The largest civil penalty against a public utility in Indiana history was levied Nov. 29 against Northern Indiana Public Service Company (NIPSCO) for 261 violations of federal and state pipeline safety standards in a 14-month period, according to the South Bend Tribune.
The paper says the penalty is part of a settlement agreed upon between the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission (IURC) and NISPCO. According to the agreement, NIPSCO will pay $900,000, be subject to future fines and be required to comply wit ha number of safety mandates.
The violations included 208 instances where NIPSCO did not comply with its own operations and maintenance plans by not locating natural gas pipelines within a two-day period. The other 53 errors were a result of “inaccuracy or inaccessibility of NIPSCO’s maps and records.”
The IURC said failure to locate pipeline facilities prior to excavation is “one of the primary causes of excavation damages and poses an imminent hazard to public health and safety.”
HDD to be Used on the Enbridge Line 5 Replacement Project
Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder and Enbridge reached an agreement that addresses concerns over the safety of the Canadian company’s Line 5 pipeline.
The pipeline, which runs 645 miles from Wisconsin to Ontario, Canada, carries up to 540,000 barrels of crude oil across the Straits of Mackinac and the St. Clair River each day. Those crossing have raised concerns about the potential damage a pipeline rupture could do to the Great Lakes.
The agreement, reached Nov. 27, lays out a timeline for the complete replacement of the section of Line 5 that runs under the St. Clair River from Marysville to Sarnia, Ontario. Construction is expected to being as soon as permits and approvals can be secured. The new pipeline will be constructed using horizontal directional drilling.
Sinkhole Opens due to Pipeline Construction
An 8-foot by 8-foot sinkhole opened up on a property in West Whiteland, Pennsylvania, because of drilling fluid being released on Nov. 11, according to the property owner.
The incident, referred to as an “inadvertent return,” was caused by Sunoco’s horizontal directional drilling that released about 1,500 gallons of drilling mud — a mixture of bentonite clay and water.
The property owner told the The Quad newspaper that after the incident, Sunoco’s cleanup crew came for one day to contain the spill, but did not perform a complete cleanup. Sonoco fenced in the backyard and placed a piece of wood over the hole.
Mariner East 2, the 350-mile pipeline that will carry natural gas liquids across Pennsylvania, is the second pipeline being built by Sunoco alongside the already existing Mariner East 1 pipeline.
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