Tag: pipeline break

US NTSB to pipeline companies: Call 911 in an emergency

It sounds obvious. In an emergency (in most of North America) dial 911.

Only according a US National Transportation Safety Board Report dated June 8 and released today, Pacific Gas and Electric didn’t call 911 in California at the time of a major pipeline breach and fire  on Sept. 9, 2010, in San Bruno, California that caused an explosion that killed eight people, injured many more and caused extensive property damage.
The NTSB report says that while the San Bruno Fire Department was aware of the local natural gas distribution system, the department had no maps and had no briefings on the larger, natural gas transmission pipelines that transversed San Bruno.
The NTSB report says
Because of the differences in operating characteristics, transmission pipelines have different safety risks and concerns for emergency response, including the pipeline company’s  ability to shutdown the pipeline rapidly.  

In a manner similar to the Enbridge situation in Michigan last year (the NTSB report on that incident is still pending), the PG&E data system showed a pressure drop within four minutes of the rupture. 

But it was two off-duty employees who alerted the company’s dispatchers three minutes later to a possible problem.

PG&E dispatched a single technician to the scene who was not authorized to shut off valves. 

In the meantime, public calls to 911 reported the rupture and fire and first responders got to the initial scene in three minutes.

It was not until a technician arrived at the scene and reported in some 16 minutes after the event began that PG&E control room put together the drop in pressure, alarms and dispatcher information and realized that they had a major problem. 

 The NTSB report says in the next paragraph after the incident summary

 

A pipeline operator’s prompt notification to the local emergency response agencies through a 911 emergency call center can be crucial to the success of the emergency response effort and protection of the public. Even in the case of a smaller, slower leak that does not immediately ignite, when the pipeline operator has immediately notified local emergency response authorities of a potential serious problem, can mobilize needed response resources and area better able to recognize quickly the symptoms of a potential serious gas leak threat

.

Apparently under current US regulations, there is no requirement for pipeline operators to call 911.

The report goes on to say

 

The NTSB is concerned that a pipeline operator that does not require control room operators to notify the applicable 911 emergency call center in the event of a possible pipeline rupture can adversely affect the timeliness and effectiveness of emergency response effort. Therefore, the NTSB recommends that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration issue guidance to operators of natural gas transmission and distribution pipelines and hazardous liquid pipelines regarding the importance of control room operators immediately and directly notifying the 911 emergency call center(s) for the communities and jurisdictions which those pipelines are located when a possible rupture of any pipeline is indicated.

Read the NTSB report on 911 response to the PG&E San Bruno pipeline disaster.

Editors’s Note:

It is clear that this brief NTSB report  (it is still investigating the actual cause of the rupture and explosion) confirms the fears of residents of northwestern British Columbia about pipeline ruptures in the wilderness, whether those pipelines carry bitumen or natural gas, are harder to detect and fix than problems in populated areas like California.
Also residents of northwestern BC are entitled to get more information from the National Energy Board, the BC Utilities Commission and the companies that are proposing large scale transmission of natural gas through this region about the special hazards related to transmission pipelines mentioned in the NTSB report.
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Enbridge didn’t detect Norman Wells pipeline leak: CBC

CBC

Video only  June 8, 2011 

Aboriginal hunters first detected the oil link from the Norman Wells pipeline.

June 7, 2011

No coverup in N.W.T. pipeline leak: Enbridge

Enbridge says it was not covering up the true size of a pipeline leak in the Northwest Territories, which leaked up to 1,500 barrels into the northern environment… from its Norman Wells pipeline on May 9… 

 Enbridge executive Leon Zupan told CBC News that crews only discovered the true size of the spill after they started drilling down into the permafrost to obtain core samples.

Enbridge officials say they don’t know how the leak began, but they said the oil leaked out of an opening about the size of a pinhole….

 Oil coming out of such a small opening has, over time, created a spill about half a hectare in size, according to the company.

TransCanada’s new pipeline project worries U.S. agency: Calgary Herald

Calgary Herald

 TransCanada’s new pipeline project worries U.S. agency

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has expressed new fears about the safety of Calgary-based TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL oilsands pipeline, warning decision makers in the Obama administration to “carefully consider” whether the project’s proposed route through ecologically sensitive areas in the U.S. Great Plains is appropriate.

 In a letter to the State Department, the EPA said two recent leaks that shut down the existing Keystone pipeline highlight the need to require the Canadian company to take more rigorous steps to limit the threat of a major spill on the new line.

Environmentalists pin hope on Obama opposition to pipeline project: Globe and Mail

Globe and Mail  

TransCanada Corp.’s proposed Keystone XL pipeline has become a litmus test in the U.S. battle over energy policy, as the environmental movement looks for reassurance that President Barack Obama is committed to combatting climate change.

 Prodded by congressional Republicans for a quick decision, the U.S. State Department concludes a comment period on Monday for its draft environmental impact statement on the XL project. 

 The final version – to be issued this summer – will likely conclude that the environmental concerns should not derail the project, despite troublesome leaks from the existing Keystone pipeline, which was shut last week after a small leak in Kansas.

US allows restart of Keystone pipeline: Reports

There are media reports that the United States Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration is permitting the restart of the Keystone pipeline after earlier saying it could not be restarted following a spill on May 29.

 

The Wall Street Journal reports

The U.S. Department of Transportation on Saturday approved TransCanada Corp.’s plan to restart its Keystone pipeline…. TransCanada on Saturday provided results of its testing along the Keystone and can restart it as soon as the morning of July 5, the PHMSA said in a letter to the company.

“Based on a review of the information submitted, the restart plan is approved,” PHMSA Central Region Director David Barrett said in the letter.

Reuters reports that pipeline could start as early as Sunday:

 

TransCanada Corp (TRP.TO) can restart its Keystone oil pipeline on Sunday, after the company satisfied a series of safety conditions following leaks that idled the key export line twice in less than a month, the U.S. pipeline safety regulator said on Saturday. 

 The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said it approved resumption of crude flows from Canada on the pipeline after the agency evaluated the company’s restart plan and was satisfied safety requirements were met.

As of this posting there is no confirming information on the PHMSA or TransCanada websites.

US orders Keystone pipeline shut down after leaks: Globe and Mail

The Globe and Mail 

U.S. regulators have barred TransCanada Corp. from restarting its Keystone pipeline until the company can provide more proof that the system is safe, after several leaks in just a year of operation….. 

 Following at least three Keystone leaks in May, the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration took sudden action Friday. It issued a corrective action order that mandates 14 steps TransCanada must take before resuming operations, including demands for information, mechanical and metallurgical testing and a report on all issues and incidents on the line…. 

 For Canada’s oil and gas industry, the Keystone outage is just the latest in a series of pipeline-related headaches. A major Michigan spill on an Enbridge Inc. pipeline last summer resulted in rolling outages that lasted until this spring, as the company worked to fix problems on the line

Document
US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Administration order to shut down the Keystone pipeline (PDF)

NEB defends decision to withhold concerns about Enbridge pipeline: PostMedia

PostMedia News 

Canada’s federal energy regulator is defending its decision to keep Canadians in the dark about safety concerns with two major oil and gas pipelines. The concerns prompted the regulator to order pressure reductions on both lines last October, which are still in effect today. 

 The National Energy Board intervened in the operations of the two pipelines, owned by Enbridge and Trans-Northern, that travel through Montreal, Ottawa, Toronto, Edmonton and other regions in Western Canada. This came after a major rupture in Michigan involving another pipeline owned by Enbridge, which resulted in more than three million litres of crude oil leaking into the state’s Kalamazoo River. 

 [Board spokeswoman Stacey Squires] distanced herself from comments made one day earlier by her colleague, spokeswoman Carole Leger-Kubeczek, who had said the board was “not equipped” to post safety decisions “in terms of resources.” Squires said it was not a question of resources, but that it would be “very labour-intensive and require a lot of time” to provide all the information, including audits and inspections, regarding a company.

A dire warning from a broken pipe: Globe and Mail

Globe and Mail

A dire warning from a broken pipe

The Rainbow spill is just the latest in a series of oil leaks in North America’s vast pipeline network over the past year, and comes as Canadian energy giants are pressing to win approval for some of their most ambitious projects to date. Those include TransCanada Corp.’s Keystone XL pipeline to ship oil sands crude to the Gulf of Mexico, and Enbridge Inc.’s Northern Gateway pipeline to take Alberta crude to the British Columbia coast for shipment to then to Asia, a plan that faces fierce opposition from first nations.

CNBC interview with Pat Daniels: Enbridge Pipe Dreams?

CNBC VIdeo
 
Enbridge Pipe Dreams?

CNBC  Mad Money host  Jim Cramer377-cnbc2.jpg  interviews Enbridge’s Pat Daniels

Cramer: Enbridge is a Canadian company with a juicy 3.3% yield and a consistent track record of raising that payout. average of 11% over the last decade. They’ve given us a 15% boost this year. Enbridge is the kind ofconsistent dividend-raiser you can count on in good times and bad. they are so money!… Why are you highlightinga pipeline company when oil has been getting slammed? the important thing is a company like enbridge is not hostage to oil. they’re related by long-term assets or regulated contracts.Enbridge has never once had to cut the dividend, not once. they’re more regular than metamucil…”

Daniels:  “The gateway pipeline project to the west coast would employ another 1,200 people on apermanent basis. and there would be about 63,000 man years of labor that would go into the construction of the pipeline. We call on crews from all across North America, capped, the U.S.and also from pipe suppliers right across North America. It has a huge positive impact on the economy and huge employment opportunities associated with both the construction and theoperation in our business.“

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Alberta leak reminder of dangers

Northern Sentinel

Alberta leak reminder of dangers

A pipeline breach in northern Alberta last week that resulted in approximately 4.5 million litres of oil being spilled should be a reminder of the dangers that could face the region with Enbridge’s proposed Northern Gateway Pipeline project, says Skeena – Bulkley Valley MP Nathan Cullen.

“This should be another nail in the coffin for any idea of a pipeline across BC, and unfortunately paints a pretty clear picture of what happens when you ship oil over land. And it should be noted that this spill happened in an area that is a lot less rugged than on the coast and the proposed route for Enbridge,” he added.

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