El Paso South Mainline Shut-in Extended

The U.S. Transportation Department's Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) has 
ordered all three of the pipes comprising El Paso Natural Gas' 1 Bcf/d South 
Mainline from Texas to California to remain closed until extensive tests can 
be done to ensure they are safe to operate. 

The order came in the wake of Saturday's explosion and fire that ripped 
through one of those lines, the 30-inch pipeline 1103, at a Pecos River 
crossing near Carlsbad, NM, killing 11 people. 

Because of the internal corrosion discovered on the failed section of 
pipeline, OPS is directing El Paso to submit a corrective action plan for OPS 
approval that will identify all areas on approximately 330 miles of pipeline 
that may be subject to internal corrosion," said Kelley S. Coyner, head of 
the Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) for the OPS, in a 
prepared statement. 

The DOT "is requiring that all segments of the three pipelines in the 
vicinity of Pecos River remain closed until such time that the department has 
determined that the pipeline segments are safe to operate." This is necessary 
to "protect the public and the environment and to prevent a similar failure 
on this pipeline system." 

The plan will require inspection, assessment, and repair or replacement of 
all damaged areas. 

"Based on the results of these and other tests, El Paso must develop a plan 
to assess the integrity of the remainder of its 10,000 mile pipeline system." 

The OPS "Corrective Action Order" was issued late Wednesday, after El Paso 
officials had been saying for most of the day it was only a matter of hours 
before at least one of the lines was back in operation. One industry source 
said testing could easily take three weeks to a month, even if no repairs are 
necessary. 

The OPS order directs El Paso to: 1) conduct hydrostatic pressure testing of 
the lines; 2) perform a direct assessment of the integrity of the pipelines 
by both X-ray and ultrasonic examinations; and 3) because internal corrosion 
has been detected in the failed section of the pipeline, El Paso also must 
submit a corrective action plan to OPS identifying all areas on the 
approximately 330 miles of pipeline that may have internal corrosion. 

Even if El Paso passes all these tests and OPS allows it to return to 
service, each of the three lines will be subject to a 20% pressure 
restriction, according to Coyner. The restriction will be reviewed in 10 
working days, and may be removed upon the receipt of more information about 
the factors that contributed to the Aug. 19 explosion. OPS has the authority 
to take other actions if warranted. 

The OPS yesterday issued the seven-page corrective action order, which 
permits it to suspend or restrict the operations of a pipeline, after it 
determined that the El Paso lines were hazardous. El Paso has been notified 
of the order, and it has 10 days to request a hearing to be held in either 
Houston or Washington DC. If El Paso fails to comply with any part of the 
order, it could face civil penalties of up to $25,000 a day, and the case 
could be referred to the U.S. Attorney General for "appropriate relief" in 
the U.S. District Court, according to Stacey Gerard, associate administrator 
for pipeline safety. 

Preliminary investigations of ruptured Line 1103 by the OPS and the National 
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) indicate that "significant internal 
corrosion was visible on the failed section. Internal corrosion may have been 
a contributing factor in the line failure. The possibility of internal 
corrosion on other lines in the area is a safety concern." 

The OPS order applies to the 30-inch Line 1103, which incurred the most 
damage, and the parallel 26-inch Line 1100 that "sustained an undetermined 
amount of damage at the Pecos River crossing due to the fire." It also covers 
the adjacent 30-inch Line 1110, whose damages are still undetermined. Lines 
1103 and 1110 were built in 1950, and Line 1100 in 1947. 

Within 90 days, El Paso will be required to submit to the OPS Southwest 
region director an "analysis of the continued safe operation" of the three 
lines "based on the testing and inspection required under this order." 

In related action. Rep. John Dingell (D-MI), who has been a sharp critic of 
OPS for its allegedly lax handling of pipeline safety violators, is in the 
process of drafting a letter to the agency to determine whether its failure 
to take aggressive action towards pipelines may have created an atmosphere 
that led to the tragedy on El Paso. 


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