Gas Pipelines Threat Assement

[farmerjane]

Alrigh, I am new and this is my first question. I have read the forum and searched for the answer but did not come across it.

I am doing an assement of the possible threats to my locations. I have a gas pipline relay station about 1/4 mile from one of my locations. I have determined that they use electric to pump the gases through the lines. I use to work for an oil and gas company, so I am familiar with the general dangers of a pipeline.

The question I have is what happens when the electric goes out for any serious length of time. I have searched online and talked with a few old friends from the business, however they were not sure. If anyone here has any experience with this type of thing I would appreciate your assistance.

[Rick]

I assume this is cross country transmission. I would suggest you contact the pipeline company directly and ask them that question. While you are at it, you should also ask them if they have a disaster plan in place (they should have) and if you can have a copy of it as it relates to civilians. There may be portions of their disaster plan that is proprietary and/or internal only and they probably won't share that with you but they should have a plan in place in case civilians have to be evacuated, etc.

If they do NOT have a plan in place then I would contact you local administration (town council, county board, whoever that happens to be) and advise them of what you have learned. Then ask them what you are supposed to do if there is a problem with the pipeline. Elected officials won't want to have that kind of unanswered question hanging in the air so I'm sure they will be contacting the pipeline post haste.

But most utilities like being a good corporate neighbor and will probably work with you to satisfy your questions. You might also consider your supplier of natural gas as well. What plans do they have in place?

[Rick]

One other thought. You might check their web site and see if they have a FAQ that answers your questions.

[Dwane Oliver]

I called my local gas company and asked " if the gas would stop flowing , if the electricity went out for an extended period "
The said it would stop after just a few hours. Once the pressure in the line decreases , the gas stops flowing.

[gryffynklm]

The community Right to Know act mandates that companies evaluate their potential hazards that could impact responding fire and police and the community. This information if i remember correctly is to provided to emergency agencies and is supposed to be made available to the public upon request. The details are a bit fuzzy but I had to work on portions of the report for the company I worked for. Read the Wikki below, it explains it better then I could. If your local fire should have a response plan for potential emergencies involving the pipe line.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergen...ht-to-Know_Act

[farmerjane]

I assume this is cross country transmission. I would suggest you contact the pipeline company directly and ask them that question. While you are at it, you should also ask them if they have a disaster plan in place (they should have) and if you can have a copy of it as it relates to civilians. There may be portions of their disaster plan that is proprietary and/or internal only and they probably won't share that with you but they should have a plan in place in case civilians have to be evacuated, etc.

If they do NOT have a plan in place then I would contact you local administration (town council, county board, whoever that happens to be) and advise them of what you have learned. Then ask them what you are supposed to do if there is a problem with the pipeline. Elected officials won't want to have that kind of unanswered question hanging in the air so I'm sure they will be contacting the pipeline post haste.

But most utilities like being a good corporate neighbor and will probably work with you to satisfy your questions. You might also consider your supplier of natural gas as well. What plans do they have in place?

Rick,

thanks,
I have contacted them and get getting, one person after another, currently waiting a call back for the last person.
I have a friend from the industry that was an OSHA training for oil and gas, he moved to mexico some years back, I have been trying to track him down, but so far no luck.

Just wanted to see if anyone had already gone down this path and had recieved answers. I dont think it would be a big problem, but you never know. I have been taking a look at all the initial areas that may pose a threat, but this one is kind of a uncertainity. Luckily it is not a storage facility.

[farmerjane]

The community Right to Know act mandates that companies evaluate their potential hazards that could impact responding fire and police and the community. This information if i remember correctly is to provided to emergency agencies and is supposed to be made available to the public upon request. The details are a bit fuzzy but I had to work on portions of the report for the company I worked for. Read the Wikki below, it explains it better then I could. If your local fire should have a response plan for potential emergencies involving the pipe line.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emergen...ht-to-Know_Act

Well, what a blond moment, I had not even thought of the fire department. I will contact our volunteer fire department to see what I can find out.

See, I knew you all would be able to help me.

[hunter63]

It's not just gas lines that pose a threat:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/ozwash/...164198236.html

[Rick]

It's actually a lot more common that folks think. We have one locally but it's 1/4 mile away.

http://www.google.com/search?rlz=1C1...+line+explodes

I remember reading a report that a fellah tried to drill into a cross country natural gas pipeline so he could hook into it for his house. The pressure was just a bit higher than he expected. The didn't find him or his son. Well, pieces parts.

[wtrfwlr]

I remember reading a report that a fellah tried to drill into a cross country natural gas pipeline so he could hook into it for his house. The pressure was just a bit higher than he expected. The didn't find him or his son. Well, pieces parts.

That is what I put in a category I call "Self Correcting Behavior"

[hunter63]

DD and SIL live in north west Louisiana, smack dab in the NG fields.
On a clear night, not as many anymore, as the fog? smog? or what ever it is hangs in the air,stinks like factories, there are pipe lines, wells, transfer stations everywhere.....and you can see the lights of several new well going in .

If this area ever went up, the Gulf of Mexico would extend to Texarkana..........
Yeah it is a concern.

[Rick]

Yeah, when I was in Mobile for a small eternity you could go down to the bay and cast a weary eye toward the Gulf and sit and gaze for hours at gas well after gas well after gas well. Odd, though, I never saw a single artist with canvas there.

[hunter63]

One of the biggest land owners in the area, his whole Ponderosa.....much bigger than a plain old ranch, has so many gas line, stations, and wells on his property, that he bought 30K acres in New Zealand, to get away from the smell......

[Wildthang]

I was the Project manager on a Combined cycle power house in southern Ohio a few years back. We had to tie into a cross country high pressure gas line, and beleive me, they operate at a very high pressure. This one was 1100 psi! I saw a picture where a guy on a large trackhoe ruptured one of those lines, and it left a crater several hundred feet across. So at a 1/4 of a mile away, you would be in a reasonable amount of danger if somebody sabotaged the pumping station. The blast would severely damage your house, and critically wound anybody on the property.
Those stations are constructed very well, so equipment failure would not worry me much, but if some nut case decides to set a charge, look out man!