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Cover Over Buried Pipelines

Cover Over Buried Pipelines Section 28 of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011 Presented to PHMSA Liquid Pipeline Advisory Committee December 11, 2012. Section 28 of the 2011 Act.

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Cover Over Buried Pipelines

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  1. Cover Over Buried Pipelines Section 28 of the Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011Presented to PHMSA LiquidPipeline Advisory Committee December 11, 2012

  2. Section 28 of the 2011 Act • Requires a study of hazardous liquid pipeline incidents at crossings of inland bodies of water with a width of at least 100 feet from high water mark to high water mark to determine if the depth of cover over the buried pipeline was a factor in any accidental release of hazardous liquids • Report on the results of the study due no later than one year after enactment – January 3, 2013 • If the report finds that depth of cover is a contributing factor in the accidental release of hazardous liquids, PHMSA must review requirements for depth of cover • Within one year of report, PHMSA must determine if depth of cover requirements are sufficient

  3. Extent of Crossings • Hazardous liquid pipelines cross inland bodies of water at 2,841 locations • The water body has a width greater than or equal to 100 feet at 2,572 locations • PHMSA could not find a Geographic Information System dataset providing inland water body width from high water mark to high water mark • We proceeded with the study for all inland water crossings, regardless of width

  4. Depletion of Depth of Cover • PHMSA identified 20 hazardous liquids accidents occurring at inland water crossings between 1991 and late 2012 • Depletion of cover, sometimes in the waterway and other times in new channels cut by floodwaters, was a factor in 16 accidents • The dynamic and unique nature of rivers and flood plains was also a factor in each accident

  5. Consequences of Accidents • Pipeline failures caused by the October 1994 flooding of the San Jacinto River in Harris County, TX, account for 62 percent of the gross spill volume • Half of the failures at waterways were spills from crude oil pipelines • 59 percent of the gross spill volume was released from refined petroleum products pipelines • None of the spills were from carbon dioxide pipelines

  6. Next Steps • PHMSA plans to send the report on the results of the study to Congress before the January 3, 2013 due date • PHMSA will report to Congress again before January 3, 2014 with an update on plans to ensure the sufficiency of PHMSA regulations regarding pipeline depth of cover

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