The SDFA coordinates the state fire school training each year for firefighters in South Dakota. Additionally, Kludt is a member of the Viborg Volunteer Fire Dept. and ambulance service, a station captain and EMT at Joe Foss Field Crash Fire Rescue in Sioux Falls and serves on the South Dakota Pipeline Emergency Responders Initiative (SD-PERI) committee.
Lane Miller, Director, Pipeline Regulatory Services
Houston, T.X.
Lane has over 30 years of experience and progressive responsibilities in pipeline safety. This experience includes regulatory auditing for compliance, evaluation of programs and procedures, guidance, consulting and training of the pipeline safety regulations. His recent experience with TRC is providing support to pipeline companies in pipeline regulatory matters.
Caleb Simburger, Gas Pipeline Safety Program Manager/Inspector
North Dakota Public Service Commission
Bismarck, N.D.
Prior to joining the staff of the North Dakota PSC in September of 2019 as program manager and inspector, Caleb was an operations manager, radiation safety officer, and inspector for a non-destructive examination contractor. During that time, he helped oversee the staffing, scheduling, and logistics of inspectors and equipment in the execution of NDE work for clients in the oil, gas, and mining industries. As a radiation safety officer, he maintained and managed a radiation safety program.
Matt Smith, Assistant Director, Safety and Reliability Division
Springfield, I.L.
Matt Smith is the Assistant Director for the Safety and Reliability Division at the Illinois Commerce Commission, which includes responsibility for the pipeline safety section, as well as, the one-call enforcement section. Matt has been a regulator for over 13 years. Previously, Matt worked for 15 years in the natural gas industry for both a large utility and at a municipally owned natural gas operator. Â Matt is the current NAPSR lead of the joint PHMSA/NAPSR Distribution Task Advisory group. Â Matt is also a member of the PHMSA/NAPSR Operator Qualification Task Advisory group and is an Associate Instructor at PHMSA Training and Qualifications center where he has taught to both state and federal inspectors the OQ rule.
Mary Zanter, Pipeline Safety Program Manager
South Dakota Public Utilities Commission
Pierre, S.D.
Mary Zanter has a bachelor's degree in electrical engineering and a master's degree in business administration. Prior to joining the PUC staff in 2012, she worked for MidAmerican Energy for 19 years, first as a plant engineer at Neal Generating Station, then as a gas engineer, and finally as an operations supervisor in Sioux Falls, S.D. She then spent two years working for Interstates Engineering in Sioux Center, Iowa, as a senior project engineer doing electric distribution design for manufacturing facilities. Mary served as a pipeline safety inspector for the PUC for a year prior to being named program manager in 2013.