Feb. 10, 2009
Docket number: PG-080097
Editor’s note: This news release reflects the position of the pipeline safety staff of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) and NOT the views of the three-member commission. It discusses a staff recommendation that the commissioners have not yet reviewed. Any positions taken or comments offered by the commission staff regarding this proceeding should be attributed clearly to staff members and NOT to the UTC.
OLYMPIA, Wash. – The state today filed a complaint against the city of Enumclaw alleging serious safety violations in the operations of the city’s natural gas system.
Following a routine comprehensive inspection of Enumclaw’s gas system, staff of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission (UTC) filed a complaint alleging more than 600 violations of 18 different gas safety rules and recommending a penalty. Under state law, that penalty could reach as high as $11 million. Some of the more significant alleged violations involve the city’s continual failure to perform regular pipeline inspections and maintenance on the natural-gas distribution system.
“The city is unable to demonstrate it has performed proper maintenance and other minimum safety operations on its gas system,” said UTC Pipeline Safety Program Director Anne Soiza. “Commission staff has attempted to work with city officials to resolve these problems. Unfortunately, through follow-up inspections, we found the city has failed to adequately correct ongoing safety issues. We are concerned, if left unaddressed, that this pattern of behavior by the city will put the public at risk.”
This most recent investigation revealed 141 repeat incidents where the city failed to repair or replace steel gas pipes that need to be protected against corrosion, steps it had committed to complete by the end of 2005. Other ongoing problems uncovered by UTC staff include outdated system maps, poor recordkeeping of leak-detection inspection reports, and inadequate training for city workers on procedures to follow in the operation and maintenance of the pipeline system. The commission staff opened this investigation on June 9, 2008.
In a 2006 settlement agreement, Enumclaw had agreed to take steps to improve its program, including developing a new pipeline-safety manual for its employees, hiring a full-time qualified natural gas system manager, and adding qualified gas system workers to its staff. Rather than recommend the commission impose penalties, the UTC staff agreed to give the city an opportunity to comply with state laws governing pipeline safety.
The three-member commission will set a schedule for hearing the complaint. The UTC is not bound by staff recommendations.
The UTC monitors the city’s compliance with federal and state pipeline safety regulations for Enumclaw’s nearly 88 mile natural-gas distribution system in Washington. The commission has the authority to levy fines against operators found out of compliance. The UTC’s pipeline safety program performs inspections regularly on the state’s 26 operators.
The city of Enumclaw supplies natural gas to more than 4,000 customers. The city council, not the UTC, sets the natural gas rates for its residential, business and industrial customers.
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Staff contact: Marilyn Meehan
Posted/updated: 06/08/2009
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