Dangerous Pipelines
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John Mayo
Sep 12, 2010, 9:25:34 PM9/12/10
to Landowner's Rights Alliance
Pipelines are a danger too. What provisions does your pipeline ROW
contract have in it for safety and repair? Probably none...
John Mayo.
Residents return home after Calif pipeline blowout
By TREVOR HUNNICUTT and GARANCE BURKE
Associated Press Writers
AP Photo
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Watch Related Video
Some San Bruno Residents Go Home After Gas Blast
Advertisement
Buy AP Photo Reprints
SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) -- Residents returned Sunday to the ruined
hillsides of their suburban San Francisco neighborhood, three days
after a natural gas pipeline exploded into a deadly fireball.
A nearby risky segment of the gas line was due to be replaced, the
utility responsible said, because it ran through a heavily urbanized
area and the likelihood of failure was "unacceptably high." That 30-
inch diameter pipe a few miles north was installed in 1948, and was
slated to be swapped for new, smaller pipe.
California regulators ordered the utility, Pacific Gas and Electric,
to survey all its natural gas lines in the state in hopes of heading
off another disaster.
Investigators still don't know what caused Thursday night's blast, and
even as dozens of people returned to their scorched homes -
accompanied by gas workers to help restore pilot lights and make sure
it is safe to turn power back on - officials tried to confirm just how
many people died.
The remains of at least four people have been found, and authorities
have said four are missing and at least 60 injured, some critically.
Two people reported missing after blast were located Sunday, city
spokeswoman Robyn Thaw said.
San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said they're still trying to
confirm whether some of the remains they found are human and identify
victims.
Streets were crowded Sunday with PG&E cars and trucks, and
representatives were handing out gift certificates for grocery stores.
Nearly 50 homes were destroyed and seven severely damaged in the
blast, while dozens of other homes suffered less severe damage in the
fire that sped across 15 acres.
Pat and Roger Haro and their dog, Rosie, have been living in a hotel
room since Thursday after fleeing their home with the clothes they
were wearing, dog food, water and an iPad.
When they returned, their home was marked with a green tag -
indicating less damage than others with yellow or red tags - and their
electricity was still off.
"Once I saw the house was still there then I felt a whole lot better,"
Pat Haro said. "I think we'll be a tighter community."
A few blocks away, houses have collapsed into black and white debris
on ground, with a smell like charcoal in the air. All that remain
standing is a row of brick chimneys, while across the street, some
homes are undamaged.
Meanwhile, local and federal officials are probing the cause of the
explosion that blew a segment of pipe 28 feet long onto the street
some 100 feet away, creating a crater 167 feet long and 26 feet wide.
PG&E submitted paperwork to regulators for ongoing gas rate
proceedings that said a section of the same gas line about two and a
half miles away was within "the top 100 highest risk line sections" in
the utility's service territory, the documents show.
The company also considered the portion that ruptured to be a "high
consequence area" requiring more stringent inspections called
integrity assessments, federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration spokeswoman Julia Valentine said.
Nationwide, only about 7 percent of gas lines have that
classification, she said.
PG&E spokesman Andrew Souvall said the company had planned to replace
the piece of the gas line mentioned in the documents with 24-inch pipe
as a part of its broader proposal to upgrade infrastructure that the
commission began considering last year.
Souvall said Sunday that no one complained to the utility's call
centers of smelling gas in the San Bruno neighborhood in the week
leading up to the blast.
He said the ruptured section, which was installed in 1956, was last
checked for leaks in March. The company said later Sunday no leaks
were found.
The segment farther north was checked for leaks on Friday and none
were found, Souvall added.
"We take action on a daily basis to repair our equipment as needed,"
he said. "PG&E takes a proactive approach toward the maintenance of
our gas lines and we're constantly monitoring our system."
In ordering the company to conduct the leak survey on its natural gas
lines, the state's Public Utilities Commission said Sunday that PG&E
must give priority to higher pressure pipelines, as well as to lines
in areas of high population density.
The order comes after Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, the state's acting
governor, asked the commission to order the utility company to conduct
an integrity assessment of its natural gas pipeline system.
The commission also plans to appoint an independent expert panel to
help with their investigation.
An inspection of the severed pipe chunk in San Bruno revealed that it
was made of several smaller sections that had been welded together and
that a seam ran its length, but a federal safety official said that
did not necessarily indicate the pipe had been repaired.
Asked whether a welded pipe was more susceptible to leaks or
corrosion, National Transportation Safety Board vice chairman
Christopher Hart said: "Maybe, and maybe not."
At a church service at St. Robert's Catholic Church on Sunday morning,
the Rev. Vincent Ring conducted a prayer for the people who died, as
well as a prayer for the victims who have not been identified.
"We turn to God and we ask for mercy upon all our brothers who are
hurting so badly, whose lives have changed so drastically and whose
help is so badly need from us," Ring said.
---
contract have in it for safety and repair? Probably none...
John Mayo.
Residents return home after Calif pipeline blowout
By TREVOR HUNNICUTT and GARANCE BURKE
Associated Press Writers
AP Photo
AP Photo/Noah Berger
Watch Related Video
Some San Bruno Residents Go Home After Gas Blast
Advertisement
Buy AP Photo Reprints
SAN BRUNO, Calif. (AP) -- Residents returned Sunday to the ruined
hillsides of their suburban San Francisco neighborhood, three days
after a natural gas pipeline exploded into a deadly fireball.
A nearby risky segment of the gas line was due to be replaced, the
utility responsible said, because it ran through a heavily urbanized
area and the likelihood of failure was "unacceptably high." That 30-
inch diameter pipe a few miles north was installed in 1948, and was
slated to be swapped for new, smaller pipe.
California regulators ordered the utility, Pacific Gas and Electric,
to survey all its natural gas lines in the state in hopes of heading
off another disaster.
Investigators still don't know what caused Thursday night's blast, and
even as dozens of people returned to their scorched homes -
accompanied by gas workers to help restore pilot lights and make sure
it is safe to turn power back on - officials tried to confirm just how
many people died.
The remains of at least four people have been found, and authorities
have said four are missing and at least 60 injured, some critically.
Two people reported missing after blast were located Sunday, city
spokeswoman Robyn Thaw said.
San Mateo County Coroner Robert Foucrault said they're still trying to
confirm whether some of the remains they found are human and identify
victims.
Streets were crowded Sunday with PG&E cars and trucks, and
representatives were handing out gift certificates for grocery stores.
Nearly 50 homes were destroyed and seven severely damaged in the
blast, while dozens of other homes suffered less severe damage in the
fire that sped across 15 acres.
Pat and Roger Haro and their dog, Rosie, have been living in a hotel
room since Thursday after fleeing their home with the clothes they
were wearing, dog food, water and an iPad.
When they returned, their home was marked with a green tag -
indicating less damage than others with yellow or red tags - and their
electricity was still off.
"Once I saw the house was still there then I felt a whole lot better,"
Pat Haro said. "I think we'll be a tighter community."
A few blocks away, houses have collapsed into black and white debris
on ground, with a smell like charcoal in the air. All that remain
standing is a row of brick chimneys, while across the street, some
homes are undamaged.
Meanwhile, local and federal officials are probing the cause of the
explosion that blew a segment of pipe 28 feet long onto the street
some 100 feet away, creating a crater 167 feet long and 26 feet wide.
PG&E submitted paperwork to regulators for ongoing gas rate
proceedings that said a section of the same gas line about two and a
half miles away was within "the top 100 highest risk line sections" in
the utility's service territory, the documents show.
The company also considered the portion that ruptured to be a "high
consequence area" requiring more stringent inspections called
integrity assessments, federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration spokeswoman Julia Valentine said.
Nationwide, only about 7 percent of gas lines have that
classification, she said.
PG&E spokesman Andrew Souvall said the company had planned to replace
the piece of the gas line mentioned in the documents with 24-inch pipe
as a part of its broader proposal to upgrade infrastructure that the
commission began considering last year.
Souvall said Sunday that no one complained to the utility's call
centers of smelling gas in the San Bruno neighborhood in the week
leading up to the blast.
He said the ruptured section, which was installed in 1956, was last
checked for leaks in March. The company said later Sunday no leaks
were found.
The segment farther north was checked for leaks on Friday and none
were found, Souvall added.
"We take action on a daily basis to repair our equipment as needed,"
he said. "PG&E takes a proactive approach toward the maintenance of
our gas lines and we're constantly monitoring our system."
In ordering the company to conduct the leak survey on its natural gas
lines, the state's Public Utilities Commission said Sunday that PG&E
must give priority to higher pressure pipelines, as well as to lines
in areas of high population density.
The order comes after Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, the state's acting
governor, asked the commission to order the utility company to conduct
an integrity assessment of its natural gas pipeline system.
The commission also plans to appoint an independent expert panel to
help with their investigation.
An inspection of the severed pipe chunk in San Bruno revealed that it
was made of several smaller sections that had been welded together and
that a seam ran its length, but a federal safety official said that
did not necessarily indicate the pipe had been repaired.
Asked whether a welded pipe was more susceptible to leaks or
corrosion, National Transportation Safety Board vice chairman
Christopher Hart said: "Maybe, and maybe not."
At a church service at St. Robert's Catholic Church on Sunday morning,
the Rev. Vincent Ring conducted a prayer for the people who died, as
well as a prayer for the victims who have not been identified.
"We turn to God and we ask for mercy upon all our brothers who are
hurting so badly, whose lives have changed so drastically and whose
help is so badly need from us," Ring said.
---
Tiffany Sparks
Sep 24, 2010, 10:44:05 AM9/24/10
to landowners-ri...@googlegroups.com
Cushing has problems with leaky gas pipelines. Just a matter of time before they
have the same problem as California
have the same problem as California
M. Lynne Mayo
Sep 24, 2010, 2:01:19 PM9/24/10
to landowners-ri...@googlegroups.com
THANKS, Marshall.
Yep. Dangerous stuff and like Groucho Marx, "I'm Against It!"
Love,
Lynne
M. Lynne Mayo
ll...@usfamily.net
612-722-7356
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johnmayo
Sep 24, 2010, 2:58:13 PM9/24/10
to landowners-ri...@googlegroups.com
Gas leaks here? Can't be!
That only happens to other people, far, far away... right? >
That only happens to other people, far, far away... right? >
Cushing has problems with leaky gas pipelines. Just a
> matter of time before they have the same problem as
> California
>
>
>
>
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