SAN FERNANDO : Owner Asks About Abandoning Pipeline

The Four Corners Pipeline Co., which owns an oil pipeline that burst and caught fire during the Northridge earthquake, has asked the city of San Fernando about its policies on pipeline abandonment, city officials said.

San Fernando Public Works Director Mike Drake said the company inquired this week about abandoning the line.

Although a company spokesman said there are currently no plans to abandon the line, the request for a copy of the city policy is the first indication that the company would consider shutting down the line.

Politicians in Los Angeles and San Fernando have urged closing the pipeline, which burst in eight places during the quake.

The fire that followed the rupture burned just outside O’Melveny Elementary School in San Fernando, injuring a man and charring 17 cars on Wolfskill Street.

“We routinely examine all options, but abandoning (this) line . . . is not a real option at this time,” said Scott Loll, a spokesman for Arco, Four Corners’ parent company.

“However, we’ll see what happens down the line.”

The pipeline, which runs for 130 miles from Kern County oil fields through San Fernando to South Bay refineries, traverses just a mile of the city, but the line has become one of the hottest issues in the San Fernando City Council campaign. The election is April 12.

“I’m hoping that they are seriously considering abandoning the line,” said Councilman Jose Hernandez at the council’s regular meeting on Monday. “That would solve the whole problem.”

Some of the groups opposed to the line are not satisfied with abandonment as a solution, however.

“If you abandon the line, it should be removed, because you have problems with old lines even when they are capped,” said Michelle Grumet of Citizens Against the Pipeline and Pollution, a Los Angeles-based group.

At its meeting Monday, the council approved a letter of recommendation to the state fire marshal suggesting additional safety tests for pipelines.

The fire marshal has jurisdiction over oil and chemical pipeline safety, according to San Fernando city officials.

Regulations suggested by the council include replacing pipelines over 50 years old and requiring yearly tests on those lines, instead of every two years. In addition, the council asked that Four Corners Pipeline Co. replace the ruptured pipeline with new pipe and that the line be buried at least 5 feet below the surface.