El Paso Agrees to Monitor Pipelines
Thursday July 26, 6:25 pm ET
By Sue Major Holmes, Associated Press Writer
Pipeline Explosion Results in Decree to Monitor, Fix Corrosion
ALBUQUERQUE, N.M. (AP) -- El Paso Natural Gas Co. has agreed to monitor and remedy corrosion in its pipeline system under a settlement that arose from a fiery pipeline explosion in August 2000 that killed 12 members of an extended family camping near Carlsbad. The consent decree, filed Thursday in U.S. District Court in Albuquerque, is the first judicial settlement brought under the Pipeline Safety Act, the U.S. Department of Justice said.
The department and the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said the settlement, signed by El Paso Natural Gas president James J. Cleary, covers the company's 10,000-mile pipeline system from the San Juan, Permian and Anadarko basins to markets in New Mexico, California, Arizona, Oklahoma, Texas and northern Mexico.
Among other things, it requires the company to modify its pipelines so they can be inspected by machines placed inside the lines to measure the thickness of pipes; collect and analyze liquid samples to see how corrosive they are; and train corrosion control workers.
The settlement also requires the company to spend at least $86 million on pipeline modifications and pay a $15.5 million fine.
National Transportation Safety Board investigators determined the explosion -- which left a crater 20 feet deep, 86 feet long and 46 feet wide -- was caused by water and other corrosives that pooled in the 50-year-old pipe and ate away at the metal.
NTSB inspectors said the company should have discovered the corrosion and that government inspectors should have discovered its failure to monitor the line.
El Paso Natural Gas already has spent more than $225 million on pipeline integrity and will spend more under the decree, said Richard Wheatley, manager of media relations for EPNG's parent company, Houston-based El Paso Corp.
As of June 30, EPNG had modified about 78 percent of the parts of the system that can be modified for in-line inspections, Wheatley said. Most of the interstate pipeline can be inspected with in-line instrumentation, and the parts that cannot be inspected are monitored in other ways, he said.
The consent decree requires the work to be completed by the end of 2010.
An order issued after the explosion required EPNG to assess the integrity of its pipelines. After the rupture, the company and El Paso Corp. committed to detecting and preventing corrosion in the high-pressure lines.
The pipeline changes EPNG will complete under the settlement "will help to ensure that severe internal corrosion that resulted in such a tragic accident will not be repeated," said Ronald J. Tenpas of the Justice Department's environment and natural resources division, one of the attorneys signing the settlement.
Federal agencies alleged that before the explosion, the company did not have personnel qualified in corrosion control methods; failed to investigate and repair corrosion in two pipelines transporting corrosive gas; and failed to monitor the pipelines to determine the effectiveness of steps taken to minimize corrosion.
The issue was referred to the Justice Department when the parties were unable to resolve the notice of violation. Negotiations began that led to the settlement.
El Paso Natural Gas and its parent company paid out millions of dollars to settle negligence lawsuits filed against it by relatives of those killed in the explosion. Five young children were among the victims.
Under the government settlement, the company did not admit to any of the allegations in the complaint. Wheatley said the company, while not taking issue with the government, believes it was in compliance with regulations in effect at the time of the explosion.
"The industry and El Paso have learned a lot from the Carlsbad incident. ... We're actively participating in industry initiatives to improve pipeline safety," he said.
The company has revamped its corrosion control program to expand leak surveys and testing of liquids, the decree said. Also, the decree requires it to review its the program annually and incorporate any advances in technology.
The public has 30 days to comment before the settlement is approved by the court.
