By Barry Eberling
FAIRFIELD - The Solano County
grand jury believes Suisun Marsh remains at risk for pollution from fuel
pipeline leaks.
It recommended the county and Suisun Resource
Conservation District investigate relocating old pipelines from the marsh when
the opportunities arise. The grand jury released its Suisun Marsh report
Tuesday.
The grand jury investigated the issue because of a leak in the
marsh last year.
A 37-year-old fuel pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan
Energy Partners leaked into a marsh duck club April 27, 2004. About 103,000
gallons of diesel fuel spilled onto wetlands south of Fairfield.
Kinder
Morgan later replaced that pipe with a newer, bigger one. This new pipe no
longer passes through the middle of the marsh, but along the fringes.
But, the grand jury noted, Kinder Morgan owned two pipes along the old
route through the middle of the marsh. A smaller pipe taking jet fuel to Travis
Air Force Base remains.
"This leaves the marsh vulnerable to another
serious petroleum spill," the report said.
Rick Rainey of Kinder Morgan
said the company inspects the line. No system is full-proof, he said. But
there's nothing to indicate the line faces any problems, he said.
"The
line does not operate all the time, like the other one does," he said. "This one
operates probably less than half the time. When it is operating, it is at a
significantly reduced pressure. Based on our information, we've never had an
incident along the line."
Travis Air Force Base is the sole customer for
the 20-mile-long line, he said.
Jurors also explored the cause of the
April 2004 pipeline spill. That pipe carried fuel from Concord through Solano
County to Sacramento. The pipe in Suisun Marsh was four feet underground and had
pressure of about 950 pounds per square inch at the point of the leak, the
report said.
Corrosion thinned the pipeline wall from .219 inches to
.050 inches. That thickness could not withstand the pressure and the pipe
ruptured, it said.
State officials said Kinder Morgan inspected the
inside pipe annually. The federal standard is once every five years, the report
said.
Spilled fuel from the pipe appears to have been contained on 225
acres of the Drake Sprig Duck Club, the report said. About 30 birds and mammals
died, it said.
"If the spill had happened during the rainy season, it
could have been a disaster of major proportions which could have contaminated
many Bay Area waterways," the report said.
Kinder Morgan faced lawsuits
from the state and county. In April, the company pled guilty to two misdemeanor
counts of failing to report the spill promptly and to two misdemeanor counts of
spilling fuel into the marsh. It agreed to pay $5 million in fines and
restitution.
Reach Barry Eberling at 425-4646 Ext. 232 or at beberling@dailyrepublic.net
http://www.dailyrepublic.com/articles/2005/06/29/top_stories/news03.txt
Copyright Daily Republic. All rights
reserved.