BP Spill, San Bruno Fire, Fracking…Time to Stop Blind Faith in Gas

September 12th, 2010. By AbiK

As I read the accounts of those living in the area affected by the San Bruno gas fire, one phrase keeps coming back to me: “I didn’t know…” While the specifics of each “I didn’t know” or “had I known” vary, they all stem from one thing—we—homeowners and residential gas consumers—don’t really know what the heck we’re sitting on top of when it comes to underground gas lines.

In an odd way, the BP oil spill has been our wake-call—albeit at a terrible price. But, thanks to BP, we now question how gas is obtained and distributed. Sure, the folks living in the heart of the Marcellus Shale region have long been sitting on pins and needles wondering what hydraulic fracking means to their water supply, for example, but that type of regional concern wouldn’t have gotten some of the more national press coverage it has recently received had it not been for BP.

Ditto the San Bruno gas fire. Sure, it would’ve made the headlines, but, as with other localized gas pipe explosions of years gone by, it would’ve been reported as a tragic explosion affecting a very small area in the scheme of things. There may have been a few localized investigative reports—but that would’ve been about it. Now, however, people are starting to question a few things about the US natural gas industry. Things like, just how safe is it? And things like, what happens to San Bruno in the aftermath of the gas line rupture—did any gas leak into the ground? are the remaining pipes in the area safe? what about those reports of a gas smell? and on and on…

I’ve posted about hydraulic fracturing—you can read more about that and the concerns folks have about it from upstate New York to West Virginia here on LawyersAndSettlements.com. It only took a few reports about livestock becoming sick from leaks coming out of nearby fracking operations to make me raise an eyebrow and join the anti-fracking side. Of course, the gas companies continue to tout its safety—and, I suppose when you look at aggregate numbers, it is relatively “safe”—but would you want your kids drinking water that potentially contained chemicals (or gas?) involved with the fracking process? Didn’t think so…

So, back to the “I didn’t know”.

A report the other day in the PressDemocrat.com talks about how we really don’t know what we’re sitting on in terms of gas lines. The article by Derek Moore quotes Mark Powell—who’s deputy director of local operations for the Santa Rosa Public Works Department—as saying “Every time my crew goes out and digs, it’s scary, because you kind of know where the lines are—but do you really?”

And this from a guy who deals with this probably every day! The story goes on to add…

Powell, who oversees those systems for the city, said he has a pretty good idea where those lines run.

But he said he doesn’t know where most of the city’s natural gas lines are because PG&E doesn’t share that information except when it’s needed for a specific project.

Powell said that policy is an attempt to limit the number of people who have access to that information.

“Because of the nature of their product, it could be dangerous if they (the location of the gas lines) got into the wrong hands,” Powell said.

Hmm. There’s an angle some may not have thought of: gas line information in the “wrong hands”. On the heels of 9/11, I suppose that would give one pause. So ok, maybe the general public shouldn’t have information regarding the exact whereabouts of all the gas lines in a given area. But it seems to me that we don’t even have a vague idea of where things are—or the condition of them. Hell, the San Bruno gas line that ruptured was reportedly installed in 1956—yes, 54 years ago.

Industry reports indicate that most pipe installed over the past 30 years has been plastic—which is more flexible and resistant to corrosion. That’s great, but I reiterate, the San Bruno gas line that ruptured was installed in 1956.

Aside from corrosion, I’m sitting here thinking, gee, California’s kind of an earthquake-prone area—no? I don’t know what kind of precautions are (were) taken in installing intrastate gas lines there, but I’d be questioning the condition of darn near anything underground in CA…

In case you’re wondering, the above image is from a presentation by the American Gas Association (AGA). It shows all the interstate and intrastate gas lines in the US. That doesn’t, of course include the lines connecting those lines ultimately to your home. Food for thought when you’re thinking about gas line safety and reflecting on the San Bruno gas fire…

For most of us, the unfortunate truth is that we operate on blind faith–and, quite frankly, we have to. So we don’t really know anything about our gas lines until we’re about to either add a line or undertake some home improvement project. (btw, according to the Common Ground Alliance/811 program, a recent national survey found that only 33% of homeowner do-it-yourselfers actually called to have their lines marked before digging; not good folks…not good—look for an upcoming post on the 811 program).

While natural gas statistics—e.g., major pipeline accidents, consumer usage, supply statistics, and the like—are reported, they’re bigger picture” and not quite relevant to your life or mine each day—and therefore, while important, are rather meaningless. And I’m sure all those statistics right now are pretty meaningless to the folks in San Bruno. 

It’s time we have some more information about web of local gas lines we’re sitting on.

Tags: AGA, BP, fracking, hydraulic fracturing, hydraulic-fracturing-water-contamination-epa-fracking-hydrofracking, natural gas, San Bruno, San Bruno Gas Fire

This was posted on Sunday, September 12th, 2010 at 11:14 am and is filed under Environment . Feel free to respond, or trackback. Read our comments policy.