oil pipelines in the great lakes, threats and solutions-gosman, 2012
DESCRIPTION
Did you know there is a massive 60-year-old oil pipeline running under Lake Michigan and Lake Huron, along the Straits of Mackinac? Did you know that up to 20 million gallons of oil travels through that pipeline a day and the operators have plans to expand the capacity without making significant updates? You might also be surprised to learn that most of the oil traveling through our pipelines comes from the Alberta tar sands. This panel will explain the issues and the regulatory framework governing oil pipelines as well as provide recommendations on ways we can safeguard our lakes from spills.TRANSCRIPT
After the Marshall Spill: Regulation of Oil PipelinesSara GosmanLecturer, University of Michigan Law School
Healing Our Waters ConferenceSeptember 13, 2012
Hazardous Liquid Pipelines in Great Lakes Region
28,834 miles of hazardous liquid pipelines
278 incidents in last 5 years
3.87 million gallons of liquids spilled in last 5 years
Source: American Association of Oil Pipelines (map), PHMSA Hazardous Liquid Flagged Incidents File - June 29, 2012 (data)
Great Lakes Region Incidents
State
Total Miles of Hazardous Liquid
Pipelines
Total Hazardous Liquid Pipeline
Incidents 2007-2011
Total Gallons Spilled from Hazardous Liquid Pipelines
2007-2011
Total Property Damage from
Hazardous Liquid Pipelines 2007-2011
Illinois 7,423 86 974,946 $79,763,406
Indiana 3,718 32 134,148 $17,745,556
Michigan 2,784 27 1,334,718 $743,315,319
Minnesota 5,006 39 502,152 $10,699,821
New York 1,042 10 313,068 $15,401,391
Ohio 3,416 37 145,572 $14,845,314
Pennsylvania 2,763 24 188,622 $9,368,291
Wisconsin 2,682 23 279,594 $7,141,005Great Lakes State Totals 28,834 278 3,872,820 $898,280,103
Entire U.S. ~175,000 1,743 23,770,614 $1,410,880,684*
Data Source: PHMSA Hazardous Liquid Flagged Incidents File - June 29, 2012*Significant incidents only
Significant Onshore Pipeline Incidents: Great Lakes Region
2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 20110
10
20
30
40
50
60
Hazardous Liquid Gas Distribution Gas Transmission
Data Source: PHMSA Flagged Incidents Files - June 29, 2012
Significant Onshore Pipeline Incidents: Nationwide
19921993
19941995
19961997
19981999
20002001
20022003
20042005
20062007
20082009
20102011
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
140
160
180
200
Hazardous Liquid Gas Distribution Gas Transmission
Data Source: PHMSA Flagged Incidents Files - June 29, 2012
Average Significant Incidents Per Mile of Onshore Pipeline 2002-2011
Hazardous Liquid Gas Distribution Gas Transmission
U.S. 0.000666423991263686
2.87075177230128E-05
0.000183834588979284
Great Lakes States
0.000761894460293689
7.06824942975049E-05
0.000204673160507723
Illinois 0.000943014953522834
6.55834467380433E-05
0.000212066588908917
Michigan 0.000718390804597701
5.36509469392135E-05
0.000218507593138862
New York 0.000959692898272553
6.30371288689038E-05
0.000229252636405319
0.0001000.0003000.0005000.0007000.0009000.001100
Data Sources: PHMSA Flagged Incidents Files - June 29, 2012, Annual Reports
Cause of Significant Incidents: Great Lakes Region
16%
10%
10%
42%
9%
4% 8%
Significant Incident Cause BreakdownGreat Lakes Region, Hazardous Liquid Onshore,
2002-2011
CORROSIONEXCAVATION DAMAGEINCORRECT OPERATIONMAT'L/WELD/EQUIP FAILURENATURAL FORCE DAMAGEOTHER OUTSIDE FORCE DAMAGEALL OTHER CAUSES
Data Source: PHMSA Significant Incidents Files June 29, 2012
Summary of Data
Over the last ten years, significant incidents from hazardous liquid pipelines in the Great Lakes Region:
• Have averaged about 21 incidents annually, and stayed roughly the same;
• Have been very small per mile of pipe, but were substantially higher than significant incidents per mile for other types of pipelines; and
• Were caused most often by failures in pipeline materials and equipment.
Legal Framework
Routing and Siting of New Pipelines
Operation and Maintenance of Existing Pipelines
Emergency Response Planning and Spill Reporting
Federal and State AuthorityFederal Authority State Authority
Routing & Siting of New Pipelines
PHMSA prohibited from regulating May choose to regulate
Operation & Maintenance
of Existing Pipelines
Interstate Pipelines
Exclusive authority to set standards
May conduct oversight and inspections if
certified by PHMSA
Intrastate Pipelines Minimum standards May regulate if certified
by PHMSA
Emergency Response
Planning & Spill
Reporting
Emergency plans
Exclusive authority to set standards Likely preempted
Facility response
plansMinimum standards
May choose to regulate if standards are at least as
stringent
Spill Reporting
Nonexclusive authority May choose to require
Federal Regulatory Weaknesses
• No consideration of the cumulative impact of pipeline spills on the Great Lakes Basin;
• No review of the long-term risks of spills to environmentally sensitive areas when new pipelines are routed;
• No consideration of all environmentally sensitive areas in managing existing pipeline risks, only those that are of “high consequence;” and
• No specific requirements for facility response plans or adequate review by staff to ensure that plans protect environmentally sensitive areas.
The Status of Great Lakes State Regulation
Routing & Siting
Interstate Oversight
Intrastate Regulation
Facility Response
PlansSpill
Reporting
Illinois Indiana Michigan Minnesota New York Ohio Pennsylvania Wisconsin
Recommendations• The Great Lakes Commission should facilitate
discussions among the states and provinces to improve pipeline regulation across the Great Lakes Basin.
• States should seek certification to regulate intrastate pipelines and to oversee interstate pipelines. PHMSA provides up to 80% of program funding and the rest may be covered by operator fees.
• States should set stringent standards for pipeline operators to submit response plans to the state and give the public the opportunity to comment on the plans.
• All states should require pipeline operators to report spills to the state at a low threshold.
Resources
• Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA• Website: http://www.phmsa.dot.gov/pipeline
• The Pipeline Safety Trust• Website: http://www.pstrust.org• Carl Weimer, Executive Director, [email protected]
• The National Wildlife Federation• Website: http://www.nwf.org/greatlakes• Beth Wallace, Community Outreach Regional Coordinator,