Ingham County drain commissioner warns of pipeline problems

A 126,000 gallon gasoline spill earlier this month in Ingham County has underscored the need for more information about the location and conditions of the pipelines that cross Michigan.

Ingham County Drain Commissioner Patrick Lindemann told the Lansing State Journal that he has little information about the pipelines that cross his county though he’s been asking oil companies for the data for years.

“Trying to get that information is like pulling teeth. There are miles and miles of pipelines out there, and I guarantee you they don’t know where they all are – their exact locations – and how deep they are. My confidence level today … is at an extremely low point.”

LSJ reports that crews are still working to recover about 100,000 gallons of the gasoline that spilled from a Marathon pipeline near a fuel storage facility in Stockbridge. The spill was reported on April 13 and the extent of the damage has not yet been established.

Lindemann said his work has found several disturbing things so far, including:
• Enbridge pipelines alone intersect with 24 county drains in 29 different places.
• Fuel companies cannot accurately say how far all of their the pipelines are beneath drains. In some cases, Lindemann said the pipes were put in so long ago that records no longer exist.
• For the ones they can identify, the pipelines often don’t meet depth requirements. In one case, a pipeline is only 6 inches beneath the bottom of a drain, Lindemann said.
The current safety standard requires that pipelines be at least 5 feet beneath the bottom of a drain, Lindemann said.

In July an Enbridge pipeline spilled at least 800,000 gallons of Canadian tar sands crude into the Kalamazoo River system. A 30 mile stretch of that river remains closed due to lingering contamination.