Officials worry about pipelines and the St. Clair River

According to the National Pipeline Mapping System, at least 13 transmission pipelines from nine companies are under the St. Clair River.

Officials worry about pipelines and the St. Clair River

http://www.thetimesherald.com/story/news/local/2015/01/03/officials-worry-pipelines-st-clair-river/21234617/

More than four years have passed since a ruptured pipeline spilled an estimated 20,000 barrels of crude oil near Marshall.

The spill from Enbridge Energy's Line 6B spread for miles down Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River and launched a four-year cleanup effort.

While state and federal officials say they have systems in place to respond to a similar spill on the St. Clair River, the people on the ground here in St. Clair County aren't as confident.

"I hope it never happens," said Jeff Friedland, director for St. Clair County Emergency Management/Homeland Security. "But I do have concerns about the St. Clair River and pipelines."

With an 830-mile interstate natural gas pipeline [Rover is roughly 830 miles long] threatening to further snarl the maze of natural gas and hazardous liquid pipelines beneath the county, pipeline safety and planning for a spill are responsibilities shared by private companies and public entities at the local, state and federal levels.

"We've had some real-world experience with the Kalamazoo River, and there were some really good lessons learned from that," said Brad Wurfel, a spokesman for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.

"You can't expect companies or industrial processes to run perfectly. You can expect that you're prepared when they don't."

Pipeline tally

Marysville Department of Public Safety Chief Tom Konik estimated about 24 transmission pipelines are beneath Marysville.

Those pipelines carry natural gas, propane and chemicals for industrial use.

He said the city has become a bottleneck for pipelines, likely because of its location.

"It's probably because of our proximity to Chemical Valley (in Ontario), where a lot of the products are coming into and out of," Konik said.

"The river is at one of its narrowest points here. When you have to do a drilling operation to put pipeline under the river, it seems like the most ideal spot."

Judy Palnau, spokeswoman for the Michigan Public Service Commission, said currently there are 14 companies operating pipelines in St. Clair County. Eight of the companies are natural gas transmission pipeline operators, and six are hazardous liquid pipeline operators.

She said each of those companies has varying numbers of pipelines through the county.

According to the National Pipeline Mapping System, at least 13 transmission pipelines from nine companies are under the St. Clair River.

Enbridge Energy has three pipelines -- one of which is deactivated -- that run under the St. Clair River. Semco Energy Gas Company has seven transmission lines in St. Clair County, none of which cross the St. Clair River. TransCanada has four pipelines, all of which tunnel under the river. Buckeye Development and Logistics LLC, has two pipelines that travel under the St. Clair River — one is idle, while the other carries propane.

Another pipeline project — the Rover pipeline — also would tunnel under the river. The proposed pipeline has not yet submitted its application to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.

Vector Pipeline also is planning an expansion, but has not submitted applications to FERC yet.

General maps of where the existing pipelines are located are available to the public, but more precise information is off limits, according to Damon Hill, spokesman for the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

"After 9/11 we worked with the Department of Homeland Security where we were required to restrict the level of detail on our maps," Hill said. "The only way to get more detail is if you're government personnel or a pipeline operator."

St. Clair County is pipeline country

The promise of at least two new pipeline projects on the heels of a large Enbridge Energy pipeline replacement marks an increase noted throughout the country.

"There has been an increase in pipeline projects in certain parts of the country with the increase in energy resources being found, like shale gas," Hill said.

"There are new pipelines coming into existence to bring that product throughout the country."

Jennifer Smith, a spokeswoman for Enbridge Energy, said the company embarked on its replacement of its more than 50-year-old Line 6B after the spill into the Kalamazoo River called into question the reliability of the pipeline.

She said the company expanded the scope of the project to include counties farther east because of requests from clients for increased capacity.

"Our customers came to us and they said they needed us to be able to carry more crude oil," Smith said.

She said the pipeline runs through St. Clair County because of demand for oil in the area.

"Where your pipeline is is going to be determined by where the demand is," Smith said.

"Back in the day when these pipelines were built, the need was to bring oil further east. You're going to see crude oil pipelines where you have big refineries or chemical hubs."

DTE Energy is a partner in a planned 47-mile Vector Pipeline expansion project and a planned 250-mile NEXUS pipeline project. Both projects are natural gas lines.