http://www.desmoinesregister.com/story/money/business/2017/02/06/spills-plague-dakota-access-pipeline-builders-environmental-groups-find/97552658/
[video, images and links in on-line article]
The companies behind the Dakota Access pipeline have reported thousands
of gallons of oil spilled in dozens of industrial accidents over the
last two years, according to an analysis performed by anti-pipeline
environmental groups.
Pipeline parent company Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco, which
recently announced a merger with Energy Transfer and will eventually
operate the Dakota Access line, have, with their subsidiaries, reported
discharges to the federal government of nearly 200,000 gallons of oil
across 42 spills, the groups said Monday.
The Louisiana Bucket Brigade, which is fighting a sister pipeline to
Dakota Access there, together with Disastermap.net, studied 2015 and
2016 data from the National Response Center, the federal agency that
tracks the discharge of oil, chemicals, and other pollutants into the
environment.
Energy Transfer and Sunoco were involved in 69 incidents — including 35
pipeline accidents — over the two-year period, the analysis found. The
accidents caused eight injuries and $300,000 in damage, the report found.
"It is a pretty sobering experience to go through these spreadsheets,"
said Anne Rolfes, founding director of the Louisiana Bucket Brigade, an
environmental group. "To sift through all these pages really gives you
an idea of the destruction."
Energy Transfer did not directly address the group's claims.
"Energy Transfer is committed to the safe construction and operation of
all of its pipelines throughout the country," spokeswoman Lisa Dillinger
said in a statement Monday. "Most importantly, safety is the companies'
top priority — the safety of our people and our assets, the safety of
all those who live and work in the communities through which we pass,
and the safety of the environment."
The same goes for the Dakota Access pipeline, she said.
"Dakota Access Pipeline is a state-of-the-art underground
infrastructure project with advanced pipeline monitoring and control
technology," Dillinger said. "Its design, construction, operation and
maintenance will meet, and exceed where possible, all state and federal
safety standards."
Craig Stevens, spokesman for the pro-pipeline Midwest Alliance for
Infrastructure Now, said the nation's 2.6 million miles of pipelines
remain the safest means of transporting oil and other energy products.
"These new pipelines are among the most technologically advanced ever
constructed and exceed many state and federal guidelines," he said.
"Most of those who oppose pipelines are enemies of fossil fuel — and
their goal is to diminish U.S. energy development by attacking midstream
delivery. If they’re successful, it will harm our nation’s economy, cost
American jobs and make us less secure."
Still, the report likely will give further ammunition to groups fighting
the 1,172-mile pipeline, which runs from the Bakken formation in North
Dakota to a distribution hub in Patoka, Ill., cutting through 18 Iowa
counties along the way.
The pipeline is all but completed save for a hotly contested stretch
under the Missouri River in North Dakota.
President Donald Trump has pushed for completion of the project, a
reversal of the previous administration. The crossing of the Missouri
River awaits final approval from the U.S Army Corps of Engineers and
could be further complicated by an ongoing federal lawsuit.
While pipeline proponents point to research showing pipelines are a
safer and more affordable means of carrying oil than rail or truck,
Rolfes says the recent data flies in the face of such arguments.
"This safety argument that they are peddling I think is really
disingenuous," she said. "They know that that’s the public's concern so
they’ve latched on to that. And yet none of the numbers bear that out."
Ezra Boyd, a geographer with DisasterMap.net who performed the research,
said his work probably understates the number of incidents because it
likely missed those attributed to some subsidiaries of Energy Transfer
and Sunoco.
And many records in the federal database don't specify the amount of oil
spilled.
But he said the available data raise serious questions about Energy
Transfer and Sunoco, which between them recorded nearly three incidents
per month in 2015 and 2016.
"What's a socially acceptable risk?" Boyd said. "If the airline industry
had three accidents a month, people wouldn’t fly. If other industries
had this high of a rate, it would be considered socially unacceptable
risks. … For some reason, the oil and gas industry gets more leniency."
About half of the 69 documented incidents involved oil, gas and propane
pipelines. Some spills were as small as one gallon, while others dumped
thousands of barrels.
In September, an analysis by news agency Reuters found that Sunoco
spilled crude more often than any of its competitors, with more than 200
leaks since 2010.
"The industry is not doing themselves any favors," said Tom Seng,
applied assistant professor of energy business and assistant director of
the School of Energy at The University of Tulsa.
Yet, he said pipelines remain the safest way to move oil across the
country. And new pipelines that incorporate better technology should
prove safer than even the existing infrastructure.
"It is my hope that as these new pipelines go in, perhaps we can retire
some of these older ones that can spill and leak," he said.
Even the most in-depth analysis studying the number of incidents lacks
context without factoring in the miles of pipeline or the amount of
product each company transports (Energy Transfer operates some 71,000
miles of pipeline carrying natural gas, natural gas liquids, crude oil
and other refined products).
Most pipeline operators consciously make safety a top concern, Seng said.
"Let's face it: No real company wants a spill," Seng said. "Let's say
they don't even care about people or the environment: They don’t want
fines, they don’t want lawsuits, they don’t want tighter regulations."
He said environmental groups often miss the big picture when opposing
individual infrastructure projects such as oil pipelines. Low oil prices
have led to record sales of SUVs and trucks in recent years.
Renewable energy production fueled only about 10 percent of U.S. energy
consumption in 2015, according to the U.S. Energy Information
Administration. And Seng said consumer demand for fossil fuels shows no
signs of slowing down.
"The reality is, if the demand is there, these projects are going to be
built," Seng said. "Unless we curb our appetite for fossil fuels, we’re
not going to see major change."
Energy Transfer Partners and Sunoco accidents
Oil spills: 42
Natural gas spills: 11
Gasoline spills: 9
Propane spills: 3
Other spills: 2
Unknown spills: 2
Source: The Louisiana Bucket Brigade and Disastermap.net
