SAN FERNANDO : Old Pipeline Not Due to Be Reopened Soon

The operator of a 70-year-old crude oil pipeline that ruptured in nine places after the Northridge earthquake has announced that it has no plans to reopen the 10-inch-diameter pipe.

Monday’s announcement at a San Fernando City Council meeting temporarily mollified citizens who have demanded that the 130-mile line--sections of which run through the heart of densely populated areas and cut across the property of an elementary school in San Fernando--never be operated again.

Among those at the meeting Monday who asked that the line remain closed permanently was Lucky Hemphill, principal at O’Melveny Elementary School. The pipeline, owned by Atlantic Richfield Co., runs roughly parallel to O’Melveny Avenue and bisects the school three feet beneath the playground.

“Every day when my kids walk into the school yard they’re stepping across the pipeline,” Hemphill reminded officials. “Because of this danger, we’ve had to split the school in half during evacuation drills. Parents and teachers want to be sure that line is flushed out and that it remains closed.”

After the Jan. 17 earthquake, the Arco line cracked and caught fire at a welded joint near the school, spewing oil and flames that injured one motorcyclist and burned three homes and 17 vehicles. At another point in the Santa Clarita Valley, the line split, dumping oil into the Santa Clara River, killing hundreds of fish and birds. Since the earthquake, the line has remained closed, and the California State Fire Marshal, which regulates pipeline safety, has established criteria Arco must meet before restarting the line.

Requirements include replacing sections of pipe where 1920s-era acetylene welds exist. The welds were pinpointed as the weakest spots along the line, which carries oil from Kern County to the South Bay.

“We tested and repaired the line after the quake,” said Matt Rezvani, government relations representative for Four Corners Pipelines, which operates the line for Arco. “We have plans to flush it to remove residual oil, and that line will not be operated until the state fire marshal and Arco both are satisfied it’s safe.”

But while the Four Corners pipeline will remain closed for the time being, a new line is in the works.

Pacific Pipeline System Inc. is developing plans to lay a 20-inch crude oil conduit beneath the Metrolink railway in San Fernando. The tracks--and the proposed line--run roughly parallel to and just north of San Fernando Road.

Representatives from Pacific Pipeline met with San Fernando city officials recently about the proposed line, which would incorporate new technology and safety features including automatic shut-off valves at both ends of the section that cuts across city boundaries.

The line would be constructed with thicker piping in areas near schools and where sections of the pipe cross fault lines, company engineers said.

The line would connect Emidio, about 60 miles north of Santa Clarita, to Wilmington and El Segundo, providing a key link between offshore Santa Barbara oil fields and South Bay refineries.

Pacific is proposing the line to eliminate the need for marine tanker transportation of crude oil from fields at Point Arguello to Los Angeles refineries.

Pipeline proposal

Atlantic Richfield Co., owners of a crude oil pipeline that ruptured in January after the Northridge quake, recently announced it will keep the 10 3/4-inch line shut down indefinitely. Meanwhile, Pacific Pipeline System Inc., have announced plans to lay a 20-inch crude oil conduit beneath the Metrolink train tracks.