Pipeline undergoes first drill
3/24/2005 4:49 PM
By: Allie Rasmus
       
Emergency crews run through a gas leak drill.         
The city and the Longhorn Pipeline held an emergency drill for a gas leak Thursday morning. Everything went smoothly.

But that wasn'­t enough to calm the nerves of area residents.

Emergency crews spent the morning cleaning up the imaginary petroleum that spilled into Marble Creek. The drill was held near the intersection of William Cannon Drive and Salt Springs Road.

"In the event of some type of spill or leak, instead of waiting around to see what would happen, we're practicing," Spc. Matt Cox of the Austin Fire Department said.

It's the first major emergency drill for the fire department and the Longhorn Pipeline since the gasoline line went back into service.  Federal law says a drill must be held every year. The line has the capacity to carry more than 72,000 barrels of oil at a time.

"All pipelines are required to test their equipment annually. We test a little more frequently because we're newly operational," Gina Johnson, spokesperson for Longhorn Pipeline said.

The pipeline itself is more than 50 years old but it was relatively inactive until about six months ago when Longhorn put the line back into service after an eight-year legal battle with the city of Austin.

"The Supreme Court in the fall of last year chose not to hear the city's appeal, so that's when we got the green light to go ahead," Johnson said.

Nearby residents are still unhappy about the decision.

Luis Hernandez says the emergency drills don't calm his nerves.

"I'd like to be aware whenever they're having drills, whenever there's a problem with the pipeline. We have to be informed of those things," Hernandez said.

The Fire department says in the event of a real gas leak in the neighborhood, residents should stay inside their homes until they're told by officials to evacuate. Fire officials say the city is working on a Reverse 911 program, where the city would call and let residents know if they're in a hazardous situation. There's no set timetable on when that reverse 9-1-1 program will be up and running.

Longhorn spokespersons say the drill wasn't large enough to notify residents. But they assure homeowners their pipeline is safe.

"Because of the litigation, we went above and beyond in offering additional safety measures. Additional alarms and meters, increased foot patrols," Johnson said.

"They're just trying to relieve our fears, but again, if it's so safe why didn't they put it in their backyards?" Hernandez said.

Fire officials say everything in the drill went smoothly. But Hernandez says he and his neighbors plan to continue keeping a close eye on their newly operational neighbor.