Questions Remain Unanswered On Lack of Federal Oversight: Why BP Didn't do Maintenance Ahead of Time, Where Were Federal Regulators?

Questions Remain Unanswered On Lack Of Federal Oversight: Why BP Didn't do Maintenance Ahead of Time, Where Were Federal Regulators? Senator Calls for Dept. of Transportation Top-To-Bottom Investigation of Viability of Entire Pipeline Network

Schumer: With Oil Production Down Almost 10 Percent, Rising Tensions in the Middle East, and Major Hurricanes On the Way, We Cannot Afford For Prudhoe Bay to Be Canary In the Mineshaft

In light of British Petroleum's announcement that it was shutting down 75 percent of a major oil pipeline in Alaska, U.S. Senator Charles E. Schumer today called on the Department of Transportation to conduct an immediate 30-day nationwide survey of the entire pipeline network in the United States. As reports indicate a lack of federal oversight, Schumer today urged the federal government to be more aggressive in ensuring flaws in America's energy infrastructure are sought out and corrected before there is a major shut down that could cripple the nation's energy supply. Schumer also called on the Bush Administration to immediately release oil stockpiles from the Strategic Petroleum Reserve.

"This massive shutdown should be a wake-up call to get our energy house in order," Schumer said. "We're learning that BP did not do its maintenance but also that federal regulators have been asleep at the switch. The bottom line is we cannot afford for this incident to be a canary in the mineshaft. Now is the time to aggressively search for and fix any other problems before another disruption causes a national energy emergency." BP admitted on Monday that it had not used a so-called "smart pig", a device that travels through the inside of the pipe to measure thickness and detect corrosion for inspections since 1992. Instead DOT ordered BP to conduct inspections using the smart pig only after a major spill in March along the same network of pipes. The tests revealed that the pipe had corroded in 12 places and found loses of 70 to 81 percent in the wall of the pipe. Ten miles of the pipeline in Prudhoe Bay have still not been inspected with the smart pig, raising the possibility that damage and corrosion could be far more extensive. BP said the damage will force it to replace at least 16 miles of pipeline.

In his letter, Schumer asked for DOT to conduct an immediate nationwide review of the entire US interstate pipeline network, saying that it cannot wait for leaks and spills to crack down on oil companies who fail to conduct necessary maintenance. Schumer also asked the Office of Pipeline Safety to review the inspection schedules filed by companies to determine whether all pipeline operators are adhering to their required plans and renewed his call for the Administration to immediately release emergency supplies for the Strategic Petroleum Reserve to make up for the 400,000 barrels per day in lost production.

There are 1,100 miles of pipelines in Alaska's North Slope, most of them small lines that feed into three major, 36-inch-diameter lines called Prudhoe West, where the March leak occurred, Prudhoe East, which was closed on Sunday, and Lisburne. BP operates all of the pipelines and owns about 26 percent of Prudhoe Bay's production.

In response to the significant shutdown, oil prices rose to nearly $78 a barrel and gas prices in some parts of the country jumped nearly 5 percent.

http://schumer.senate.gov/SchumerWebsite/pressroom/record.cfm?id=261546&&year=2006&