Exxon still hasn't told utility why pipe broke

Exxon Mobil still has not told Central Arkansas Water representatives what caused the Pegasus crude oil pipeline to rupture more than a year ago in a Mayflower subdivision -- a key question because the problems identified as contributing to the accident had been present for decades, the utility's spokesman said Thursday.

"They know the hook cracks are ultimately what broke. But as to what caused the rupture at that location at that point in time after the hook cracks had been there for 65 years, they weren't able to identify a specific cause. ... Why here, why now? They said they haven't been able to limit it down to what specifically led to the rupture at that point," utility spokesman John Tynan said of Exxon Mobil officials.

Oil company officials were, however, "able to rule out a number of causes of the pipe break," Tynan said after he released two pages of notes taken during a roughly six-hour meeting on March 28 in Houston between Exxon Mobil and representatives of the utility, which provides drinking water to about 400,000 Arkansans.

Exxon Mobil Corp. spokesman Aaron Stryk said it probably would be today before he could comment on the company's behalf.

The 850-mile-long pipeline, built in 1947-48 and extending from Illinois to Texas' Gulf Coast, has been shut down since it cracked open on March 29, 2013, between two houses in Mayflower's Northwoods subdivision. Exxon Mobil has estimated that 210,000 gallons of heavy crude spilled into the neighborhood, drainage ditches and a cove of Lake Conway. The cleanup continues.

Tynan provided his notes to the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette under the Arkansas Freedom of Information Act and later released a copy of a March 19 letter in which pipeline safety consultant Richard Kuprewicz raised questions about the cause of the rupture and the adequacy of Exxon Mobil's pipeline testing.

In one section of the notes, Tynan mentioned the pipeline's manufacturing defects, or hook cracks, as well as "other atypical pipe properties" -- factors Exxon Mobil has cited for months as contributing to the accident. The notes also referred to the "unique" metal content of this stretch of pipe.

The notes then add, "No single cause ID [identified] -- Ruled number out."

Kuprewicz sent utility officials the letter, in which he broached unresolved issues to discuss with Exxon Mobil later in Houston.

"After almost one year, and despite the release of a metallurgical forensic report on the pipe segment that ruptured at Mayflower, the cause for the pipeline rupture at an operating pressure well below the Maximum Operating Pressure ... has not been adequately communicated to CAW," wrote Kuprewicz, who is on a technical advisory committee to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

"Anomalies, especially manufacturing related cracks that may be present in pipelines associated with LF-ERW, do not just lay dormant and then suddenly go to rupture failure," he added. "Without a reliable demonstration as to the reason this pipeline ruptured ... prudence would dictate that the pipeline segment spanning the Maumelle Watershed is at risk of rupture from continued operation, even at reduced pressures."

LF-ERW refers to low-frequency, electric-resistance welded pipe. The industry has known for decades that this type of pre-1970s pipe, which was used in much of the Pegasus line and is no longer made, is prone to fracture along welded seams running the length of the pipe.

Tynan said he could not recall whether Exxon Mobil officials indicated at the March meeting whether they still were investigating the cause. But he said, "We continue to ask, 'Are you continuing to look into this?'"

Asked if Exxon Mobil doesn't know the cause or knows but is declining to tell the utility, Tynan said, "I hate to speculate on what Exxon is or isn't doing."

Tynan said the pipeline administration declined utility officials' request to attend a federal hearing held Wednesday in Houston for Exxon Mobil. The agency scheduled that hearing months ago after Exxon Mobil appealed the agency's findings that the company had committed nine "probable" safety violations and should be fined $2.66 million.

"Certainly we are disappointed that the public and Central Arkansas Water are not able to attend that hearing or similar hearings, because the negotiations or decisions that are reached during that will determine how this and other pipelines will be managed as well as be held accountable to regulations in the future," Tynan said.

Such hearings should be "in the public spotlight," Tynan said.

Arkansas Attorney General Dustin McDaniel -- who, along with U.S. Attorney Christopher Thyer, has sued Exxon Mobil over the oil spill -- said, "I find it confounding that these hearings are not open to public view or scrutiny, but whether or not that is a valid policy is a question that should be directed to members of Congress."

U.S. Rep. Tim Griffin, a Republican whose 2nd District includes Mayflower and Lake Maumelle, has said closed hearings are "standard policy for this type of federal agency hearing" but that "Arkansans deserve transparency and openness."

Damon Hill, spokesman for the safety administration, said he believed that the hearing lasted most of the day Wednesday. The hearings are "informal" and have "always" been closed to the public, Hill said. "It's not necessarily being a secret," he added.

Hill released a copy of a 2010 letter in which the agency's associate administrator for pipeline safety noted that he had denied a company's request to allow the public to attend a similar hearing for Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LP. The official wrote in part that he denied the request under "a [federal law] provision that only allows interested persons to appear before an agency '[so] far as the orderly conduct of the public business permits.'"

Stryk declined to give any details of the hearing -- even its length or the number of witnesses called.

Kuprewicz said Exxon Mobil has been "less than forthcoming" in releasing information about how and why the Mayflower accident occurred.

"What exacerbates everything here is this whole process has been going on for a year, and it has been fairly clandestine in terms of the information made public and how much should be made public," he said.

"In fairness, there's a lot of litigation going on," he said, noting that in other situations, where there's been "tragedy and a loss of life," information usually comes to light sooner.

Kuprewicz's letter also addressed the question of how effective Exxon Mobil's pipeline tests are.

"To date ExxonMobil has not supplied CAW with data sufficient to show that its integrity management program relying on ILI [in-line inspection tools] to ascertain crack risk is adequate and appropriate," he wrote.

Kuprewicz also cited previous hydrostatic, or water-pressure, failures during Exxon Mobil testing in the watershed in 2006 and said he continues to recommend higher-stress hydrotests on the pipeline segment in that area before the line is restarted.

Given various factors, he said, he expects "such higher pressure hydrotesting will result in some test failures in the Watershed."

Exxon Mobil has filed a remedial work plan with the pipeline safety administration for that section and the rest of the northern section of the pipeline, but it is still under review.

Earlier this week, Griffin said the House approved a bipartisan amendment he led to transfer funding from the Federal Transit Administration to the pipeline safety administration and to provide resources for pipeline safety at no additional cost to taxpayers. He said his amendment was "fully offset by cutting $500,000 from the $103 million" provided in the bill for administration expenses at the transit administration.

Central Arkansas Water also has been talking with Exxon Mobil about the need for additional oil-shutoff valves, including remotely operated ones, that the utility wants installed in the rugged watershed, which includes some areas that are not easily accessible. Exxon Mobil has said it plans to install a "check valve," which requires no human interaction but which is not remotely operated, in one area, Tynan said.

A section on 06/13/2014

Upcoming Events