Tougher Pipeline-Testing Bill Introduced in Senate

Prompted by two pipe ruptures that spilled thousands of gallons of crude oil into Encino streets and the Los Angeles River last year, a state senator Wednesday proposed legislation that would require more rigorous testing of underground lines.

The bill by state Sen. Herschel Rosenthal (D-Los Angeles), who represents Encino, would strengthen the California Pipeline Safety Act by requiring more frequent testing of the pipelines. It would also require companies to use the best available leak prevention technology on new lines or segments of pipelines replaced beginning in 1990.

Rosenthal said his proposal is in response to two mishaps in Encino, on Sept. 10 and 27, involving a Mobil Oil Corp. pipeline that runs from Bakersfield to Torrance.

Corroded Section

In the first incident, a corroded section of the line ruptured beneath Ventura Boulevard and an estimated 70,000 to 90,000 gallons of crude oil leaked to the surface. About 8,000 gallons went down a storm drain into the Los Angeles River. The spill prompted a massive cleanup operation in the river and in the Encino neighborhood, costing Mobil more than $1 million.

Seventeen days later, while Mobil officials were conducting a hydrostatic test on the same pipeline in Encino, the pipe burst again in a neighborhood south of Ventura Boulevard and more than 100,000 gallons of oily water spilled into the streets, requiring another cleanup.

Hydrostatic testing--in which a pipeline is filled with water at high pressure to test for weak spots normally caused by corrosion--is a key part of Rosenthal’s proposal.

Under present pipeline safety regulations, hydrostatic testing is required every three years on pipelines older than 10 years and not equipped with anti-corrosion equipment that provides what is called cathodic protection. Rosenthal’s bill calls for the testing to be done annually.

Newer Lines

Newer pipelines that do have cathodic protection must be tested every five years under present regulations. Rosenthal wants the tests done every two years.

During hydrostatic testing, pressure in a pipe segment is raised 25% higher than its maximum allowable pressure and held at that level for four hours. Under Rosenthal’s proposal, the test would last eight hours.

Rosenthal also proposed that pipelines constructed after 1990 be required to have an internal leak detection system. The bill also would increase penalties for pipeline operators who violate state regulations on testing the lines, and it would require them to provide authorities with descriptions of where underground pipelines are located and what is transported through them.

“There are some in the ground that we don’t even know are there,” Rosenthal said.

The bill, which is also being sponsored by state Sens. Art Torres (D-Los Angeles) and Alan Robbins (D-Van Nuys), will likely go to the Committee on Toxics and Public Safety Management before going to the state Senate floor and then to the Assembly, Rosenthal said.