Nick Snow
Washington Editor
The National Transportation Safety Board does not hold a hearing about every pipeline accident that it investigates. It held one Mar. 1-3 in Washington, DC, about the San Bruno, Calif., rupture and explosion that killed 8 people and destroyed 37 homes because all 5 of its board members considered it a major transportation accident.
"The hearing's purpose is to gather facts," NTSB Chairwoman Deborah A.P. Hersman said in a Feb. 24 briefing. "We want to make sure that the record is developed, that we pursue every avenue of information, and that the public has a window into our investigation process."
That process will continue after the hearing concludes, she told reporters. "The staff will complete factual information with a technical review. Then the investigation will move inside to the safety board, which will perform its analysis of probable cause, conclusions, and recommendations," Hersman said. "Parties won't participate, but will be invited to submit information including about their activities following the accident and their recommendations."
She said while it takes NTSB 12-18 months to complete a major investigation, it hopes to finish this one by the accident's 1-year anniversary. "The safety board isn't in the business of determining liability. We are a fact-finding organization and not trying to place blame," she said.
Hersman said 2010 was a bad year for US oil and gas pipeline accidents. "We have seen a number which were fatal, as well as some where liquids were released. Any accident concerns us, and any fatalities and release should be of concern to the industry," she said.
'An opportunity'
"This is an opportunity to identify where the problems are, and what the challenges will be coming forward," she continued. "Next week's hearings will identify problems not just with this accident, but also industry-wide. We hope to hear about contributions from new technologies, particularly from the industry associations which are participating."
NTSB has only four investigators, and they have what Hersman considers a very heavy load examining other pipeline accidents in Illinois, Michigan, Texas, as well as California. It has not taken on investigations of other pipeline accidents, some of which have involved human fatalities, but has delegated those inquiries to state agencies and is staying in close touch with them, she said. "There's a very good chance information they find can help us," she added.
NTSB's examination of the San Bruno accident has "a very long way to go," observed Terry Boss, the Interstate Natural Gas Association's senior vice-president, environment, safety, and operations. "This is a jigsaw puzzle. We have only some of the pieces," he said on Feb. 28.
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