Marathon Ashland Oil is attempting to construct a pipeline which will affect more than 600 landowners. Your help is needed to stop this project

A number of these residents have been sued by MA to obtain Rights of Way (RAY) across their property, and they are counter suing. They are not interested in taking any chance of a repetition of the massive gasoline release that occurred in Bellingham Washington.

While the exact cause of that rupture is not known, the main monitoring computer and it's back-up both failed, creating a black-out. The managers did not initiate any pre-cautionary procedures: instead, they re-started the pumps.  If you lose your vision do you continue driving, because nothing has ever happened before? Three young men died and a stream habitat was burned to a crisp.

Imagine the effect on the sandstone gorges of the Hocking Hilts of such an accident. Marathon promises all manner of gadgets, along with Crisis Management Analysis in an effort to lull the undecided into acquiescence - along with however much money it takes.

Regarding intentions, a 1998 examination of Marathon-Ashland's operating manuals in their Main office (539 S. Main St., Findlay OH 45840 ) prompted the Office of Pipeline Safety to issue a "Notice of Amendment" "As provided in 49 C.F.R. Para. 190.237, this Notice of Amendment serves as your notification that this office considers your procedures & plans inadequate..." http-ops.dot.govdocument-cp585 11.pdf dated Jan. 1998.

A similar web site shows inadequacies in their employee drug-testing procedures.

Promises of advanced technology and vigilance are still dependant on people. As one wag put it" smart pigs (a device to evaluate the condition of a pipeline from the inside) require smart managers"

They also require the 50 foot clearing so that the surveillance by air has a clear view. Pilots will require dead vegetation to detect a leak- at which time the damage to the water table has been done.
It takes only one gallon of gasoline to contaminate one million gallons of water!

Present plans call for clearing a 75 foot RAY through what Marathon's own engineers say is very difficult terrain. While precautions will be taken to protect the specially coated pipe, how can anyone prevent accidental damage, particularly when contractors are expected to finish on time or pay penalties?

This pipeline will cross 154 streams, including the Ohio and Scioto rivers. It will cross or impinge on many wetlands, Nature Preserves, popular campgrounds such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters camp for the inner city boys and girls, and private B&B's that count on their forest ambiance to attract clients. This means an average of at least one stream per mile plus the wetlands, and more than one thousand feet in the westward route in Fairfield county is alongside Brushy fork which is a tributary of the Hocking River.
A leak almost anywhere will be distributed to the ground water and so to the underlying aquifers. Our water will be contaminated for the conceivable future!

Remember The major leaks have been attributed to operators who made the wrong decisions!

Since Marathon Ashland has not obtained all of the Right of Ways they need, and since it doesn't seem that the lower courts are going to help the Landowners we must raise a hew and cry in the presses and to our county and state officials. We must Win....!

A disastrous leak in the Hocking Hills, boggles the mind! Will there be 26 organizational respondents as there were in Bellingham Washington?

Where will help come from in the middle of Southeastern Ohio? Columbus? The response team from Marathon Ashland is presently located on the west side of Columbus.

Local firefighters will be the first respondents - they have experience with and are equipped to handle truck spills. But it boggles the mind to consider what will happen in the wooded, rocky gorges when the gasoline fills these valleys and streams, soaking into the porous sandstone, spreading into every small creek and wetland. There is a good likelihood that it will not catch fire, but spread and saturate the down-hill region on it's way to the Ohio river.
It takes only one gallon of gasoline to contaminate one million gallons of water!

Present plans call for clearing a 75 foot RAY through what Marathon's own engineers say is very difficult terrain. While precautions will be taken to protect the specially coated pipe, how can anyone prevent accidental damage, particularly when contractors are expected to finish on time or pay penalties?

This pipeline will cross 154 streams, including the Ohio and Scioto rivers. It will cross or impinge on many wetlands, Nature Preserves, popular campgrounds such as Big Brothers and Big Sisters camp for the inner city boys and girls, and private B&B's that count on their forest ambiance to attract clients. This means an average of at least one stream per mile plus the wet lands, and more than one thousand feet in the westward route in Fairfield county is alongside Brushy fork which is a tributary of the Hocking River.
A leak almost anywhere will be distributed to the ground water and so to the underlying aquifers. Our water will be contaminated for the conceivable future!

Remember. The major leaks have been attributed to
operators who made the wrong decisions!

Since Marathon Ashland has not obtained all of the Right of Ways they need, and since it doesn't seem that the lower courts are going to help the Landowners we must raise a hew and cry in the presses and to our county and state officials. We must Win....!

A disastrous leak in the Hocking Hills , boggles the mind! Will there be 26 organizational respondents as there were m Bellingham Washington?

Where will help come from in the middle of Southeastern Ohio? Columbus? The response team from Marathon Ashland is presently located on the west side of Columbus.

Local firefighters will be the first respondents - they have experience with and are equipped to handle truck spills . But it boggles the mind to consider what will happen in the wooded , rocky gorges when the gasoline fills these valleys and streams, soaking into the porous sandstone, spreading into every small creek and wetland. There is a good likelihood that it will not catch fire, but spread and saturate the down-hill region on it's way to the Ohio river.
The possibility of damage to the installation is incredibly increased as the contractors try to blast through ridges and waterfalls in an attempt to negotiate their incredible route to Columbus.

Fortunately there are landowners in both Hocking County and Fairfield County who are sacrificing to save their (and our) environment . All of them are prepared and were aware of, and deal with natural gaslines through their property. They have had good relations with Columbia Gas - getting good cooperation when repairs were needed. Trees were never cut, or any lasting destruction of the environment during these operations.

Natural gas which is in the right of ways in Hocking County gives way to ordinary creek beds when it arrives in Fairfield County. Wending it's course along thousands of feet of Brushy Fork, usually within 30 feet of the stream, which goes straight to the Hocking River.

From Brushy Fork the proposed route climbs the hill and heads for Amanda and the west side of Columbus which is a terminal for their current pipeline from the Cincinnati area, a pipeline which is not in full use currently. This pipeline is filled by fuel carrying boats (the safest transport technique in use today) from their Kentucky facility at Cattlesburg.

There will be a hearing on October 7 and 8 in the Pickaway Common Pleas Court in Cirdleville. Ms Betty Gutheil has had a lien placed on her property by Marathon Ashland. Supporters will be there to back her up.

On October 12 the Henleys will be in Fairfield Common Pleas Court fighting an attempt to force them to allow a right of way for the MA pipeline.

On October 20 there will be a "necessity" hearing regarding this pipeline (Fairfield Common Pleas Court).

Relevant to the operational safety of Hazardous Liquid Pipelines is the testimony of Jim Hall, Chairman of the National Transportation Board of Safety:

July 27, 1999
as prescined for the record
Mr. Chairman, I want to thank you and the Committee for inviting the National Transportation Safety Board to comment on pipeline safety issues and the performance of the Research and Special
Programs Administration's Office of Pipeline Safety.
 

RSPA(OPS) should play a crucial role in pipeline safety as the federal regulators in this area. It is their mission to protect the American people and the environment. They have failed in that mission - primarily because they have failed to respond aggressively to Safety Board pipeline recommendations. At 68.9 percent, RSPA has the lowest acceptance rate of any modal administration in the Department of Transportation. That statistic represents RSPA's failure to take measures which I believe would prevent future accidents, save lives, and fulfill their stated mission.

There are too many examples of this regulatory inaction. I believe that the accidents that I'll discuss today could have been prevented or their consequences reduced - if our recommendations had been accepted. The most recent example is the pipeline rupture in Bellingham, Washington, on June 10, 1999, that released approximately 250,000 gallons of gasoline. The gasoline flowed into Whateom Creek which runs through Whatcom Falls Park, a recreational area. The gas then ignited, resulting in three deaths,
and substantial property and environmental damage.

Although our investigation is in its early stages, the long-standing safety issues which I'll also discuss today appear to be relevant to the Bellingham accident, based on our early investigation, and have been previously addressed in other NTSB (14ational Transportation Safety Board) accident investigations.

The first issue I want to address is pipeline integrity. In 1987, as a result of investigations into three pipeline accidents, the Safety Board recommended that RSPA require pipeline operators to periodically determine the adequacy of their pipelines to operate by performing inspections or tests capable of identifyyng, corrosion, mechanical damage, or other time-dependent defects that could be detirnental to the safe operation of pipelines.

Nine years later, in 1996, nearly a million gallons of fuel oil were released into the Reedy River near Fork Shoals, South Carolina when a corroded section of pipe ruptured. That same year, almost 500,000 gallons of gasoline were released into marshland and the Blind River near Gramercy, Louisiana when a damaged section of pipeline ruptured.
In the Bellingham accident, our investigators found indications of previous external damage that may have weakened the pipeline near the rupture. Yet, 12 years after our initial recommendation, no regulations require pipeline operators to perform periodic inspections or tests to locate and assess whether the type of damage that was found in the accidents I just mentioned, exists on other pipelines.

The second area I want to focus on is the lack of training for pipeline personnel. In 1987, after several accidents in which inadequate training of pipeline personnel was an issue, the Safety Board recommended that RSPA require operators to develop training procedures for their employees. Because of RSPA's(OPS) inaction over the intervening years, inadequate training continues to be a factor in pipeline accidents.

Three 1996 accidents provide ample evidence of the problem.

    In the Fork Shoals, South Carolina accident I mentioned earlier, the controller mistakenly shut down a pump station, failed to recognize his mistake, and continued to operate the pipeline and pump fuel oil
 through the ruptured section of pipe.

    In the Gramercy, Louisiana accident, the Safety Board found that the pipeline company's control center displayed alarms consistent with a pipeline failure, however, the controller did not associate the alarms with a possible pipeline leak until about an hour after the rupture. During this time, he continued to pump gasoline through the ruptured section of pipeline.
 

    In San Juan, Puerto Rico, a pipeline accident resulted in 33 fatalities and 69 injuries. Our investigation determined that the gas company's employees were not properly trained to survey, pinpoint, or test for pipeline leaks, and failed to locate a reported leak before the explosion occurred. Earlier that year, OPS awarded the Puerto Rico Public Service Commission safety program a rating of 97 - the highest possible rating for its compliance program.

Following the San Juan accident, in January 1998, the Safety Board
recommended that RSPA (OPS) complete a final rule on employee qualification, training, and testing within one year. That October, RSPA published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking ~RM) to require pipeline operators to develop a written qualification program for individuals operating pipelines. However, the NPRM fails to establish any training requirements; rather, it allows companies to evaluate performance using methods such as oral examinations and on4he-job observation. We are currently awaiting RSPA's final rule.
 

In the Bellingham accident, preliminary indications are that the pipeline controllers continued to operate the pipeline after it ruptured. We are in the process of determining what the circumstances were and how the controllers were trained to recognize and handle emergency conditions. However, we do know that there are still no mandatory training requirements. This is unacceptable. No segment of the transportation system should have untrained personnel operating safety-sensitive equipment -placing themselves and others at risk.

The third issue I want to address is one that the NTSB first identified
some 29 years ago - the need for rapid shutdown of failed pipelines in order to limit the release of product following a pipeline rupture. The increased use of automatic and remotely controlled valves to reduce the consequences of pipeline failures was discussed in our 1970 study, Effects of Delay in Shutting Down Failed Pipeline Systems and Methods of Providing Rapid Shutdown. Since then, there have been a number of other accidents which highlight the need to reduce the release of hazardous gases or liquids.
 

In 1986, in Mounds View, Minnesota, gasoline spewed from a pipeline and flowed down a city street before igniting and seriously burning three people, two of whom later died. The Safety Board found that the pipeline operator could not promptly stop the release of gasoline, which greatly contributed to the magnitude of the loss suffered by the community.

In 1994, in Edison, New Jersey, a high-pressure natural gas pipeline exploded; a massive fire ensued which then ignited several building roofs in an apartment complex. The Safety Board again found that the inability of the pipeline operator to promptly stop the flow of natural gas contributed to the devastation.
The following year, the Safety Board recommended that RSPA (OPS)expedite requirements for rapid shutdown of failed pipeline segments on high-pressure pipelines in urban and environmentally sensitive areas. RSPA continues to study potential technological applications to rapidly shut down pipelines; however, it still does not require these systems. Despite RSPA's inaction, several of the more progressive pipeline companies have voluntarily installed shut-off valves.

Following the Bellingham accident, RSPA ordered the pipeline company to install an automatic check valve just downstream of the rupture location so that the volume of product released would be limited in the event of a future pipeline rupture in that area. A case of too little -too late.

Finally, there is one area in which RSPA has responded to Congressional action - excavation damage prevention. As you may know, Mr. Chairman, excavation damage is the leading cause of pipeline accidents. And, excavation damage prevention is on the Safety Board's Most Wanted list.
Just last month, at the request of Congress, RSPA held a joint symposium on excavation damage with the Safety Board and sent a report to Congress on best practices for preventing damage to underground facilities.

However, RSPA still has more work to do in order to reduce the number of excavation damage accidents.

At Bellingham, our investigators found several indicators of external damage in the vicinity of the rupture. That segment of the pipeline is now in our laboratory and we are closely examining it to determine what part excavation damage may have played in the rupture.

Mr. Chairman, let me close by saying that the RSPA Administrator has promised to be more proactive and to improve the Office of Pipeline Safety's responsiveness to our safety recommendations. However, as I've outlined, RSPA still has much to do. They must take more aggressive action to protect public safety and our environment. Mr. Chairman, this concludes my testimony. I would be happy to answer the Committee's questions.
Letter to the Editor Logan Daily News

(In answer to Judge Gerken's decision in favor of Marathon Ashland.)

(Editors Note; Ed. Fassig is owner of Backwoods Shop and has lived in Washington Township for 25 years)

The judge said only that the plaintiffs failed to prove that the pipeline was detrimental to the environment. What's to prove? Any time you clew-cut a hundredfoot-wide swath through a county that is 85 percent forest, it's detrimental. There should be no debate over that. Not only will the trees be cut, but the cliffs and gorges that happen to be in the way will be destroyed.

If you look at an Ohio map, you'll see that they could go right straight north from Ashland, Ky., to Columbus and save maybe 30 miles. They are going out of their way to go through the roughest country in the state. I'm told that there is a big steel4owered power line that goes on just the route they could take and that already has a 100-foot easement. Why couldn't they make a deal with the power company to put the pipeline on the same easement and destroy nothing ? Go figure!
What really irritates me here is the lack of concern.? Where is the anger? Where is the outrage? I don't hear any discussion about this travesty. Nobody seems to care. The people who live and work here should be mad as hell and not willing to take any more.

The county commissioners' official position is that they have no position. What kind of a message is that? To me that says to anyone who wants to bring any kind of damaging business to Hocking County, "Come ahead.
We don't care what you do!"

I can't imagine ODNR sitting back and doing nothing while the guts were ripped out of two of it's nature preserves - nature preserves that you and I can't even walk through without a permit. It makes no sense. It makes me wonder if perhaps the oil companies send substantial campaign contributions to the state-level politicians. It's certain that the rights of landowners are not important

This sets a dangerous precedent. At the rate our population is increasing and using up our resources, in 20 or 30 years this pipeline will not be able to keep up. What's to prevent Marathon from taking another 100 feet to put another line beside this one and than another a few years later?

Our county and most others are at risk. We should all be up in arms about this thing. lt has to be stopped now if we are to save our beautiful Counties.  Not only that, the rights of landowners are being trampled. If you think this doesn't affect you, you could be in for a surprise some day.

I read the other day that Marathon is going to court to force the reluctant landowners, who have sued to stop the pipeline, to comply by right of eminent domain. According to my dictionary, eminent domain is the right of the government to appropriate private property for public use. Nowhere does it say that oil companies have that right. The absolute arrogance of these people amazes me!
 

We have a big job here. We have to fight big money and influence, but if we just roll over and play dead and don't make a stand here, it will mean the end of landowner rights. Think About it!
 

Note to Angela Pace 11:00 News, WBNS TV.
Dear Angela. Tonight I heard you say that the judge (common pleas Judge Gerken in Logan) said that the new Marathon hazardous Gasoline/kerosene/jet fuel etc... pipeline would be safer than the old natural gas lines!

What the Judge was quoting was the argument of Marathon's lawyers, that they were going to upgrade the old natural gas pipelines.

Have you heard of the gasoline flood that hit Whateom Creek in Bellingham Washington? This rupture flooded a city park/stream with an estimated 300,000 gallons of gasoline, killing everything in two miles of creek bed, including three boys. The pipeline managers sat wondering what was really happening, because their dead computers could tell them nothing.

One of their field workers called saying he was running for his life--then, and only then, they shut off the pumps.

I give you that had that been a natural gas line, only the man standing over it with a back hoe, as happened in Lancaster recently, would have been killed.. in Whatcom creek, everything died, and gasoline was coming out of the stream banks for weeks, threatening every one in the area.
I just pulled the Office of Pipeline Safety1 report on Marathon-Ashland's operating manuals in January 1998 which cited them for inadequate plans regarding operation, construction, repairs,. monitoring, inspection etc... To date I have not heard from OPS regarding any re-inspection of their operating manuals.

If you would like to hear what has been going on for the last year regarding MA's behavior I would be glad to oblige. I know you do your best to present an honest picture -- my wife and I listen to you every night. Forgive me for the harangue but we are frightened to death of this hazardous line coming through our beautiful hills. Sincerely
Mice and Stuart Hughes. candlewood@greenapple.com Phone 740 689 9757 149 Tarkun Rd. S.E., Lancaster, 43130
Bob Taft E-mail Address(es):
victory@taft98.org 77 S. High St. Cols. OH 43266-0601

Deborah Pryce E-mail Address(es):
pryce.ohl 5@mail.house.gov
Logan daily news
Letters to the Editor
E-mail Address(es):
info@logandaily.com

Columbus Dispatch Letters to the Editor info @wbns 1 Otv.com

Sam Speck Director ODNR
Fountain Square Bldg. D-3
Columbus, OH 43224
infomail@dnr.state.oh.us