Pegasus South Pipeline Restart

Path to Perpetual Problems

Saturday, June 28, 2014

No. 10 -Friday Night Special - (Early and Urgent) Charles and David are panting for

Pegasus, reopening Tuesday, July 1st.

Big Oil had worked hard and doubtless paid a lot of money to ensure the Pegasus Pipe Line is

reopened. Exxon plans to reopen the 210 mile southern leg between Corsicana and Nederland

(near Beaumont,) Texas on July 1st, 2014. But the question we should be asking as Independence

Day approaches must be “Is it safe?”

There are many reasons why it is insane to accept the self-evaluation of Big Oil, and especially

Charles and David Koch, on whether or not the Pegasus Pipeline can be safely operated.

First, there is the issue of honesty. Why would anyone believe the Koch’s or their close

associates when the Koch Method, the strategies which brought them all this success, includes

ensuring their employees lie, cheat and steal? Horrifying and incredible as this sounds there is

plenty of evidence to back it up.

An article in Bloomberg, titled, Koch Brothers Flout Law Getting Richer With Secret Iran Sales,

written by Asjylyn Loder and David Evans, appearing October 3, 2011, included several

instances which illustrate the enormous divide between what Charles, David, and other

representatives of Koch say, versus how they operate within Koch Industries.

The article provided a statement from Phil Dubose, a Koch employee. Dubose, who testified

against the company, saying he and his colleagues were shown by their managers “how to steal

and cheat -- using techniques they called the Koch Method. “

If they encourage these illegal acts it would be insane to trust anything said, either by them

personally, or by any representative of Koch Industries or their associates.

Second, what we know about the age and fitness of Pegasus.

The Pegasus is over 60 years old. Both the materials of which pipe lines and people are made are

subject to aging. You know, the joints start to give out along with the colon and bladder. Things

just start falling apart and leaking.

I'm going to give you a visual on this so you will see the point. Visuals are really good things

because we get the point so much faster.

Here is the Pegasus Pipe Line when it was first build. Shiny and new, its seams and joints

would, hopefully, withstand the pressure for which it was designed, just like the image below

despite the daunting example of the Keystone Pipeline which has already experienced leaks.

The Young Pegasus Pipe Line

But as time passes, the body ages. Those firm muscles, fast reactions, and stamina, especially

stamina, decline until the smallest incident can leave the former athlete flat on their face or

dependent on a cane for support, lest they break something important, or which they still hope is

important.

The Pegasus Pipe Line Today

There is no point denying it, now is there?

The Pegasus Pipeline is not only past the age to receive Social Security, it is way past its age of

retirement and it has been forced to carry twice the pressure for which it was designed. So it is

hardly fair to expect there not to be....well, incidents. The Pegasus might even need Depends or

other pads to ensure a reasonable amount of security and prevent leaks.

Now, we will get into the kind of incident, very much like Mayflower, Arkansas, we can

expect.

Pinewood Estates Mayflower-sized Spill

Let’s assume a spill about the size of the one which occurred in Mayflower, Arkansas on March

29th

2013 which hypothetically takes place under the upscale subdivision of Pinewood Estates

about 10 miles NW of Beaumont, Texas.

Pinewood Index Maps

Pegasus South Pipeline (in black) Index Map

As shown above, the Pegasus South leg of the pipeline is about 205 miles long and 20 inches in

diameter built in 1954 (60 years old). Along this route we chose Pinewood Estates because the

subdivision was built on top of the pipeline and the pipe crossing is exposed nearby at Little Pine

Island Bayou.

Section of Pegasus South Line Exposed at Pinewood Estates

These are the type of areas where old pipelines are most likely to break!

Pinewood Regional Map

Ironically, Pinewood Estates is only about 5 miles east of the town of Sour Lake, the oldest

surviving town in Hardin County, famous as the birthplace of Texaco and also home to one of

the biggest sinkholes in Texas. Today, the Sour Lake oilfield is the oldest continuously-

producing oil field in the world with hundreds if not thousands of wells drilled since the early

1900’s.

Oil derricks at Sour Lake, circa 1910

It also happens to sit on a large salt dome which makes the whole region somewhat unstable and

susceptible to subsidence. This area is particularly risky after the withdrawal of nearly 100

million barrels of oil and untold hundreds of millions of barrels of water saltwater produced for

operations and freshwater extracted for drinking. This was clearly not an ideal location for the

Pegasus pipeline even 60 years ago.

Pinewood Estates Index Map

As shown above on the index map, Pinewood Estates was a designated census place in the 2010

census with a population of nearly 1700 people. Virtually none of these homes were built when

the Pegasus went in over 60 years ago. Most were not even there in 2005 (see Google Earth

image below).

June 2005 – Earliest Color Image Feb 2013 – Most Recent Image Avail.

Here, we look over Pinewood Estates from 2013, pretty much as it is today, compared to 2005

when only a few houses were built.

Below you can see the entire time sequence as the neighborhood developed over the pipeline

from 2013 to 1989 when building had not yet started but the Pegasus Pipeline was, ominously,

already lurking beneath the verdant fields.

Pegasus South Neighborhood

Time Series

Pinewood Estates – NW Beaumont

Feb 2013 – Most Recent Image

Nov 2011

Jan 2009

Nov 2006

June 2005

Feb 1995

Earliest Image - Feb 1989

But they are there now, built right over the Pegasus pipeline (shown in yellow below) because

Exxon does not want everyone to know where it is. Security, you know. The reason for Exxon

and Koch 'security' measures is to lower the potential for liability. What victims don't know can't

impact their bottom line.

Feb 2013 GoogleEarth Close-up of Pinewood Estates

Pinewood Estates Regional Map Showing Site of Possible Break and Existing Leak

See that interesting little yellow outline with "Pinewood Estates," written over it? We're going to

see next what this portends for this very nice neighborhood where people chose to live entirely

unaware of what was flowing beneath their homes.

Drum roll and ominous overtones....

Pinewood Estates Mayflower-sized Spill

Since 1989, Exxon and the Koch Brothers knew a housing development was growing over the

Pegasus. As experts in their own industry they knew the hazards associated with exposure to

Hydrogen Sulfide, Toluene, and Benzene. But they said nothing to the families who believed

they were safe in the homes for which they had paid good money.

No one in the industry had forgotten about the pipe line or its age. Certainly, Charles Koch

understands the impact of age on the human body and as an engineer, a graduate of M.I.T., he

had to understand the impact of aging on pipes. As older pipelines are more likely to fail it is

appropriate that we model the consequences of catastrophic failure in this area.

ALOHA is the system freely available which provides essential information in just minutes on

how far the toxic chemicals from a spill will spread, as seen below.

As you look over these three images you can see why this information should be available to

local HazMat Units and those living within the hazard zone. Tough to do when the location of

pipes is less important than the 'security' of Big Oil.

The following series of maps show the extent of air pollution plumes in the first hour after a

hypothetical pipeline break after reopening the Pegasus South leg. In addition, the calculated

threat zone distances and Acute Exposure Guideline Levels (AEGLs) for each substance are

shown from the Aloha Emergency Planning models. The threat zones are shown for the toxic

gasses hydrogen sulfide, benzene and toluene which were modeled based on a Mayflower-sized

spill of roughly 200,000 gallons of Wabasca Heavy Tar Sands Oil. This seems like a reasonable

estimate given that the 20” Pegasus Pipeline is capable of transporting more than 3.75 million

barrels of Tar Sands per day.

Pinewood H2S Threat Zones

Hydrogen Sulfide Threat Zone

This is a very large threat zone and Hydrogen Sulfide is a poison. This is not the sort of thing

your children should be inhaling, even for a very short time.

This is why we are proposing legislation which takes into account the very limited trust which

should be granted to such corporations as Exxon and Koch Industries.

Benzene Threat Zones

Not only does a Tar Sands spill of this type put toxic benzene in the air as shown by the threat

zones, there is also a high probability of water contamination. The water pollution would begin

at the first contact with streams near the pipeline break and continue downstream for a distance

over a mile. The area shaded in blue above is extrapolated from the Mayflower water pollution

pathway and superimposed on the bayou which runs along Pinewood Estates. It should be used

for planning purposes only and the actual contamination could be greater or less than the model

depending on the volume of the spill and the wind strength and direction etc.

Toluene Threat Zones

How many people will suffer immediately from the effects of these three potent toxic chemicals

if, as is not unlikely, a break takes place along the Pegasus Pipeline under their homes?

How many will suffer long-term medical problems which shorten their lives and the lives of their

children?

Too many. Externalizing costs by irresponsible corporations, such as Koch Industries and

Exxon, must stop NOW.

All Content Copyrighted by Green Fields Renewal, January 2014. Simple template. Powered by

Blogger.

David Lincoln

Melinda Pillsbury-Foster

Green Fields Renewal

July 2014