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On April 6, State Rep. Deborah Eddy (whose children attended Rose Hill JH) advised by email, "the UTC (Utilities Transportation Commission) oversees the safety program ...the UTC is funded by industry so is not dependent on State funding."
Kathryn Reith, District Communications Director attended both Rose Hill meetings. She said: "Redmond has one of the toughest pipeline safety ordinances in the state," referencing to a City of Redmond code (Ord. 2137), signed by Mayor Ives in 2002. Reith made no reference to the Washington State UTC agency responsible for monitoring pipeline safety.
Steve Fischer, Principal Planner for the City of Redmond, manages final permit review for the project and will eventually hold a Public Hearing where pipeline safety, wildlife, tree preservation, floor plans and other project issues can be addressed. Steve attended both school meetings. He said he'd meet with Olympic Pipeline this week to review site safety measures. Mr. Fischer said the Olympic Pipeline isn't required to follow the city's recommendations.
So, which agency has the over-arching jurisdiction? What are the safety requirements?
On April 8, I emailed Joe Subsits, Executive Director of the State UTC for an explanation. Mr. Subsits replied, saying: (read more >>)
"The UTC is the agency that monitors the Olympic Pipeline for Safety Issues....perform the inspections, evaluate compliance....and make recommendations to the Federal Pipeline Safety Agency to enforce safety requirements.
We last inspected this section of Olympic last year as it is inspected every two years. The inspection reports are available on our web page for your review. The company Olympic (inspects every five years) is not required to remove trees though they are required to patrol the line every 3 weeks. Pipeline companies often choose to patrol the pipe by plane or helicopter which requires a clear line of sight to do the patrol properly. Though I have never witnessed this I am told that tree roots can interfere with the pipeline coating which is used to protect the pipe from corrosion. However, note that pipe damage would show up on internal inspection logs which are regularly produced by the company."BELOW MAP: Bing aerial map of Rose Hill JH. The new school will be built on the baseball field's open space. The pipeline and utility easement is on the right of the football field running N-S. The existing school will be torn down and most surrounding trees removed. Pileated woodpeckers have been reported foraging in alders near bordering residential homes south of the parcel.
"The Interstate pipeline system are exempt from complying with local and state safety pipeline safety requirements. The UTC does not deal with [project] siting issues though we will inspect construction projects. We are required to comply with 49 CFR 195... Olympic is required to have a public awareness program to inform the public of hazards associated with pipeline operation. Jim Fraley is the contact for public inquiries. His number is (425)981-2517."
Reported By Bob Yoder
Sources: RHJH meetings (2), State UTC
Photo is a graphic from the Internet and is not an Olympic pipe rendering.
This is very helpful as it outlines the problems of jurisdiction that are the source of legitimate worries. As you stated, neither the city's nor the district's regulations impact the pipeline owner whatsoever; our local entities have zero control over this pipeline's maintenance or safety testing. How does flying a plane over the pipeline equate to performing meaningful safety checks? Did they disclose any information about actual systems for checking for corrosions and leaking?
ReplyDeleteWhen the district says "Don't worry! All is well!" it is asking us to place total faith in the recordskeeping of BP -- which is arguably the most disreputable, dishonest and poorly run oil company of them all:
http://www.businessinsider.com/bp-has-been-fined-by-osha-760-times-has-an-awful-track-record-for-safety-2010-6
Forgive me if I sound cynical or mistrusting. It's just that I am. And with great reason, too!
Sixty-five percent of this pipeline was sold in 2006, which means BP was busy sprucing up its records and putting pink bows on this deal to make it more attractive to buyers. They may also have been less likely to perform repairs or maintenance that needed to be done. Why dump a bunch of cash into something you're about to offload?
Until somebody EXTERNAL starts managing safety testing and maintenance, and the government forces them to make these records public, I won't trust these guys. They've proven that we can't. Over and over.
Greyling Gentry, Redmond, WA.
A federal pipeline agency enforces the safety requirements set forth by the UTC and carried out by Olympic.
ReplyDeleteOlympia pipeline is charged with monitoring their pipeline for safety. As part of the program they fly over over the pipeline at least every three weeks to patrol it. They do other internal safety checks within the pipe which are explained on Olympic's website. Their safety log is archived on the UTC website. (When I looked for the log I couldn't find it.)
UTC inspects the pipeline every two years. UTC and the inspections are funded by the industry, not taxpayers.
I don't know why the District didn't know about the UTC safety inspections....or tell us.
Bob