The company responsible for the largest saltwater pipeline spill in North Dakota’s history answered questions last week about lessons learned as it proposes to build new crude oil pipelines in the state. Meadowlark Midstream and Epping Transmission Co., both subsidiaries of Summit Midstream, presented to the North Dakota Public Service Commission plans for a 14-mile transmission pipeline in Williams County, North Dakota.
The proposed project, which would convert an existing 10-mile gathering line and add an additional four miles of new pipeline, would transport crude oil from the Epping Station to the Little Muddy Creek Station, which is about 10 miles northwest of Epping.
Zack Pelham, an attorney representing the PSC, asked what the company learned from the pipeline rupture discovered Jan. 6 north of Williston. The incident, which remains under investigation, spilled nearly 3 million gallons of produced water and contaminated nearby Blacktail Creek, the Little Muddy River and the Missouri River. John Millar, who testified at the hearing for Meadowlark Midstream, said the proposed crude oil pipeline has a lower “risk profile” than the produced water pipeline that ruptured.
The oil pipeline would be made of steel, much stronger than the composite material called FiberSpar LinePipe the produced water pipeline was made of, Millar said. The pipeline also would have safety systems, including shut-down valves and pressure and flow sensors that would be monitored 24/7 by a control center in Texas, he said. In addition, the pipeline would be monitored twice a month by air patrol and every week by ground patrol, Millar said.