Pipeline bursts, spills during a water test

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An underground section of the Olympic pipeline sprung a leak during high-pressure water tests Tuesday night, spewing 4,200 gallons of diesel-spotted water into a Renton neighborhood.

Though the rupture exposed an apparent weakness in the pipeline, proponents of pipeline testing yesterday seemed relieved that the 36-year-old conduit is being rigorously examined before fuel shipments resume.

"We were very pleased we were able to convince the company to conduct this test so there would be water in people's front yards rather than petroleum," said U.S. Rep. Jay Inslee, D-Bainbridge Island.

Inslee and other elected officials have pushed for tougher pipeline-safety standards in the aftermath of the June 10, 1999, fuel leak from the same pipeline in a Bellingham park. Three young people were killed in the resulting blast.

Most of the pipeline between the Canadian border and Renton has been shut since the fatal accident, pending safety checks. Only the stretch north of Burlington, Skagit County, resumed operations two months ago.

The 16-inch-diameter line and a newer 20-inch pipe, owned by London-based BP, cross densely populated areas on the Eastside.

The Renton leak was discovered about 10:30 p.m. by employees in the pipeline company's Renton control center and by residents of Royal Hills, a neighborhood south of the Cedar River.

Mel and Carolyn Carpenter, who live a few yards from the line, heard a boom. The Carpenters' herb garden flooded, and water trickled into their garage. Five small sinkholes appeared, but no major damage was reported.

The leak unnerved some neighbors, but Mel Carpenter was philosophical: "They are doing the checks to make sure it's strong.-- it wasn't," he said. "They're doing their job. I'm just glad it wasn't fuel."

A tiny amount of tainted water reached a creek that flows into the Cedar. A state Department of Ecology observer found two dead worms floating in the stream yesterday.

Olympic Pipe Line planned to reopen the entire 133-mile pipeline this summer. Whether Tuesday night's rupture will delay that opening is not known.

"We need to do an investigation as to the cause, make any necessary corrections or repairs and check it again," company spokesman Dan Cummings said. "We're not going to operate the line again until it's safe to operate."

A similar test in the Bellingham area in September 1999 ripped a 6-foot gouge in the steel pipe.

The Renton section failed at a water pressure of 1,670 pounds per square inch, about twice the typical fuel load. Water pipes in the average home operate at 60 psi.

Hydrostatic testing is not required by federal law, but BP Pipelines, which assumed control of Olympic Pipe Line last July, is voluntarily performing the tests under an agreement with the federal Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS).

But the procedure itself is controversial because officials from the OPS and other groups worry that the high stresses might weaken pipelines and raise the odds of subsequent spills.

Inslee cites the leak as a reason for Congress to approve mandatory pipeline-inspection standards, which he says have been obstructed by Republicans.

Mike Lindblom can be reached at 206-515-5631 or mlindblom@seattletimes.com.