David Core, a pipeline landowner and CEO of CAEPLA: Canadian Association of Energy and Pipeline Landowners Associations, has written:
At least rail is transparent, above ground, and in sight. It appears, after years of privilege, they now function under the same Canadian liability and environmental laws as the rest of us.
Perhaps it is time for the archaic pipeline legislation to come out of the stone age.
Pipelines are less safe than rail, and weakly regulated. Weak pipeline regulations are responsible in part for massive pipeline disasters, says the
National Transportation Safety Board, in a July 10, 2012 press release on the Enbridge 6B Kalamazoo River spill
The NTSB also cited the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration's weak regulations regarding pipeline assessment and repair criteria as well as a cursory review of Enbridge's oil spill response plan as contributing to the magnitude of the accident.
An argument for accepting Keystone XL has been that tar sands will be used anyway, and will be transported by rail, if the pipeline is not approved. Some diarists and commentators here have argued without any data to back them up.
We need to be opposing all new applications for tar sands petroleum pipelines, as well as all pipeline flow reversals and increases in flow, not just Keystone XL. Enbridge has applied recently to double the throughput on some of its Midwest tar sands import lines, as reported on DailyKos by LakeSuperior.
"This investigation identified a complete breakdown of safety at Enbridge. Their employees performed like Keystone Kops and failed to recognize their pipeline had ruptured and continued to pump crude into the environment," said NTSB Chairman Deborah A.P. Hersman. "Despite multiple alarms and a loss of pressure in the pipeline, for more than 17 hours and through three shifts they failed to follow their own shutdown procedures."
Clean up costs are estimated by Enbridge and the EPA at $800 million and counting, making the Marshall rupture the single most expensive on-shore spill in US history.
Over 840,000 gallons of crude oil - enough to fill 120 tanker trucks - spilled into hundreds of acres of Michigan wetlands, fouling a creek and a river. A Michigan Department of Community Health study concluded that over 300 individuals suffered adverse health effects related to benzene exposure, a toxic component of crude oil. (NTSB, July 10, 2012)
If a train wreck with petroleum tanker cars occurs, it will be noticed, and the tankers can only spill the oil they contain. When pipelines trigger alarms and lose pressure, apparently pipeline companies continue to push toxic chemicals through the pipe and into the environment until a outside observer reports the problem:
Following the first alarm, Enbridge controllers restarted Line 6B twice, pumping an additional 683,000 gallons of crude oil, or 81 percent of the total amount spilled, through the ruptured pipeline. The NTSB determined that if Enbridge's own procedures had been followed during the initial phases of the accident, the magnitude of the spill would have been significantly reduced. Further, the NTSB attributed systemic flaws in operational decision-making to a "culture of deviance," which concluded that personnel had a developed an operating culture in which not adhering to approved procedures and protocols was normalized. (NTSB, July 10, 2012)
So let's be clear, pipelines are not safer than rail. A few more links, plus possible updates, below the fold.
Former TransCanada engineer Evan Vokes wins whistleblower award, says:
"To me the most outstanding issue is the practice of engineering during the construction of pipelines," says Vokes.
"Under deadlines of cost and schedule for pipelines, quality concerns are reduced from compliance with the code to what risks can the company get away with."
MN pipeline spills: Eleven reported spills in Minnesota since 2002 from Enbridge alone, including a pipeline explosion near Clearbrook in 2007 that killed two people and for which the company’s fines totaled $2.4 million.
11:56 AM PT: Fire Chief observes, thankfully " they've built the rail cars to sustain derailment" in video that accompanies this story:
March 7, 2013 MATTAWAMKEAG, Maine — Emergency workers will be handling crude oil a few yards from the Penobscot River overnight Thursday after 13 full 31,000-gallon train tanker cars derailed and tipped over, spilling just 3 gallons, officials said.
The Pan Am Railways tanker cars, which were among 15 that derailed on the 96-car train, went off the tracks near Route 2 and the Winn town line about 5 a.m. Thursday. No injuries were reported. Thirteen of the 15 cars tipped over but none ruptured, said Pan Am Railways Executive Vice President Cynthia Scarano.
Scarano described the oil spill as that which typically accumulates around the two hatches atop the tank when tanks are filled or emptied. About a gallon of oil came from three overturned tankers, Mattawamkeag Fire Chief Robert Powers said.
“Three gallons — that’s amazing [when you] have the cars laying on their sides, a couple of them in trees,” Powers said. “They’ve built the rail cars to sustain derailment. We are very thankful that that’s where we are at right now.”
Maine Department of Environmental Protection crews and a private contractor will be working with Pan Am to transfer oil from the 13 tankers to 20 smaller tankers. The work likely will continue for two or three days, said department spokeswoman Samantha Warren, who said the spill could have been “disastrous.”