Agenda Packets - 1987/03/16 - Laserfiche WebLink

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DOCKETS UNIT PAGE FOURTEEN MARCH 24, 1987 exists to document the fact that a risk to the public or environment does not exist. 10. Proposal: Require existing hazardous liquid pipelines to be coated or cathodically protected to prevent corrosion. (52780) Response: To not require that existing uncoated pipelines be coated and cathodically protected places the public and the environment at great risk unnecessarily. There is no effective techno- logy currently available that can accurately pinpoint active corrosion nor is cathodic protection a fool -proof means to prevent active corrosion from growing and causing detrimental effects upon the structural integrity of a pipe. Even the use of combined coating and cathodic protection is no guarantee but two lines of defense that are aggressively monitored and maintained are better than an ineffective defense against corrosion which is what coating or cathodic protection alone would be. Questions: (a) What would be the added cost of requiring full cathodic protection on existing pipelines that are ineffectively coated or bare? Response: The City is not in a position to determine costs for implementing this proposal. (b) Would this investment pay for itself in terms of preventing corrosion caused accidents? Response: To answer a question with a question, what would be the cost to the industry and the regulator both in actual damages and goodwill if an accident or accidents were to occur resulting in injury(ies), death(s) or environ- mental damage and it was learned that no efforts were undertaken to prevent corrosion? In our opinion any expense to prevent those terrible possibilities is prudent and reasonable. (c) what alternatives to the present or proposed require- ments are there to prevent corrosion -caused leaks on existing pipelines?