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Longhorn Partners fails to conduct pipeline inspection
Longhorn Partners fails to conduct pipeline inspection
Company: Not enough gas in line to meet April test deadline
Daily Texan
By Paul Wentzell
June 24, 2005
After 10 years of legal wrangling and environmentalist scrutiny, the Longhorn Partners Pipeline, which transports refined fuels from Houston to El Paso, has fetched fresh concerns over its ability to operate safely in the Austin area.
The company, which officially began operation in fall 2004, intends to temporarily forego a federally mandated safety inspection.
Longhorn agreed to conduct the inspection within three months of opening the pipeline, but missed its April deadline claiming there is not enough gas in the pipeline to perform tests.
Austin Mayor Will Wynn and other officials, who have criticized the project from its inception due to safety concerns, are calling for immediate compliance with the federally mandated inspection. They want to see the company complete the inspection and make the repairs immediately, or else see the gasoline pipeline shut down.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, intervened and issued a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta calling for Longhorn to cease operations until the inspection is complete.
Longhorn officials say that the inspection cannot proceed without more gasoline flow through the pipeline, and that the product flow is presently too low to achieve sufficient results. In addition, Longhorn officials state that "rust produced by construction and hydrotesting must be minimized prior to inspection."
"By inspecting later when there is more continuous flow in the line instead of intermittent flow, and the particulates have been reduced, the data will be more accurate and useful to both Longhorn and to regulators," Longhorn officials said in a press release. ?
The pipeline, which was constructed in the 1950s and originally operated by ExxonMobil Corporation as a crude oil duct, was acquired by Longhorn Partners in 1995.
In 1998, a federal court lawsuit funded by a competitor was corroborated by the city of Austin and various environmentalist organizations within Austin against Longhorn, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
All parties agreed to settle the lawsuit as Longhorn voluntarily submitted to an Environmental Assessment. The EA produced a finding of No Significant Impact, and Longhorn accompanied the findings with its own mitigation plan, which included a commitment to properly inspect the line after three months.
So far, Longhorn officials claim, the commitments proposed by the mitigation plan have all been upheld except the inspection.
Dick Rabinow, Longhorn president, said his company is committed to operate the "safest pipeline in America."
"This modification in the mitigation plan helps to ensure the highest integrity of our inspection program and the most accurate safety inspections," Rabinow said.
The pipeline inspection is commonly facilitated by what is known as a "smart pig," a highly sophisticated analysis device that is used to accurately measure sensitive data within the pipeline.
According to Harold Daniel, president of the Save Barton Creek Association, the last time the pipeline was inspected in 1995 by former operators, the smart pig revealed more than 4,000 anomalies within the structure of the pipeline.
He also noted the pipeline is constructed using an outdated, inefficient weld that could be subject to leaking or breaking.
"Really, it's a public safety hazard," Daniel said.
Other conservation organizations, like the Save Our Springs Association, are upset over the delay of inspection. They agree that the threat of the pipeline is very real and could be potentially disastrous.
According to the city of Austin Web site, if the pipeline was to break, the contaminants could travel at a quick rate (four miles per day) through the groundwater, reaching Barton Springs within days.
Company: Not enough gas in line to meet April test deadline
Daily Texan
By Paul Wentzell
June 24, 2005
After 10 years of legal wrangling and environmentalist scrutiny, the Longhorn Partners Pipeline, which transports refined fuels from Houston to El Paso, has fetched fresh concerns over its ability to operate safely in the Austin area.
The company, which officially began operation in fall 2004, intends to temporarily forego a federally mandated safety inspection.
Longhorn agreed to conduct the inspection within three months of opening the pipeline, but missed its April deadline claiming there is not enough gas in the pipeline to perform tests.
Austin Mayor Will Wynn and other officials, who have criticized the project from its inception due to safety concerns, are calling for immediate compliance with the federally mandated inspection. They want to see the company complete the inspection and make the repairs immediately, or else see the gasoline pipeline shut down.
U.S. Rep. Lloyd Doggett, D-Texas, intervened and issued a letter to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Norman Mineta calling for Longhorn to cease operations until the inspection is complete.
Longhorn officials say that the inspection cannot proceed without more gasoline flow through the pipeline, and that the product flow is presently too low to achieve sufficient results. In addition, Longhorn officials state that "rust produced by construction and hydrotesting must be minimized prior to inspection."
"By inspecting later when there is more continuous flow in the line instead of intermittent flow, and the particulates have been reduced, the data will be more accurate and useful to both Longhorn and to regulators," Longhorn officials said in a press release. ?
The pipeline, which was constructed in the 1950s and originally operated by ExxonMobil Corporation as a crude oil duct, was acquired by Longhorn Partners in 1995.
In 1998, a federal court lawsuit funded by a competitor was corroborated by the city of Austin and various environmentalist organizations within Austin against Longhorn, the EPA and the U.S. Department of Transportation.
All parties agreed to settle the lawsuit as Longhorn voluntarily submitted to an Environmental Assessment. The EA produced a finding of No Significant Impact, and Longhorn accompanied the findings with its own mitigation plan, which included a commitment to properly inspect the line after three months.
So far, Longhorn officials claim, the commitments proposed by the mitigation plan have all been upheld except the inspection.
Dick Rabinow, Longhorn president, said his company is committed to operate the "safest pipeline in America."
"This modification in the mitigation plan helps to ensure the highest integrity of our inspection program and the most accurate safety inspections," Rabinow said.
The pipeline inspection is commonly facilitated by what is known as a "smart pig," a highly sophisticated analysis device that is used to accurately measure sensitive data within the pipeline.
According to Harold Daniel, president of the Save Barton Creek Association, the last time the pipeline was inspected in 1995 by former operators, the smart pig revealed more than 4,000 anomalies within the structure of the pipeline.
He also noted the pipeline is constructed using an outdated, inefficient weld that could be subject to leaking or breaking.
"Really, it's a public safety hazard," Daniel said.
Other conservation organizations, like the Save Our Springs Association, are upset over the delay of inspection. They agree that the threat of the pipeline is very real and could be potentially disastrous.
According to the city of Austin Web site, if the pipeline was to break, the contaminants could travel at a quick rate (four miles per day) through the groundwater, reaching Barton Springs within days.
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