Maryland residents are worried about putting a natural gas pipeline through parts of Baltimore, Harford and Cecil counties, but a nationally recognized expert says the risk of catastrophe is low if the operators do their job correctly.
Virginia-based AES Corp. is seeking approval from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to build a liquefied natural gas plant in Sparrows Point, which would offload the liquid fuel from tankers, vaporize it and send it through a pipeline to southern Pennsylvania.
Richard Kuprewicz, an independent energy infrastructure consultant based in Redmond, Wash., said pipeline operators building in populated areas often go above and beyond federal safety requirements with thicker pipes or extra inspections.
“The probability of failure from anything other than deliberate acts is low,” said Kuprewicz, who has consulted for federal investigators, residents’ groups and energy companies.
Some companies may cut costs and meet only the minimum requirements, but residents can tell a company is on the up-and-up if its representatives offer straight answers, not “spin,” he said.
But neighbors along the proposed pipeline’s path worried this week about what would happen if a disaster occurred.
“I’m worried about what a gas explosion could do. … Putting it 5 feet down doesn’t seem deep enough,” said Dan Drapinski, whose Fallston property would be about 15 to 20 feet from the pipeline’s right of way. Many on a tour of the pipeline’s path through Harford cited concerns about its proximity to houses, parks and schools — including the right of way more than 800 feet from Fallston Middle School.
“While pipeline rupture failures are a rare event, when they do happen, the results can be catastrophic,” Kuprewicz said.
Depending on the pressure of the gas in the pipe and whether there is an ignition source, “400 to 600 feet of flame [could go] into the air,” he said. The explosion also can cause a wave of heat intense enough to be deadly as far as 1,000 feet away.
Vaporized LNG is less risky than gas pumped from the ground, since it carries less water and therefore less chance of corroding the pipes, he said.
The risk of terrorist attacks on most pipelines is low in the United States, said Kuprewicz, because the damage would be limited to the immediate area and the pipeline could be swiftly repaired — lowering its value as a terrorist target.
FERC is awaiting a final analysis of the pipeline’s environmental effect, and is expected to make a decision on the plant and pipeline projects in November.
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