OnsceneALERT
Jan 13, 20222 min
Updated: Jun 13, 2023
CRITICAL INCIDENT NOTIFICATION
CHEMICAL RELEASE
A severely corroded pipeline ruptured and spilled more than 300,000 gallons of diesel fuel just outside New Orleans after the operator delayed needed repairs, according to federal records. Most of the fuel drained into two artificial ponds called “borrow pits” and thousands of fish, birds and other animals were killed, state and local officials said Wednesday. The spill also contaminated soil, according to state and federal officials.
The pipeline’s owner said 315,000 gallons (1.2 million gallons) of fuel with some water mixed in had been skimmed and recovered, primarily from the ponds. Cleanup work is ongoing. The spill from the 16-inch-diameter (40-centimeter-diameter) line operated by Collins Pipeline Co. was discovered Dec. 27 near a levee in St. Bernard Parish, just east of New Orleans, according to documents from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The spill had not been previously publicly reported.
An inspection of the 42-year-old Meraux Pipeline more than a year earlier, in October 2020, revealed external corrosion along a 22-foot (7-meter) section of pipe at the same site as the spill, federal records show. The pipe had apparently lost 75% of its metal where the corrosion was worst, which would have required immediate repair, according to the records. But work was delayed and the line continued operating after a second inspection concluded the corrosion was not bad enough to require immediate repair under federal rules, the records show.
The spilled fuel also contaminated soil in an environmentally sensitive area near the Mississippi River Gulf Outlet, a closed canal, according to state and federal officials. A small amount of diesel remains in the two borrow pits, said Louisiana Department of Environmental Quality spokesman Gregory Langley.
Source Agency (WTOP)
Alerting Agency: OnsceneALERT.com
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OnSceneALERT
"Disasters Don't Give Warnings, But We Do"
Incident Number
2-220112-3901
Alert Type
Critical Incident Notification
Incident Type
Chemical Release
Incident Occurred
January12, 2022
Alert Posted
January 12, 2022
Location
New Orleans, LA
END OF ALERT