OPS to explain Olympic pipeline tests

Aug. 4, 2000
The US Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) will hold a public meeting Aug. 8 in Bellingham, Wash., to discuss the results of internal inspection tests on Olympic Pipe Line Co.'s 16-in. line from Ferndale to Allen, Wash.


Washington, DC�The US Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) will hold a public meeting Aug. 8 in Bellingham, Wash., to discuss the results of internal inspection tests on Olympic Pipe Line Co.'s 16-in. line from Ferndale to Allen, Wash. The pipeline ruptured and caught fire last June at Bellingham, Wash., killing three persons (OGJ, Nov. 8, 1999, p. 27).

OPS said state and local officials also will discuss at the public meeting progress in restoring Whatcom Creek, where the explosion took place, and Bellingham's agreement with Olympic. The city of Bellingham, the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (WUTC), and the Washington State Department of Ecology are hosting the 7 p.m. meeting at Squalicum High School.

OPS said it would explain repairs and testing that must be finished before it will allow Olympic to resume operation of the 75-mile segment closed the accident.

Last June 2, OPS�s parent bureau, the US Department of Transportation's Research and Special Programs Administration, proposed a record $3.05 million civil penalty against Olympic. OPS has stationed a full-time inspector in Washington and conducted a joint inspection with WUTC of all pipelines in the state.