http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/news/politics/2015/11/19/secrecy-sought-bakken-pipeline-oil-spill-threats/75981996/
Secrecy sought for Bakken pipeline oil spill threats
William Petroski, bpetr...@dmreg.com 6:54 a.m. CST November 19, 2015
BOONE, Ia. — Information about worst-case threats of oil spills on the
proposed Bakken pipeline through Iowa won't be made public "for obvious
reasons," an oil industry executive testified here Wednesday.
Todd Stamm, vice president of pipeline operations for Sunoco Logistics,
which would operate the Bakken pipeline, told the Iowa Utilities Board
that plans have been developed to address scenarios for pipeline spills
along the Iowa route, including data about potential volumes of oil
leaking at various sites. But he said the information needs to remain
confidential.
"We plan for it," Stamm said "... It is just not information that I
would suggest is information that you would want to be public as far as
the physical location of where that location might be."
Wallace Taylor of Cedar Rapids, a lawyer for the Iowa chapter of the
Sierra Club who was questioning Stamm, pressed for more details,
remarking, "The people along the pipeline might want to know."
Stamm didn't directly answer Taylor's question, replying, "We want to
have adequate resources to address that."
Lisa Dillinger, a spokeswoman for Energy Transfer Partners, told The Des
Moines Register later Wednesday the information cited as confidential
during Stamm's testimony is protected by federal regulations regarding
response plans for onshore oil pipelines. The plans are intended to
reduce the environmental impact of oil discharged from onshore oil
pipelines.
Stamm spoke on the fourth day of proceedings by Iowa utility regulators
to consider a request by Dakota Access, LLC., a unit of Dallas-based
Energy Transfer Partners, for a state permit to operate the pipeline.
The pipeline would transport about 450,000 barrels of crude oil daily
from North Dakota's Bakken and Three Forks oil fields through South
Dakota and Iowa to a distribution hub at Patoka, Ill. The Iowa board is
expected to make a decision whether to approve the project either in
late December or early January, and approvals are being sought in other
states.
In developing plans to respond to an oil spill, Stamm said his company
has already reached out to fire and police departments in each of the 18
Iowa counties along the route. He added that they would be engaged in
drills and in public outreach efforts to prepare for emergencies if the
pipeline is built. But Iowa firefighters and law enforcement would have
a limited role in event of a spill, simply protecting the public by
establishing a safety perimeter until company employees and oil response
contractors could arrive on the scene.
"We don’t look to them to be, I will say 'physically engaged' beyond
that point in recovering oil or those types of activities," Stamm said.
He added, "We are not looking to them to provide the more detailed
response that requires the additional training."
Taylor of the Sierra Club sought more information from Stamm, asking if
environmental problems could get out of hand before personnel arrived
with more advanced training to handle pipeline spills.
"I am sorry. I disagree," Stamm said. He added, "What the first
responders' responsibilities would be, from our perspective ... is the
health and safety of the people, keeping a safe distance until that time
where we can provide the appropriate responders who have the additional
training and equipment required to respond.”
In efforts to prevent pipeline leaks, the Sunoco executive said a
"cathodic protection system" would be used to place a current on the
line to prevent corrosion. He also said in-line inspection tools would
be used to detect internal and external corrosion.
"It gathers a tremendous amount of data relative to the condition of
that pipeline, everything from wall losses to types of abnormalities
that may be there. While you may not visually see it, the in-line
inspection tool” would provide a way to measure problems, he said.
In addition, Stamm said a fixed-wing aircraft would be flown over the
pipeline once a week and company employees would patrol the pipeline
route. Workers in a control center in Sugar Land, Texas, would
electronically monitor the pipeline 24 hours a day, 365 days per year.
The pipeline would be shut down as quickly as possible if a leak is
detected, he said.
If an oil spill does occur, Stamm acknowledged there could be soil and
groundwater impacts. But he suggested that while he isn't an
environmental expert, he considers such damage to be a "short-term"
problem. "I would disagree if you were categorizing that as long-term,"
he said.
Later Wednesday, Stacey Gerard, former assistant administrator and chief
safety officer of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration, said she believes the proposed pipeline could remain in
place indefintely if it is well maintained. "The important thing is the
choices that the operator makes," she said..
Any plans to raise the operating pressure in the pipeline will need
federal regulatory approval that meets federal requirements, Gerard
said. Public notice would be required and public comments would be
accepted before federal officials would make a decision, she added.
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