The Houston Chronicle is reporting that more than half of the natural gas transmission lines in Texas are vulnerable to failure: "In Texas alone, more than 25,000 of nearly 46,000 miles of transmission pipe are older than 1970 ***. Federal regulators warned companies more than 20 years ago to reconsider the use of all pipelines built with lower-quality welding techniques that were widely employed in pipe factories prior to 1970 ***. Also a potential problem is some aged protective coating on pipes that actually can make them more vulnerable to corrosion, according to a number of pipeline experts."