Federal Pipeline Safety Agency Approves Startup of Keystone XL Southern Half

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DeSmogBlog has learned thatย TransCanadaย cleared the final hurdle forย the southern half of its Keystone XLย tar sandsย pipeline, receiving a green light last week from theย Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)ย following aย review of several safetyย concerns.

TransCanada announced this week that it has begun injecting oil into the southern half of its Keystone XL pipeline in preparation for commercial operations.ย ย 

Leading up to PHMSA giving Keystone XL south the go-ahead to start up,ย Public Citizenย raised several questions about the safety of theย pipeline.ย 

Will TransCanada respond to greivances raised about dents, faulty welding, pipeline material designated โ€œjunkโ€ and other issues raised in the consumer advocacy group’s November investigation? And what about September 10 and September 26ย warning letters obtained by Public Citizen raising similar concerns from PHMSAย toย TransCanada?

Both TransCanada and PHMSA have providedย DeSmogBlogย answers to these questions.

Rebranded the โ€œGulf Coast Pipeline Projectโ€ by TransCanada, the 485-mile Cushing, Oklahoma to Port Arthur, Texas Keystone XL southern half โ€” approved via a March 2012 Executive Order from President Barack Obamaย โ€” is set to open for business by mid- toย late-January.

PHMSA‘s Initialย Concerns

In September, PHMSA drafted two letters to TransCanada expressing concerns over the integrity of the pipeline during its constructionย phase.ย 

โ€œDuring the months of June and July 2013, a representative [from PHMSA]โ€ฆinspected the construction of the Keystone Gulf Coast Project,โ€ reads a September 10 warning letter from R.M. Seeley, Director of PHMSA‘s Southwest Region Officeย to TransCanada’sย Vice President Pipeline Safety and Compliance,ย Vern Meier. โ€œAs a result of the inspection, it appears you have probable violations of the Pipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federalย Regulations.โ€

PHMSA‘s September 10 warning letter said TransCanada had done a suboptimal job installing Keystone XL‘s southernย half.

PHMSA also wrote that the coating utilized for Keystone XL‘s southern half could easilyย degrade over time in the September 10ย letter.ย 

Two weeks later, PHMSA sent another warning letter to TransCanada on September 26, calling out TransCanada on its poor weldingย procedures.

PHMSA could fine TransCanada up to $2 million, along with additional enforcement actions, if the company had failed to comply with PHMSA‘s dictates outlined in both warning letters.ย 

PHMSA Delays FOIAย Response

After playing the โ€œbad copโ€ role in its two September letters to TransCanada, PHMSA‘s Southwest Office has backed off aย bit.

In response to aย FOIA request submitted by Public Citizen upon learning of the two September letters, PHMSA respondedย that, due to commercial reasons and the possibility of an ongoing investigation, Public Citizen will likely not be eligible for many of the recordsย requested.

PHMSA Gives KXL South Greenย Light

TransCanada spokesman Shawn Howard toldย DeSmogBlogย he believes all is safe and sound with Keystone XL‘s southernย half.ย 

โ€œThe fact that the anomalies on the exterior of the pipe were discovered in the first place is a direct result of the 57 special safety conditions we agreed to implement on this project and Keystone XL, many of which are not required by regulation but are standard practice on all TransCanada pipeline construction projects,โ€ said Howard.ย โ€œNone of these issues that TransCanada identified involve the quality of the pipe itself, and the Gulf Coast Pipeline will be the safest pipeline built in the United States toย date.โ€

Public Citizen Texas Officer Director Tom Smith offered a rebuttal to Howard’sย statement.

โ€œForty of the 57 conditions that TransCanada says constitute unusual safety measures are just standard practice. The other 17 are insignificant measures that do improve the quality and safety of the pipeline,โ€ Smith remarked. โ€œMeanwhile, the 50 percent weld rejection rate โ€“ 205 of 425 welds on a single section of the pipeline โ€“ sited in PHMSAโ€™s warning letter to TransCanada is not insignificant. There is nothing more critical to pipeline safety than the quality ofย welds.โ€

On December 4, TransCanada wrote a point-by-point letter in response to PHMSA‘s concernsย obtained by DeSmogBlog.

โ€œ[TransCanada] hereby certifies to [PHMSA] that it is ready to introduce hydrocarbons into the TransCanada Gulf Coast Pipeline for the purpose of commencing line fill,โ€ reads the cover letter for the document addressing PHMSA‘s concerns from TransCanada’s President of Energy and Oil Pipelines, Alexย Pourbaix.

โ€œTransCanada now has provided responses and supporting documentation with respect to all questions and requests posed byโ€ฆPHMSA. TransCanada confirms that all requirements precedent to commencing line fill of the Pipeline have been satisified and it is our intent to commence line fill on December 5, 2013, pending receipt of PHMSA‘sย concurrence.โ€

PHMSA confirmed toย DeSmogBlogย that it had received TransCanada’s response, and that the agency is sufficiently satisfied to allow the company to begin commercialย operations.ย 

โ€œPHMSAโ€™s safety inspectors have spent over 150 days inspecting the construction of the Gulf Coast Pipeline project overseeing welding, coating, installation, backfilling, testing and all other construction activities to ensure that the newly constructed pipeline will operate safely,โ€ Jeannie Shiffer, PHMSAโ€™s Director for Governmental, International, and Public Affairs toldย DeSmogBlog.ย 

โ€œNow that the construction phase is complete, PHMSA will continue to monitor TransCanadaโ€™s compliance with federal pipeline safety requirements and keep the public updated on our safetyย activities.โ€

Critics Chimeย In

With the debate still raging over Keystone XL‘s prospective northern half,ย it appears the debate over its southern half is coming to a close.

Yet former TransCanada engineer-turned-whistleblower Evan Vokes believes the PHMSA response isย inadequate.ย 

โ€œThe pictures collected by Public Citizen and Tar Sands Blockade indicate systemic problems with the south half of the pipeline’s coating quality,โ€ย Vokes toldย DeSmogBlog.ย โ€PHMSA said nothing about the evidence of this systemicย problem.โ€

Agreeing with Vokes, Public Citizen’s Smith offered an ever deeper critique of PHMSA‘s response to TransCanada’s December 4 letter.ย ย 

โ€œIt appears that TransCanada, in its Dec. 4 letter, is saying โ€˜here are your answers, weโ€™re starting tomorrow,โ€™โ€ Smith told DeSmogBlog.ย โ€œHas PHMSA verified that TransCanada completed all the work to the agencyโ€™s satisfaction? Has TransCanada correctly repaired the more than 200 welds, or fixed the dents and coating problems that could lead to corrosion and ultimately leaks? What can the agency tell the public about how the concerns about flaws have beenย addressed?โ€

โ€œSo far, the agency hasnโ€™t been responsive to the public.ย Congress should hold oversight hearings to ensure the concerns about the pipeline have been adequately addressedโ€

Image Credit: Public Citizen Texasย Office

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Steve Horn is the owner of the consultancy Horn Communications & Research Services, which provides public relations, content writing, and investigative research work products to a wide range of nonprofit and for-profit clients across the world. He is an investigative reporter on the climate beat for over a decade and former Research Fellow for DeSmog.

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