Part of oil pipeline closed since it burst in Central Arkansas in 2013 being tested

Pipeline testing underway
Pipeline testing underway

A segment of a crude oil pipeline that has been closed since it ruptured in Central Arkansas in 2013 is being inspected and tested, officials said this week.

Energy Transfer Partners LLC, which owns what was formerly known as the Pegasus Pipeline, notified Central Arkansas Water that testing is underway, utility CEO Tad Bohannon said Thursday.

The 859-mile pipeline stretches from south Texas to Illinois. When the line was in use, it transported crude and refined oil products.

On March 29, 2013, a rupture of the pipeline spilled 5,000 barrels of crude oil into a neighborhood in Mayflower, resulting in $57.5 million in property damage. Exxon owned the pipeline at the time and is still a minority owner. Energy Transfer acquired the pipeline in 2016 through a joint venture with Exxon.

A spokeswoman for Energy Transfer told the Hot Springs Sentinel-Record that the company is performing integrity tests to ascertain the status of the pipeline and ensuring that it is up to regulations from the Pipeline and Hazard Materials Safety Administration. The company did not confirm if, or when, it plans to put the pipeline back in service, the Sentinel-Record reported.

The pipeline runs through 13 miles of the Lake Maumelle watershed, which is the largest drinking water reservoir in the state and provides drinking water to about a half-million people, or one in seven Arkansans.

A rupture of the pipeline within the watershed would be catastrophic for the water supply, Central Arkansas Water officials have said. The Mayflower spill missed the Lake Maumelle watershed by 9 miles.

The pipeline also runs through 20 smaller watersheds in communities across Arkansas.

Pipeline regulations exist mainly at the federal level. Energy Transfer is not legally obligated to notify Central Arkansas Water or provide any public notice if it tests and reopens the pipeline, though Bohannon said he had stayed in communication with the company and hopes the process will remain transparent.

Faulkner County's County Judge Jim Baker said he had been notified of the company's intent to test the pipeline before the holidays, but as of Thursday had not received notice of any testing in the county, where Mayflower is located. Baker said the Mayflower community was greatly affected by the 2013 spill, but he believed the pipeline would be regulated enough to ensure safety.

"You always have that concern," Baker said. "I don't think it would open without it being serviceable and sound."

Cozetta Jones, a spokeswoman for Pulaski County, said Thursday that she was not aware of any testing taking place in the county.

Energy Transfer informed Garland County officials that tests would be conducted Wednesday through today within the county, according to the Sentinel-Record.

Information for this article was contributed by David Showers of The Sentinel-Record.

Metro on 01/17/2020

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