Mayor presses Olympic for test of pipeline through city

The City of Seattle is determined to suspend operation of Olympic Pipe Line’s Seattle spur unless the company conducts a high-pressure water test of the 12-inch pipe that carries fuel through south-end neighborhoods, Mayor Greg Nickels said today.

The 38-year-old line carries gasoline and diesel and jet fuel from refineries in Whatcom and Skagit counties. Buried 30 inches deep, it runs 12-1/2 miles from Renton through Seattle neighborhoods to industrial customers on Harbor Island. It mostly follows a grassy Seattle City Light right of way, sharing the space with the utility’s transmission towers.

"The pipeline carries almost 9 million gallons of fuel a week through Seattle, including near two elementary schools and thousands of homes," Nickels said at a City Hall news conference, where he was joined by residents of the affected neighborhoods.

The mayor wants the hydrostatic testing — running water through the line under high pressure — to determine whether 14 weld-seam irregularities, detected by Olympic using other tests, pose a threat and need repair. The city says such tests are the industry standard.

Olympic contends the hydrostatic testing is not necessary, and that the city does not have authority to shut down the line.

Fuel pipelines are regulated by the federal Office of Pipeline Safety, but cities can negotiate franchise agreements with pipeline operators — imposing safety requirements in exchange for access to utility rights of way.

"We’re saying we’ve got tons of authority," said mayoral spokesman Casey Corr. "If they don’t think we have any authority, why do they have a franchise with us?"

Company officials did not return a call today for comment.

The franchise agreement, which expired in 2000, has not been renewed due to concerns about the 1999 Olympic pipeline spill of 225,000 gallons of gasoline. The fuel sent a fireball through a Bellingham park, killing two boys and a teenager.

"We learned a hard lesson in Bellingham," Nickels said. "I want convincing proof that the pipeline is safe."

Three Olympic officials pleaded guilty this year to federal charges concerning negligence and training failures in the blast, and the company and its former managing partner agreed to $112 million in penalties and fines.

Last year, Olympic, Shell and other parties agreed to pay $75 million to settle wrongful-death suits brought by the families of Stephen Tsiorvas and Wade King, both 10, who died of burns. They also reached an undisclosed settlement with the family of 18-year-old Liam Wood, who was overcome by fumes.

In addition to concerns related to Olympic’s history and the franchise, Nickels cited Olympic’s March filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection.

"Olympic says other kinds of testing are cheaper or just as good, but I’m not willing to take the word of a bankrupt oil company about public safety," the mayor said.

The city was negotiating with Olympic on a new franchise when the company filed for bankruptcy protection. Nickels then asked its owners — BP Pipelines North America and Shell Pipelines — to back up Olympic.

Their refusal prompted the mayor’s June 27 letter threatening temporary suspension of pipeline operations Aug. 26 unless hydrostatic testing affirms the line is safe.

Olympic’s president, Bobby Talley, replied Friday that the city’s conditions are "practically unnecessary, economically burdensome and legally unenforceable."

If the pipeline shuts down, Olympic would be responsible for getting fuel to affected customers, said a city fact sheet that suggested barging and trucking as two options. Suspension would not affect the flow of fuel to Seattle-Tacoma International Airport, it said.

The suspension will last "until a solvent company is operating the pipeline" and a new franchise agreement is in place, or Olympic has provided proof that hydrostatic tests have affirmed the line’s integrity — and that two anomalies have been repaired, the document said.

Since the Bellingham blast, it said, Olympic has performed hydrostatic tests on segments of pipeline running through Bellingham, Woodinville, Redmond and Renton.

The mayor has scheduled a public hearing on the issue July 29 at Holly Park’s New Holly Gathering Place.