ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - Rocks lodged beneath the Romeoville pipeline were the likely cause of the two-inch hole that led to the pipeline oil spill here, officials from the National Transportation Safety Board said on Sept. 16.
During a conference call with reporters, Matt Nicholson of the NTSB said the 40-year-old, 34-inch Enbridge Line 6A did not appear to suffer from corrosion or cracking, but that more analysis is needed at the agency's lab in Virginia.
Nicholson described the hole as a puncture, perhaps aggravated by a
leaking water line buried just a half-foot below the oil pipeline.
Showing posts with label Enbridge Partners LP. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Enbridge Partners LP. Show all posts
Tuesday, September 21, 2010
Tuesday, September 14, 2010
Double trouble: Latest Enbridge leak shuts down Line 6A in Illinois
ROMEOVILLE, Ill. - The odor of petroleum stretched for blocks in this Chicago suburb after a 34-inch Enbridge crude oil pipeline began to leak on Sept. 9.
Emergency workers and hazardous materials crews were called around 1 p.m. to the spill flowing steadily in an industrial area of Romeoville.
By 12:45 p.m., the pipe had been shut down and environmental cleanup crews began to arrive.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that the pipeline was spewing oil at a rate of between 200 and 600 barrels per hour until the ruptured line is depressurized.
The U.S. EPA issued a legal compliance order to Enbridge to stop all oil being released by noon on Sept. 13.
The compliance order indicates the crude oil discharged into a storm drain and flowed to a drainage ditch leading to a two-acre pond.
"The retention pond flows into an unnamed tributary which then flows approximately a half-mile into the Des Plaines River," the EPA said in its compliance order. "The discharged oil has flowed to the local wastewater treatment plant which has been forced to shut down."
The EPA also noted that rain was predicted for the weekend, which would increase the risk of oil entering the river.
Enbridge was given 30 days by the EPA to repair the pipe.
The U.S. EPA said it would require Enbridge to drain down at least half of the 16,000 barrels of oil that remained inside the stretch of the Illinois pipeline between valves, and gave the Calgary-based pipeline operator an Oct. 9 deadline to bring the area affected by the spill "back to normal."
Enbridge said it would take some time before normal shipments could resume on the line, which was transporting 459,000 b/d before the leak.
Enbridge spokesman Larry Springer said later in the day that a clean-up crew has begun excavating the buried pipeline to drain down the remaining oil, Springer said. He said it was too early to know the magnitude of the spill or when the line could be repaired. More than 200 Enbridge responders and contractors were reportedly working on the cleanup and response.
Enbridge Energy Partners LP operates the Enbridge Lakehead System that transports Canadian crude oil to the U.S. T
The leaking 34-inch pipeline runs from Superior, Wis., to Griffith, Ind. The line transports about a third of the Canadian crude exported to the U.S.
What made the Romeoville accident doubly embarrassing for Enbridge was that crews were still cleaning up the company’s 19,500 bbl. Line 6B crude oil spill into the Kalamazoo River watershed in Michigan that began in late July.
Sources familiar with operations at BP Plc's 405,000 b/d Whiting, Ind., refinery, which is supplied by 6A, said the plant has crude in storage but declined to comment on how long those supplies would last if the outage continues.
In a press release, Romeoville officials said the village was notified of a liquid emanating from the ground at 719 Parkwood Ave. in the Romeoville Industrial Park. Village staff determined it was a petroleum-based substance coming from an underground Enbridge oil pipeline.
Officials said the village responded immediately, putting its emergency management plan into action. The Romeoville Fire Department enacted a second alarm hazardous materials incident plan.
Emergency workers and hazardous materials crews were called around 1 p.m. to the spill flowing steadily in an industrial area of Romeoville.
By 12:45 p.m., the pipe had been shut down and environmental cleanup crews began to arrive.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency said that the pipeline was spewing oil at a rate of between 200 and 600 barrels per hour until the ruptured line is depressurized.
The U.S. EPA issued a legal compliance order to Enbridge to stop all oil being released by noon on Sept. 13.
The compliance order indicates the crude oil discharged into a storm drain and flowed to a drainage ditch leading to a two-acre pond.
"The retention pond flows into an unnamed tributary which then flows approximately a half-mile into the Des Plaines River," the EPA said in its compliance order. "The discharged oil has flowed to the local wastewater treatment plant which has been forced to shut down."
The EPA also noted that rain was predicted for the weekend, which would increase the risk of oil entering the river.
Enbridge was given 30 days by the EPA to repair the pipe.
The U.S. EPA said it would require Enbridge to drain down at least half of the 16,000 barrels of oil that remained inside the stretch of the Illinois pipeline between valves, and gave the Calgary-based pipeline operator an Oct. 9 deadline to bring the area affected by the spill "back to normal."
Enbridge said it would take some time before normal shipments could resume on the line, which was transporting 459,000 b/d before the leak.
Enbridge spokesman Larry Springer said later in the day that a clean-up crew has begun excavating the buried pipeline to drain down the remaining oil, Springer said. He said it was too early to know the magnitude of the spill or when the line could be repaired. More than 200 Enbridge responders and contractors were reportedly working on the cleanup and response.
Enbridge Energy Partners LP operates the Enbridge Lakehead System that transports Canadian crude oil to the U.S. T
The leaking 34-inch pipeline runs from Superior, Wis., to Griffith, Ind. The line transports about a third of the Canadian crude exported to the U.S.
What made the Romeoville accident doubly embarrassing for Enbridge was that crews were still cleaning up the company’s 19,500 bbl. Line 6B crude oil spill into the Kalamazoo River watershed in Michigan that began in late July.
Sources familiar with operations at BP Plc's 405,000 b/d Whiting, Ind., refinery, which is supplied by 6A, said the plant has crude in storage but declined to comment on how long those supplies would last if the outage continues.
In a press release, Romeoville officials said the village was notified of a liquid emanating from the ground at 719 Parkwood Ave. in the Romeoville Industrial Park. Village staff determined it was a petroleum-based substance coming from an underground Enbridge oil pipeline.
Officials said the village responded immediately, putting its emergency management plan into action. The Romeoville Fire Department enacted a second alarm hazardous materials incident plan.
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
Enbridge contractor fired over safety, documentation issues
MARSHALL, Mich. - Enbridge Inc.'s main contractor on the efforts to
clean up the recent oil spill on the Kalamazoo River let go a subcontractor after allegations that it was using undocumented workers and was not abiding by federal safety standards.
Enbridge spokeswoman Terri Larson confirmed on Aug. 31 that Houston-based Garner Environmental Services terminated its agreement with Hallmark Industrial LLC, also of Texas, on Aug. 30 after an Aug. 30 report in the Michigan Messenger about the undocumented workers and safety issues.
The report said that hundreds of Hallmark workers were undocumented and were working in unsafe conditions, working 12 to 14 hour shifts, seven days a week, and getting paid in cash.
"They made that decision independently," Larson said of Garner, noting that Enbridge has "no reason to be concerned" about Garner's ability to perform the cleanup work, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has told Enbridge must be wrapped up by Sept. 27.
Photos of the worksite provided by the Messenger, an online news and public policy website, to the EPA prompted the agency to contact Enbridge to make sure the company was following all safety regulations, said Mark Durno, the EPA's deputy incident commander for the spill response.
In some of the photos, workers were seen in so-called "clean zones" wearing oil-covered protective gear. In others, workers wearing the same oil-contaminated gear were seen next to food and water.
Enbridge has complied with an EPA order to re-educate its workers and those employed by its contractors on safety issues, Durno said.
clean up the recent oil spill on the Kalamazoo River let go a subcontractor after allegations that it was using undocumented workers and was not abiding by federal safety standards.
Enbridge spokeswoman Terri Larson confirmed on Aug. 31 that Houston-based Garner Environmental Services terminated its agreement with Hallmark Industrial LLC, also of Texas, on Aug. 30 after an Aug. 30 report in the Michigan Messenger about the undocumented workers and safety issues.
The report said that hundreds of Hallmark workers were undocumented and were working in unsafe conditions, working 12 to 14 hour shifts, seven days a week, and getting paid in cash.
"They made that decision independently," Larson said of Garner, noting that Enbridge has "no reason to be concerned" about Garner's ability to perform the cleanup work, which the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has told Enbridge must be wrapped up by Sept. 27.
Photos of the worksite provided by the Messenger, an online news and public policy website, to the EPA prompted the agency to contact Enbridge to make sure the company was following all safety regulations, said Mark Durno, the EPA's deputy incident commander for the spill response.
In some of the photos, workers were seen in so-called "clean zones" wearing oil-covered protective gear. In others, workers wearing the same oil-contaminated gear were seen next to food and water.
Enbridge has complied with an EPA order to re-educate its workers and those employed by its contractors on safety issues, Durno said.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Enbridge Partners involved in massive 19,500 bbl. crude spill in Michigan
MARSHALL, Mich. - Enbridge Energy Partners LP (NYSE: EEP) said about 19,500 barrels of crude oil may have leaked from a pipeline near its pump station in Marshall, Mich.
The exact time of the spill had not yet been determined on July 27, but the Battle Creek Enquirer quoted a Battle Creek resident who said he smelled oil at around 9 p.m. on July 25.
Residents of the Battle Creek area were being warned to stay away from the Kalamazoo River because of the oil spill. The Kalamazoo River empties into Lake Michigan at Saugatuck, Mich.
After Enbridge learned of the spill, perhaps half a day after it occurred, the pipeline was shut down and isolation valves were closed, stopping the flow of oil.
Enbridge crews were on scene on July 26 with oil skimmers and booms on the creek and river, a press release from the company said. However, efforts to contain the spill were complicated by high water levels that made access to the flooding creek and river difficult to impossible.
Enbridge Liquids Pipelines general manager Tom Fridel said the leak was caused by a pipeline malfunction, but the cause is still being investigated, according to the Enquirer.
No one was immediately injured in the spill.
Area media were reporting that odor from the spill hung heavy over Battle Creek.
"It is unknown at this time how far the spill has traveled and exactly what areas have been affected. It is assumed due to the current level of the Kalamazoo River and the speed of the current that the entire Emmett Township area and beyond has been affected," according to an advisory issued today by the Emmett Township Public Safety Department.
Wayne Hoepner, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, said oil from the spill could reach Lake Michigan as early as Aug. 1, although numerous variables could affect the flow rate.
A message on an Enbridge hotline set up for the spill said "we regret any inconvenience this has caused to the community."
The oil leaked from a 30-inch pipeline that carries about eight million gallons of oil per day from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario.
The oil spilled into Talmadge Creek, which flows northwest into the Kalamazoo River. The site is in Calhoun County's Marshall Township, about 60 miles southeast of Grand Rapids.
Authorities evacuated two homes near the leak.
According to the Battle Creek Enquirer, an impromptu animal rescue of wildlife affected by the Marshall-area oil spill was to begin immediately.
Organizers said in a posting on Facebook that volunteers should gather at Squaw Creek, scene of the spill.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued a statement indicating he is “deeply concerned about the effects of the oil spill near Marshall, including the environmental impact and the disruption to residents and businesses. It is also deeply worrisome that the oil from the spill has made its way into the Kalamazoo River.”
The exact time of the spill had not yet been determined on July 27, but the Battle Creek Enquirer quoted a Battle Creek resident who said he smelled oil at around 9 p.m. on July 25.
Residents of the Battle Creek area were being warned to stay away from the Kalamazoo River because of the oil spill. The Kalamazoo River empties into Lake Michigan at Saugatuck, Mich.
After Enbridge learned of the spill, perhaps half a day after it occurred, the pipeline was shut down and isolation valves were closed, stopping the flow of oil.
Enbridge crews were on scene on July 26 with oil skimmers and booms on the creek and river, a press release from the company said. However, efforts to contain the spill were complicated by high water levels that made access to the flooding creek and river difficult to impossible.
Enbridge Liquids Pipelines general manager Tom Fridel said the leak was caused by a pipeline malfunction, but the cause is still being investigated, according to the Enquirer.
No one was immediately injured in the spill.
Area media were reporting that odor from the spill hung heavy over Battle Creek.
"It is unknown at this time how far the spill has traveled and exactly what areas have been affected. It is assumed due to the current level of the Kalamazoo River and the speed of the current that the entire Emmett Township area and beyond has been affected," according to an advisory issued today by the Emmett Township Public Safety Department.
Wayne Hoepner, a meteorologist for the National Weather Service in Grand Rapids, said oil from the spill could reach Lake Michigan as early as Aug. 1, although numerous variables could affect the flow rate.
A message on an Enbridge hotline set up for the spill said "we regret any inconvenience this has caused to the community."
The oil leaked from a 30-inch pipeline that carries about eight million gallons of oil per day from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario.
The oil spilled into Talmadge Creek, which flows northwest into the Kalamazoo River. The site is in Calhoun County's Marshall Township, about 60 miles southeast of Grand Rapids.
Authorities evacuated two homes near the leak.
According to the Battle Creek Enquirer, an impromptu animal rescue of wildlife affected by the Marshall-area oil spill was to begin immediately.
Organizers said in a posting on Facebook that volunteers should gather at Squaw Creek, scene of the spill.
Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., issued a statement indicating he is “deeply concerned about the effects of the oil spill near Marshall, including the environmental impact and the disruption to residents and businesses. It is also deeply worrisome that the oil from the spill has made its way into the Kalamazoo River.”
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