There are established methods for safely laying a pipeline to rest. It typically requires companies to submit a plan of action that includes disconnecting the pipe, cleaning it, and filling or plugging it to prevent it from becoming a conduit for water or other materials, and removing any unnecessary equipment connected to the pipeline above ground. It also requires an environmental review that might entail consulting local communities and developing measures to mitigate any risks to the environment.
It just needs to get done. A properly maintained pipeline might not collapse for hundreds of years, according to Pentney. In some cases, leaving the pipeline in place might cause less damage than tearing it out. In a bid to appease Minnesota residents in , Enbridge adopted a plan to remove the pipe where landowners request it or else offer them compensation for leaving it in the ground. But the risks grow the longer Line 3 stays in the ground, according to an environmental impact statement prepared by the Minnesota Department of Commerce.
Over time, as the pipe breaks down, it could cause the land around it to sink. Or if no longer weighed down with oil, it can begin to rise to the surface — an issue of more concern with Line 3 compared to newer pipelines since it was built before minimum depth requirements were passed into law.
Mark Borchardt is another landowner worried about being left with the costs of having four Enbridge pipelines — though not Line 3 — cutting through his property in central Wisconsin. When he bought the property in , it only had one pipeline running through it. The time will come when the US will need to reckon with the fate of all its pipelines — and when that time comes, the companies that operated them could no longer be around to deal with them.
Even after the economy recovers from the pandemic, there will be more challenges ahead. Global efforts to tackle climate change, adopted in the landmark Paris climate accord, set nations on a path to cut down greenhouse gas emissions from burning fossil fuels to net zero by So we learned how to be very careful.
In , gas leaking from an abandoned gas pipeline ignited, causing an explosion in a Colorado home that left two dead and one seriously injured. Investigators later discovered the line was still connected to a nearby gas well. Faced with such risks, the Canadian government set up a system that requires pipeline companies to estimate the cost of removing pipelines that are no longer in use, or cleaning up sites where pipelines have been left in place, and set aside money to do it.
There are few federal or state rules governing pipeline abandonment. Companies do not even have to notify landowners when a pipeline beneath their land is abandoned. Whether a pipeline is removed or abandoned may come down to the terms of the easement—the agreement between a landowner and a pipeline company. Pipeline companies have ample incentive to leave pipelines in the ground.
Removal is expensive and requires heavy equipment, permits and environmental reviews. And pipelines laid before often have the added feature of an asbestos coating that must be dealt with. The Interstate Natural Gas Association of America, a pipeline company trade group, declined to comment on this proposal.
For now, many landowners are facing the risks of abandoned pipelines on their own. The proposed route ran underneath the waterway, which she uses to irrigate her acres of corn and soybeans. The pipeline would pose a threat to her farm both while in use and at the end of its life.
How do I protect my water? To identify the coating type, you can either call an environmental consultant to take a sample of the coating or take a sample yourself using a facial respirator and dampening the sample area to be sliced. Place the coating sample in a plastic bag, seal the bag and send it to a lab for asbestos testing. Write your name and address on the plastic bag, and get delivery confirmation when you send the sample to the lab.
To determine ownership, go to the courthouse for a records search. You can also hire an International Right of Way Association member or petroleum landman to do this for you. These people will research records to ascertain ownership by following the chain of ownership through the easements sections or right-of-way sections of the district clerk office. Often these avenues are overlooked by general title search personnel. If you can find the rightful owner of the existing pipeline, you can negotiate for removal or exchange of ownership.
Once you have ownership and ascertain the condition of the pipe, residue presence, presence of hazardous or potential hazardous material externally or internally, you can have a certified contractor proceed with deconstruction or removal of the line. When you contact removal specialists for a toxic line, make sure they are certified in handling toxic substances such as asbestos.
Natec of Texas is a training company in Houston that offers seminars and classes to train, license and certify workers, contractors and supervisors in asbestos work. Natec of Texas can provide training for your personnel, recommend a contractor who can do the work, or recommend other training facilities throughout the United States.
If you have done due diligence to locate the owner and still cannot determine ownership, you might need to take more daring moves, and find someone who is willing to step out into this unknown world and tap the line for pressure with a non-sparking drill or bronze punch. He can be contacted at or davidhowell pipelineequities. Renew Subscribe Advertise. Search Home Magazine October Vol. Home Magazine March Vol. March Vol.
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