Keystone inspector identifies shoddy work on original pipeline
A former inspector for a company that did work on TransCanada Corp. (TRP-T43.40-0.55-1.25%)'s original Keystone pipeline is accusing the Calgary-based company of a cavalier disregard for the environment.
Mike Klink was an engineer for construction company Bechtel Corp., a contractor that worked on the first portion of the Keystone pipeline that carries Alberta oil sands crude to refineries in the U.S. Midwest. It was completed in 2010; the controversial Keystone XL would extend that pipeline to Gulf Coast refineries.
In an opinion piece published over the weekend in Nebraska's Lincoln Journal Star, the 59-year-old Mr. Klink says he raised a series of concerns about alleged substandard materials and poor craftsmanship along the Keystone pipeline.
“Let's be clear — I am an engineer; I am not telling you we shouldn't build pipelines,” he wrote in the Nebraska newspaper.
“We just should not build this one.”
His job as an inspector, Mr. Klink said, involved monitoring the construction of pump stations along the first Keystone pipeline.
Mr. Klink says that he noticed substandard building materials, construction methods and safety standards as he inspected the pipeline.
“Cheap foreign steel that cracked when workers tried to weld it, foundations for pump stations that you would never consider using in your own home, fudged safety tests, Bechtel staffers explaining away leaks during pressure tests as ‘not too bad,' shortcuts on the steel and rebar that are essential for safe pipeline operation and siting of facilities on completely inappropriate spots like wetlands,” he wrote.
He said that he shared his concerns with his bosses, who passed them along to “the bigwigs at TransCanada, but nothing changed. TransCanada didn't appear to care.”
Keystone remains in the spotlight in the U.S. capital after Republicans succeeded in having a provision inserted into legislation to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance benefits to Americans hard-hit by tough economic times.
The measure would force the Obama administration to make a decision on Keystone XL within 60 days. White House officials and Democrats say the provision has all but killed the pipeline since a thorough review of a new route for Keystone XL — around a crucial aquifer in Nebraska — cannot be conducted in such a short time period.
Keystone inspector identifies shoddy work on original pipeline - The Globe and Mail
A former inspector for a company that did work on TransCanada Corp. (TRP-T43.40-0.55-1.25%)'s original Keystone pipeline is accusing the Calgary-based company of a cavalier disregard for the environment.
Mike Klink was an engineer for construction company Bechtel Corp., a contractor that worked on the first portion of the Keystone pipeline that carries Alberta oil sands crude to refineries in the U.S. Midwest. It was completed in 2010; the controversial Keystone XL would extend that pipeline to Gulf Coast refineries.
In an opinion piece published over the weekend in Nebraska's Lincoln Journal Star, the 59-year-old Mr. Klink says he raised a series of concerns about alleged substandard materials and poor craftsmanship along the Keystone pipeline.
“Let's be clear — I am an engineer; I am not telling you we shouldn't build pipelines,” he wrote in the Nebraska newspaper.
“We just should not build this one.”
His job as an inspector, Mr. Klink said, involved monitoring the construction of pump stations along the first Keystone pipeline.
Mr. Klink says that he noticed substandard building materials, construction methods and safety standards as he inspected the pipeline.
“Cheap foreign steel that cracked when workers tried to weld it, foundations for pump stations that you would never consider using in your own home, fudged safety tests, Bechtel staffers explaining away leaks during pressure tests as ‘not too bad,' shortcuts on the steel and rebar that are essential for safe pipeline operation and siting of facilities on completely inappropriate spots like wetlands,” he wrote.
He said that he shared his concerns with his bosses, who passed them along to “the bigwigs at TransCanada, but nothing changed. TransCanada didn't appear to care.”
Keystone remains in the spotlight in the U.S. capital after Republicans succeeded in having a provision inserted into legislation to extend payroll tax cuts and unemployment insurance benefits to Americans hard-hit by tough economic times.
The measure would force the Obama administration to make a decision on Keystone XL within 60 days. White House officials and Democrats say the provision has all but killed the pipeline since a thorough review of a new route for Keystone XL — around a crucial aquifer in Nebraska — cannot be conducted in such a short time period.
Keystone inspector identifies shoddy work on original pipeline - The Globe and Mail
