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Congressman Paul Tonko today sent letters to U.S. Department of Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood and NYS Public Service Commissioner Garry Brown calling for answers and oversight in the wake of the Texas Eastern propane pipeline leak in Gilboa last week, which led to an evacuation of the area and heightened tensions for neighbors and the community.

“We need to hold Texas Eastern accountable for the events that led up to the discovery of the leak,” said Congressman Paul Tonko. “This leak could have led to a large explosion, as it did two decades ago when two lives were lost and local property and homes were damaged. We need to understand the circumstances that led up to this incident, make sure all protocols and laws were followed, and figure out how we can prevent this from happening again.  We must ease the fears of those who have to live with this pipeline in their community and ensure they are treated with fairness and decency.”

The leak was discovered last Friday at the intersection of Stone Store Road and Keyserkill Road. Officials evacuated dozens of households and five families were forced from their homes for a number of days while the leak was isolated and fixed. Congressman Tonko is most interested in answers regarding the excavation of the site by Texas Eastern crews one week before the leak was discovered, as well as the scope and timeline of the incident investigation.

The text of both letters follows: 

September 2, 2010

Commissioner Garry A. Brown

NYS Public Service Commission
Empire State Plaza, Agency Building 3
Albany, NY 12223

Commissioner Brown:

I write today on behalf of my constituents in Schoharie County in regard to a recent propane pipe leak that occurred on Friday August 27, 2010 in the area of the intersection of Stone Store Road and Keyserkill Road in the Town of Gilboa, New York. The leak caused dozens of people to evacuate their homes and has left many residents in a state of fear and suspense.  I would appreciate if you could provide me with a comprehensive timeline of necessary actions to resolve this problem. In addition, I would appreciate a description of your investigatory powers and process that examines the company that caused this problem as well as an explanation of how the Department of Public Service will work to ensure that an accident of this type never happens again.

First and foremost, as I know from attending a meeting on the evening of Sunday August 29 at the Middleburgh Firehouse, this problem did not arise out of thin air. In fact, the Texas Eastern Products Pipeline Company (TEPPCO) maintenance crews excavated this exact same pipeline just one week earlier in the vicinity of the current failure site. While TEPPCO has indicated it is investigating this incident, the people and communities impacted are better served by an independent review. Is your office investigating the nature of that work and its potential as a factor in the current leak?  Upon determining that the system had a weakness, and excavating in an attempt to discover said weakness just days before the leak, I am inquiring to determine whether or not TEPPCO is required to contact the New York State Public Service Commission (PSC) before any such excavation? If so, did TEPPCO contact the PSC during this original excavation? If not, do you think they should have an obligation to do so?

In addition, as you are surely aware, this is not the first incident of its kind in this region. I also represented Schoharie County during my tenure as a Member of the New York State Assembly. It was at that time, in 1990, that two lives were lost and ten homes were completely destroyed due to a propane leak and ignition. There have been repeat occurrences by TEPPCO since then, including in Davenport, New York in January 2004 which destroyed a home due to another leak and ignition. These repeat occurrences of catastrophic outcomes are not just another incident of lives lost or property destroyed; they also have a profound effect on the well-being and emotional stress of the residents of the region. The stress factor that comes with living in a community that plays host to these pipelines is significant, but to have incidents such as the one on August 27 occur in your community over and over again significantly reduces a person, family, small business and community’s quality of life. An unnecessarily high stress factor is unacceptable and I will work to my upmost ability to address this situation. It is my hope that you will take both the physical and emotional damages caused by this incident into consideration during your review process.

Finally, could you please inform my office as to what we can expect by way of a timeline for review? Will you be working with our federal and local partners in government to determine the cause of this accident, and if so, how? At what point will these findings be made public? If a determination is made that TEPPCO has violated safety regulations, how long will it take for a fine to be issued? Most importantly, what actions or ramifications will be taken to ensure that this type of accident never plagues the hearts and minds of residents in this area again? Luckily, nobody was hurt this time around. However, provoking those terrible thoughts and memories we all share from 1990 means that without some form of closure or certainty, residents of Schoharie County will live in fear and stress unless we can provide the dignity and quality standard of living that this community so desperately deserves. We should not allow greed and carelessness to endanger the lives of our community.

Your consideration of these questions in a timely and thorough manner, consistent with all federal and state rules and regulations, is appreciated.                                                                                

Very Truly Yours,

                                                                                    PAUL D. TONKO

                                                                                    Member of Congress

PDT/cbb

cc:        Senator James Seward

                                Assemblyman Peter Lopez

                                Andrew Feeney, Director, NYS SEMO

                                Judith Warner, Director, Schoharie County Emergency Management Office

                                Earl Van Wormer III, Chairman, Schoharie County Board of Supervisors

                                Dennis Richards, Town Supervisor, Middleburgh

                                Marie Campbell, Town Supervisor, Broome

September 2, 2010

Secretary Ray LaHood

U.S. Department of Transportation
1200 New Jersey Ave, SE
Washington, DC 20590

Secretary LaHood:

I write today on behalf of my constituents in Schoharie County in regard to a recent propane pipe leak that occurred on Friday August 27, 2010 in the area of the intersection of Stone Store Road and Keyserkill Road in the Town of Gilboa, New York. The leak caused dozens of people to evacuate their homes and has left many residents in a state of fear and suspense.  I would appreciate if you could provide me with a comprehensive timeline of necessary actions to resolve this problem. In addition, I would appreciate a description of your investigatory powers and process that examines the company that caused this problem as well as an explanation of how your agency will work to ensure that an accident of this type never happens again.

First and foremost, as I know from attending a meeting on the evening of Sunday August 29 at the Middleburgh Firehouse, this problem did not arise out of thin air. In fact, the Texas Eastern Products Pipeline Company (TEPPCO) maintenance crews excavated this exact same pipeline just one week ago in the vicinity of the current failure site. While TEPPCO has indicated it is investigating this incident, the people and communities impacted are better served by an independent review. Is your office investigating the nature of that work and its potential as a factor in the current leak?  Upon determining that the system had a weakness, and excavating in an attempt to discover said weakness just days before the leak, I am inquiring to determine whether or not TEPPCO is required to contact the United Stated Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) before any such excavation? If so, did TEPPCO contact PHMSA during this original excavation? If not, do you think they should have an obligation to do so?

In addition, as you may know, this is not the first incident of its kind in this region. I also represented Schoharie County during my tenure as a Member of the New York State Assembly. It was at that time, in 1990, that two lives were lost and ten homes were completely destroyed due to a propane leak and ignition. There have been repeat occurrences by TEPPCO since then, including in Davenport, New York in January 2004 which destroyed a home due to another leak and ignition. These repeat occurrences of catastrophic outcomes are not just another incident of lives lost or property destroyed; they also have a profound effect on the well-being and emotional stress of the residents of the region. The stress factor that comes with living in a community that plays host to these pipelines is significant, but to have incidents such as the one on August 27 occur in your community over and over again significantly reduces a person, family, small business and community’s quality of life. An unnecessary high stress factor is unacceptable and I will work to my upmost ability to address this situation. It is my hope that you will take both the physical and emotional damages caused by this incident into consideration during your review process.

Finally, could you please inform my office of what we can expect by way of a timeline for review? Will you be working with our state and local partners in government to determine the cause of this accident, and if so, how? At what point will these findings be made public? If a determination is made that TEPPCO has violated safety regulations, how long will it take for a fine to be issued? Most importantly, what actions or ramifications will be taken to ensure that this type of accident never plagues the hearts and minds of residents in this area again? Luckily, nobody was hurt this time around. However, provoking those terrible thoughts and memories we all share from 1990 means that without some form of closure or certainty, residents of Schoharie County will live in fear and stress unless we can provide the dignity and quality standard of living that this community so desperately deserves. We should not allow greed and carelessness to endanger the lives of our community.

Your consideration of these questions in a timely and thorough manner, consistent with all federal rules and regulations, is appreciated.                                                                                     

Very Truly Yours,

                                                                                    PAUL D. TONKO

                                                                                    Member of Congress

PDT/cbb

cc:        Administrator Cynthia Quarterman, PHMSA