PHMSA orders ExxonMobil to improve safety at ruptured Montana pipeline

WASHINGTON, D.C. - Federal authorities have ordered ExxonMobil to make safety improvements to a ruptured pipeline in Montana that caused 750 to 1,000 barrels of crude oil to gush into the Yellowstone River.

The cause of the pipeline break is still under investigation, authorities said.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued a corrective action order to ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. that will require new safety measures along the Silvertip hazardous liquid pipeline, the federal agency said on July 5.

The order will require ExxonMobil to re-bury the pipeline underneath the river bed to protect it from external damage, the federal agency said in a statement. The oil company will also have to conduct a risk assessment on the pipeline where it crosses any waterway. Exxon will then need to submit a restart plan before operation can resume, officials said.

"The safety of our nation's pipelines is a priority and the investigation into this incident is ongoing," U.S. Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in a statement. "It is our responsibility to ensure pipelines are safely delivering energy to U.S. households and businesses, and when companies are not living up to our safety standards, we will take action. We will continue to work with the EPA, while ensuring that those responsible are held accountable."

The Silvertip Pipeline is a 12-inch pipeline about 69 miles long that carries crude oil from the Silvertip station in Elk Basin, Wy., to an ExxonMobil Refinery in Billings, Mont., federal officials said.

Regulators OK Enbridge Line 6B restart, order anomalies fixed

MARSHALL, Mich. - More repairs will be required as part of a deal that will permit Enbridge Energy Partners LP to restart Line 6B, which ruptured and spilled an estimated 19,500 barrels of Canadian synbit (upgraded bitumen) into Michigan’s Kalamazoo River watershed in July.

The Office of Pipeline Safety of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration notified Enbridge on Sept. 22 that its was approving the latest restart plan for the pipeline, which runs from Griffith, Ind., to Sarnia, Ontario.

Federal regulators said in a letter to the company that they want dozens of pipeline anomalies fixed within 180 days of a restart. A dented pipeline that runs beneath the St. Clair River would have to be replaced within one year of a restart.

Democratic U.S. Rep. Mark Schauer of Michigan released the letter of approval on Sept. 20, before the letter was received by Enbridge.

More about the restart and fixes in future articles.

Meanwhile, we have a copy of Enbridge’s restart plan. If you are a subscriber and would like a copy of the 20-page restart plan that Enbridge filed with PHMSA, email ngriese@anvilpub.com.