In the United States, 2.5 million miles of natural gas and crude oil pipelines form the network that transports energy to all corners of the nation. Yet the age and fragility of this delicate web — along with questions of how the network is being maintained — have led many to be critical of the safety of the nation’s fuel delivery system.
On Sept. 9, 2010, a Pacific Gas & Electric natural gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, California, just two miles west of the San Francisco International Airport, creating a wall of fire witnesses estimated was more than 1,000 feet high and registering a shockwave the U.S. Geological Survey recorded as a magnitude 1.1 earthquake. The blast killed eight people, excavated a 173,000 cubic feet crater on Glenview Drive and destroyed 38 homes.
On Tuesday, the U.S.Attorney for the Northern District of California accused PG&E of knowingly lying to the National Transportation Safety Board about the company’s pipeline testing policy during the initial investigation of the explosion. According to the indictment, PG&E provided the NTSB with a version of the policy that addresses how the company deals with manufacturing defects with its pipelines. The explosion was found to be caused by a seam blowout, which failed under a full pressure load. PG&E would later withdraw the policy from evidence, calling it “an unapproved draft,” while, in reality, PG&E was operating under the submitted policy from 2009 to 2011. The policy failed to prioritize the company’s older natural gas pipelines — which tend to run through urban or residential areas — for repair or replacement.
Additionally, the U.S. attorney has brought 27 related charges against PG&E, alleging repeated violations of the Pipeline Safety Act of 1968. Among these charges are allegations that PG&E failed to keep accurate or complete records for its major pipelines, failed to identify or remedy threats to the pipeline network’s integrity, and failed to assess the safety of the pipeline network after the system was overpressurized. In the days prior to the explosion, local residents complained about the strong smell of gas in the area — an issue that was not adequately addressed.
PG&E is facing a fine equal to twice the gross gain PG&E made as a direct result of the violations or twice the gross loss the victims suffered. With PG&E making an alleged $281 million from its negligence and the victims reporting approximately $565 million in losses, the projected $1.13 billion fine will be the largest ever exacted by the federal government for a pipeline failure. Under the original indictment, PG&E only faced $6 million in fines. In addition, PG&E is facing $2.5 billion in civil fines — including reparations demanded by the California Public Utility Commission — and a litany of private lawsuits.
“[Based] on all of the evidence we have seen to date, we do not believe that the charges are warranted and that, even where mistakes were made, employees were acting in good faith to provide customers with safe and reliable energy,” said PG&E spokesman Greg Snapper in response to the federal indictment. Snapper indicated that the company had yet to review the charges at the time the statement was made.
While pipelines are generally considered safer for transporting carbon fuels than trains or trucks — which could potentially spill in populated areas — questions of erosion and inadequate corporate response continue to color discussions on new pipeline development, including the long-delayed Hardisty, Alberta, Canada, to Steele City, Nebraska, extension of the Keystone Pipeline System, also known as the Keystone XL project. The potential of the pipeline leaking bitumen — a natural form of asphalt — over the environmentally-fragile Sand Hills and the Ogallala Aquifer — the freshwater supply for eight states — has prompted opposition to the pipeline.
“It’s inevitable that as pipelines age, as they are exposed to the elements, eventually they are going to spill,” said Tony Iallonardo of the National Wildlife Federation. “They’re ticking time bombs.”
As oil travels through a metal conduit, friction forms. This leads to an eventual wearing away of the pipeline’s lining and walls. Incidents, such as the 2010 pipeline rupture in Michigan that dumped 840,000 gallons of crude oil into the Kalamazoo River, resulting in over $800 million in damages, or the 2011 Exxon Mobil pipeline rupture in Montana, which emptied approximately 42,000 gallons of oil into the Yellowstone River just weeks after a company inspection, reflect the notion that the pipeline system may be inadequately monitored or regulated.
The nation’s pipeline system is monitored by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which is chronically underfunded and lacks the manpower needed to adequately and timely inspect all of the nation’s fuel pipes. This creates a de facto system of self-regulation in which bad actors rarely receive fines and penalties and regulatory responses typically come reactively instead of proactively.
This is troubling, as more than half of the nation’s pipelines are more than 50 years old. As many of the older pipelines pass through urban areas, the cost and difficulty in digging up and testing these pipes make it tempting for many operators to avoid inspecting them. Only changes to the regulations in the 1990s forced operators to expand testing in pipelines in “high consequence” areas, such as population centers and areas near sources of drinking water. Despite these changes, much of the network, including “gathering pipelines” that connect wells to transmission lines, are outside government regulation, per a Government Accountability Office report, with the government having no valid data on the integrity or rate of rupture for these segments.
“Without data on these risk factors, pipeline safety officials are unable to assess and manage safety risks associated with these pipelines,” read the GAO’s abstract on the report. “Furthermore, changes in pipeline operational environments cited in response to GAO’s survey and by industry officials could also increase safety risks for federally unregulated gathering pipelines.”
According to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, from 1994 to 2013, there have been 10,620 land-based pipeline leaks, resulting in over $6 billion in property damage and 2.3 million barrels of liquid fuel being leaked. Of this, only 1.4 million barrels were recovered. Meanwhile, 5,618 of these cases were termed “significant,” meaning that a fatality or injury was involved, damages exceeded $50,000, or a fire or explosion occurred.
“The system as it presently exists, I don’t think it really protects the public,” said Florida Rep. Corrine Brown, the ranking member of the House transportation subcommittee on railroads, pipelines and hazardous materials. “Self-reporting doesn’t work. We need additional rules and regulations to make sure we’re doing what we’re supposed to be doing to protect communities.”