Williams and Pipeline Safety
Not wanted in anyone's backyard
December 21, 2003
Arthur Caldicott, Cobble Hill
GSX Concerned Citizens Coalition
The safety of natural gas pipelines, especially in an active
seismic area, was a concern raised in 2000 by citizens and landowners in
Whatcom County, San Juan County, the Gulf Islands and Vancouver Island, along
the route of the GSX Pipeline proposed by Williams and BC Hydro.
Events then, and events as recent as last week, confirm that safety concerns with Williams' pipelines are not
misplaced.
Williams incident record in the Pacific Northwest is well
documented.
But that is only part of the problem. Of equal concern
is the failure of the company, and the regulatory agencies, to get a handle on
it - even when they know in advance that Williams and its pipelines are
disasters waiting to happen.
In June 1999, a pipeline explosion in a park in Bellingham killed three young
people, and triggered an intensive investigation into pipeline safety and
operating regulations. Following that, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
launched an investigation into the pipeline inspection and testing record of the
companies operating in Washington State. Williams came out nearly at
the bottom of the list, having inspected only 17% of its system and tested a
mere 11%.(1)
Williams spokespeople cite one of their core values. "We are
committed to protecting the public, the environment and our natural resources by
operating in a safe, reliable manner."
Good enough? We don't think so. Williams' track record speaks
louder than their glib phrases.
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Dec 13, 2003.
For the second time in six month, Williams' Northwest Pipeline (which runs
from Sumas to Mexico) ruptured, releasing gas for three hours before it could
be stopped.
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.(2)
May 1, 2003.
Williams' same Northwest Pipeline ruptured dramatically
The company's natural-gas artery burst with a
roar on May 1 near Lake Tapps, sparking evacuations at a school, a supermarket
and about 40 homes. Inspectors later identified the cause as
"stress corrosion cracking"
After repairs were made to the line near Lake
Tapps in May, inspectors ordered the company to reduce the line's gas pressure
20 percent to 632 pounds per square inch.(3)
The Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission
documents a series of
earlier incidents on Williams Northwest Pipeline (4):
Feb 26, 1999.
near Stevenson, the 22 inch pipeline failed.
Jan 3, 1998.
a weld defect located on a fitting caused the 22 inch pipeline to
rupture at a location east of Pendleton, Oregon Jun 28, 1997.
human error caused a valve to leak near Woodinville
Feb 9, 1997.
near Kalama , the 26 inch pipeline failed.
Feb 8, 1997.
near Everson, the 26 inch pipeline failed
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 (2).
Mar 6, 1995.
near Castle Rock, the 26 inch pipeline failed.
1994.
A lateral line on the same system near Oregon City, Ore., failed 22 times during tests
1992. Stress corrosion cracking caused the Williams line to fail during tests in 1992.
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The pipeline industry has for many years enjoyed profits while all around us, pipelines have been leaking, corroding, exploding, and killing. Most of the time, the pipelines are built, monitored and operated according to regulation. In many cases, a pipeline operator will exceed the regulatory requirement.
This does not, however, make for a reliable or safe industry. Every couple of days, a natural gas pipeline incident occurs in North America. Every four days, someone is injured. Every seventeen days, someone dies. Since 1986, in the US there have been 3140 incidents, 1407 injuries, and 322 deaths from natural gas
pipelines.(5)
Are things any better in British Columbia? No, but data is
difficult to obtain. Pipelines are regulated either federally, by the
National Energy Board, or provincially, by the Oil and Gas Commission. It
took a year and an appeal to the Office of the Privacy Commissioner to extract
information from the Oil and Gas Commission.
On November 28, 2003, the natural gas pipeline to Prince Rupert was
washed out by a mudslide. This was no isolated event. Hansard cites
Solicitor General Rich Coleman:
The landslide actually took place on Friday. It
was about a thousand feet across — about 350 metres. It took out a natural gas
pipeline. This is an event that takes place in this particular area of British
Columbia about once every two to three years. There's a lot of unstable ground
there, and it does cause some difficulties. The gas line was taken out.
Over the weekend we were unable to actually get
in there to repair the line, because the unstable ground was still there and the
weather was too severe for people to get in there. They are working on it now.
They expect to try and get in there and finish this to get the gas line
operating in the next three to five days.(6)
Washington State has no monopoly on foreknowledge of accidents waiting to
happen. British Columbia is similarly disinclined to care enough to take
action.
The evidence is that Williams will not respond responsibly, even when safety
risks have been identified. The evidence is that the BC government can
live with that, even if some people may not survive the next incident.
Notes
(1) Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) and the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC)
Inspection and Integrity Review, Summary of Preliminary Findings
http://ops.dot.gov/bellingham1/WAstatefinalsummary.htm
(2) Scott Ayers, Bellingham Herald, Dec 20, 2003, Safety Officials Order Pipeline Shut Down
http://www.sqwalk.com/Ayers_BellinghamHerald_20031220_PipelineShutDown.htm
(3) Craig Welch, Seattle Times, Dec 20, 2003, Natural Gas Trunk Line Through State At Risk Of Cracking
http://www.sqwalk.com/Welch_SeattleTimes_20031220_Natural-gasLineAtRiskOfCracking.htm
(4) Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, Pipeline Safety Section, Natural Gas Leak History
http://www.wutc.wa.gov/webimage.nsf/0/2124646a14c305b7882567c10062b0bd?OpenDocument
(5) The US Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) publishes comprehensive
data about pipeline incidents in the United States.
http://ops.dot.gov/
(6) Hansard, Debates of the Legislative Assembly, MONDAY, DECEMBER 1, 2003, Afternoon Sitting, Volume 19, Number 5
http://www.leg.bc.ca/hansard/37th4th/h31201p.htm
Additional reading:
Pipe Bombs
http://www.sqwalk.com/PipeBombs.htm
PipelineSafety2
http://www.sqwalk.com/PipelineSafety2.htm
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