Calif. declares emergency after oil spill

[combustiblefuel]

http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/m...santa-barbara/

Texas-based oil company Plains All American Pipeline said up to 105,000 gallons of crude oil may have leaked out — up to 21,000 gallons of which may have spilled into the sea.

since 2006 the company’s incidents caused more than $23 million in property damage and spilled more than 688,000 gallons of hazardous liquid.”

Spill spreads 9 miles of coastline.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/busine...1df_story.html

An oil spill from a ruptured onshore pipeline that fouled beaches and threatened wildlife along a scenic stretch of the California coast spread across 9 miles of ocean Wednesday and officials said up to 105,000 gallons may have leaked out.

[Locke]

I cant believe these people are complaining after Plains All American Pipeline generously lubricated their beaches free of charge.

Wheres the gratitude?

[jayswin]

LA area celebs: "Look away from that issue in our backyard, like we said....Alberta......TAR SANDS!!.......and other stuff that's bad......Canada......emissions......America fine, outside America bad......focus attention to elsewhere"

[northcrunk]

I guess that 4 year drought isn't worth calling an emergency for.

[PsYcNeT]

Originally Posted by flameswin

LA area celebs: "Look away from that issue in our backyard, like we said....Alberta......TAR SANDS!!.......and other stuff that's bad......Canada......emissions......America fine, outside America bad......focus attention to elsewhere"

Plains operates in Alberta too, so that could very likely be Alberta oil

[jayswin]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Plains operates in Alberta too, so that could very likely be Alberta oil

[Jiggy]

Plains is terrible. They give pipelines a bad name. They better get a huge fine.

[me_dennis]

Originally Posted by PsYcNeT

Plains operates in Alberta too, so that could very likely be Alberta oil

According to wikipedia, there have been 2 other oil pipeline ruptures in Alberta on the Plains Midstream Canada pipeline systems.

[My2Cents]

This news makes me sick. Any leak in any oil and gas related infastructure paints the entire industry with the same brush.

Also the fact they inspected the line a few weeks ago and are waiting for results (ie it failed after inspection before they knew anything) makes this much more frustrating as in a few weeks they would have likely been able to prevent this.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Jiggy

Plains is terrible. They give pipelines a bad name. They better get a huge fine.

I'm sure that will do the trick.

According to the EPA and U.S. Justice Department, Plains All-American Pipeline has had 11 serious crude oil spills in five states that included: Texas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, Kansas and California. Between June 2004 and September 2007, more than 273,000 gallons of crude oil were discharged from various pipelines owned by Plains All-American Pipeline. According to the EPA, some of that oil ended up in rivers, lakes, and oceans. In 2010, the company reached a settlement with the EPA for a $3.25 million dollars civil penalty for violating the Clean Water Act. The company also agreed to spend $41 million dollars to upgrade more than 10,000 miles of crude oil pipelines.

[MrMastodonFarm]

Calif.



ornia

[PsYcNeT]

knows how to partay

[me_dennis]

Originally Posted by My2Cents

This news makes me sick. Any leak in any oil and gas related infastructure paints the entire industry with the same brush.

Also the fact they inspected the line a few weeks ago and are waiting for results (ie it failed after inspection before they knew anything) makes this much more frustrating as in a few weeks they would have likely been able to prevent this.

Agreed. Regulatory attention is at an all time high and incidents like this pose a huge risk to upcoming pipeline projects.

What makes things worse is there have already been 4 train derailments carrying crude, yet when something pipeline related happens, the media jumps all over it and attack pipelines.

[My2Cents]

Originally Posted by me_dennis

Agreed. Regulatory attention is at an all time high and incidents like this pose a huge risk to upcoming pipeline projects.

What makes things worse is there have already been 4 train derailments carrying crude, yet when something pipeline related happens, the media jumps all over it and attack pipelines.

Its a tough challenge the entire pipeline industry is facing. I think its a little bit of out of site out of mind mentallity. People can envision trains (that are not on fire and leaking) going by on tracks. So when someone hears a train derailment they think thats unusual. But with pipelines mostly being buried in north america people do not know they exist. So they only time they hear about them is when something like this happens.

If anyone is curious about pipelines CEPA has a really good website. http://www.cepa.com/

[btimbit]

Is Plains All American related to Plains Midstream here? Because they're awful. A few months ago the NEB gave them until the end of the year to have a independent audit done on all their lines because of their leaks in recent years

[Jiggy]

Originally Posted by Flash Walken

I'm sure that will do the trick.

I'm hoping they receive a 100 million dollar fine, or more. I know it won't happen, but they deserve it. Out of all the pipeline companies I've dealt with, Plains has been by far the worst. Companies such as TransCanada and Enbridge put a lot of money into the integrity in their pipelines. Plains is the type of company that could care less about the integrity of their lines. And when something happens they turn a blind eye to it unless it gets media attention.

[Flash Walken]

Originally Posted by Jiggy

I'm hoping they receive a 100 million dollar fine, or more. I know it won't happen, but they deserve it. Out of all the pipeline companies I've dealt with, Plains has been by far the worst. Companies such as TransCanada and Enbridge put a lot of money into the integrity in their pipelines. Plains is the type of company that could care less about the integrity of their lines. And when something happens they turn a blind eye to it unless it gets media attention.

It's almost like they should be prevented from operating as a company.

[Superfraggle]

Originally Posted by btimbit

Is Plains All American related to Plains Midstream here? Because they're awful. A few months ago the NEB gave them until the end of the year to have a independent audit done on all their lines because of their leaks in recent years

Yes. From their website: http://www.plainsmidstream.com/page/about-us

Plains Midstream Canada ULC is an indirect subsidiary of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P. (Plains All American). Plains All American is a publicly traded master limited partnership headquartered in Houston, Texas. Its common units are traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol “PAA”.

[Matata]

Or as upper management calls it "acceptable losses".

BP has done a horrific job cleaning up their spill, I expect plains will do the same and do just enough to keep up appearances and rely on their power and influence to carry them the rest of the way.

[combustiblefuel]

Originally Posted by My2Cents

This news makes me sick. Any leak in any oil and gas related infastructure paints the entire industry with the same brush.

Also the fact they inspected the line a few weeks ago and are waiting for results (ie it failed after inspection before they knew anything) makes this much more frustrating as in a few weeks they would have likely been able to prevent this.

Regular maintenance from the company without fedral checks would have stopped this period.