FLORIDA MESA – U.S. Sen. John Hickenlooper said he’s not sure if the federal pipeline regulatory agency has failed to adequately protect residents and investigate pipeline failures like the one that occurred nearly two years ago south of Durango – but he intends to find out.
It has been 20 months since an Enterprise Products pipeline ruptured and released an estimated 100,000 to 200,000 gallons of gasoline into the ground within the boundaries of the Southern Ute Indian Tribe.
On Wednesday, the senator toured the site of the ongoing cleanup alongside about 30 other people.
The group included members of the Southern Ute Tribal Council; state Rep. Katie Stewart, D-Durango; Enterprise staff members; representatives from state and federal environmental agencies; and La Plata County Commissioner Matt Salka.
The 20-minute tour included a look at a soil-vapor extraction system that has removed about 70,000 gallons of gasoline from the ground, as well as biosparge wells that inject oxygen into groundwater to promote the breakdown of contaminants by microorganisms.
The cleanup has been marked by disagreements between the tribe and Enterprise about the volume of gasoline released and how the contamination should be addressed.
Additionally, it has included larger critiques that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration – the regulatory agency responsible for investigating pipeline failures – has been ineffective.
PHMSA’s slow response has been a point of contention for La Plata County commissioners who, for months, have expressed frustration about the lack of clarity regarding pipeline oversight, operator enforcement and potential deficiencies in other parts of the pipeline that might be at risk of failing again.
If this is PHMSA’s normal pace, “they’re not meeting their standard” and that’s unacceptable, Hickenlooper told The Durango Herald after Wednesday’s tour.
The senator said PHMSA has a responsibility to ensure the inspection system doesn’t allow disasters like this, but was unwilling to concretely declare the agency’s approach a failure without more information.
Like aviation, the standard for pipelines should be “zero accidents,” or as close to zero as possible, Hickenlooper said.
When asked if he will advocate for stricter regulations regarding pipeline safety enforcement, he said he can’t promise specific reforms until he has facts about whether the system is fundamentally flawed or if this is an outlier.
“I got to get the facts first and figure out: Is this something that is a poorly designed system that needs to be fixed, or is this once in a million?” Hickenlooper said.
According to PHMSA data, Enterprise has reported 180 hazardous liquid spills since 2018.
He said he is confident he will be able to obtain the answers he is seeking.
jbowman@durangoherald.com
