Panel Urges Monitors for Gasoline Line That Broke

The Irvine Public Safety Commission Thursday recommended that a computerized monitoring system and emergency shut-off valve be installed in a private underground pipeline that ruptured last November and spilled 500,000 gallons of gasoline into a flood control channel.

The commission, an advisory body to the Irvine City Council, also recommended that the Orange County Fire Department consult with San Diego Pipeline Co., which owns the pipeline, to develop a more efficient system to close valves and stop leaking gasoline in the event of another rupture.

San Diego Pipeline Co. officials could not be reached for comment Thursday.

The rupture on Nov. 22 of the 10-inch pipeline next to the Marine Corps Helicopter Station in Tustin poured gasoline for two hours into the flood control channel and resulted in the temporary evacuation of 1,500 Marines and their families. The accident killed all wildlife for about two miles along the channel and threatened to send 3.2 million gallons of contaminated water into Newport Bay, a wildlife area that is home to sensitive and endangered species.

A staff report Thursday to the Public Safety Commission praised all agencies that responded to the incident “for acting in an exemplary manner in containing” the spill.

Cleanup Process

But the report also recommended that steps be taken to “mitigate any possible safety, health or aesthetic impact to our community as the cleanup process progresses under the direction and control of other agencies.” The panel recommended that the state fire marshal request the pipeline company install a computerized monitoring system and additional check value.

The report and its recommendations were approved and sent on to the City Council for consideration.

The report also asks that final construction information on storm sewers in Irvine be entered into the city’s computerized map-making system to assist in developing evacuation plans, street closures and other emergency plans.

The state Water Quality Board is monitoring the estimated $1-million cleanup of the earthen channel by San Diego Pipeline, a subsidiary of Los Angeles-based Southern Pacific Pipeline Co. Board Chairman Jerry A. King said Jan. 9 that the spill, caused by a faulty pipe seam, was unintentional and that the company was not negligent.

A final determination has not been made by the state agency on whether to impose up to $4.6 million in fines, Jim Bennett, the Water Quality Control Board’s executive officer, said Thursday. However, Bennett said the likelihood of $4.6 million in fines is a “long shot.”

Residual Contamination

Monitoring of the contaminated soil on Wednesday by state Water Quality Control workers found residual contamination in the earthen banks of the channel, Bennett said. It may be necessary, he said, to leave some of the contaminated soil in place, rather than risk undermining the banks.

Bennett said it was not immediately known how extensively contaminated the flood channel banks are or whether further excavation will be necessary.

Don Schilling, water pollution and engineering specialist for the Orange County Environmental Management Agency, said soil samples were taken Wednesday for laboratory analysis to determine the extent of the remaining contamination.

Following the cleanup, Schilling said, the pipeline company will be required to restore the channel to its as-built specifications and to restock the area with birds, frogs and other wildlife killed by the spill.