The Bellingham Herald

Safety officials order pipeline shut down

Scott Ayers, The Bellingham Herald

The federal government has ordered a natural-gas supplier to shut down one of its two pipelines that run through Whatcom County, saying continued operation of the line would be hazardous to people, property and the environment.

The Office of Pipeline Safety on Thursday ordered Northwest Pipeline, a division of the Oklahoma-based Williams Cos. Inc. natural-gas drilling and transportation company, to idle the 26-inch line. The company must demonstrate the 47-year-old line is safe or replace certain segments before it begins operating the line again.

The line has ruptured twice this year:

• In Lake Tapps, near Auburn, in May, when natural gas spewed from the line with such force that it blew a crater in the ground. No one was hurt.

• Dec. 13 near Toledo, in Lewis County, when natural gas seeped for a crack in the line for three hours. No fire or injuries ensued.

The line has a history of problems that includes a February 1997 explosion just east of Everson. That incident didn't result in injuries, but the explosion shattered windows and damaged homes in the area. Flames could be seen for miles.

Federal officials ordered Williams to operate the pipeline at a lower 80 percent of full pressure after the May rupture, then added new restrictions after the December incident. Those included taking the line down to minimal pressure, undertaking several inspections of the metal, and beginning to replace the line, which was built in 1956.

Williams officials said they shut down the line Wednesday and are working with regulators to fix the problems. The shutdown shouldn't inconvenience consumers because a second, larger line runs parallel to the one shut down and can handle the demand for natural gas, Williams officials said.

The company supplies about 80 percent of the natural gas to the four distribution utilities in the state: Puget Sound Energy, Avista, Northwest Natural Gas and Cascade Natural Gas. Together, the utilities serve about 965,000 customers in Washington.

Williams has been inspecting the line extensively since May in conjunction with inspectors from the state Utilities and Transportation Commission. The state reports its findings to the federal government.

In a statement, Williams officials blamed "environmental factors such as soil acidity and moisture, operating conditions, age and the type of coating" on the pipe for the current problems.

Carole Washburn, executive director of the state commission, said the line has many areas of "stress cracking corrosion," which weakens the line.

"It's riddled with the SCC," she said. "That's what caused the Lake Tapps incident. And we know this line has this SCC here, there and everywhere."

The 30-inch pipeline that will remain in operation is about 20 years newer and has not shown the same problems, she said.

Williams has 10 days to appeal the order. Washburn said she expects the company to begin replacing the pipe, rather than file an appeal.

The order demands that the pipeline be replaced in densely populated areas within three years, and in rural areas over the next 10 years.

Based in Tulsa, Okla., Williams' Northwest Pipeline operates a 4,000-mile natural-gas pipeline that runs from Canada to Mexico.

The company has proposed building a new pipeline that would cross Whatcom County from Sumas to Cherry Point, then run underwater to Vancouver Island, B.C. Federal officials are reviewing that proposal, known as the Georgia Straight Crossing, or GSX.

Reach Scott Ayers, business editor, at scott.ayers@bellinghamherald.com or call 715-2280. The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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