Pipeline Companies are Fighting Release of Specifics of Equipment

By Robert McClure
Seattle Post-Intelligencer

Tuesday 20 March 2007

They appeal judge's ruling that data be public.

Claiming the release of detailed information on oil and gas pipelines could aid terrorists or troublemakers, Washington pipeline companies are appealing a judge's order that they disclose to the public specifics about their potentially explosive lines.

Meanwhile, the companies are asking the Legislature to change the Washington Public Records Act to allow the information to be kept secret - while claiming in court that the law already shields the records from disclosure.

The pipeline companies' renewed efforts to keep the information secret followed Thurston County Superior Court Judge Richard Hicks ruling Friday on their efforts to block disclosure.

"Over, and over again, they raise the specter of '9/11.' However, we need to have the courage to use that shocking lesson, and at the same time go on to live free and democratic lives," Hicks' ruling said. "Shall we refuse to publish ferry schedules because it would make it easier for insane terrorists to meet the boat at the dock and time an explosion?"

One of two people who first requested the information, reporter Sam Taylor of the Bellingham Herald, showed up early Monday morning to receive the data at the Olympia offices of the Washington Utilities and Transportation Commission, which regulates pipelines.

But by then an attorney for the companies already was headed for the Tacoma offices of the Washington State Court of Appeal, which quickly issued an order keeping the data secret for now.

Attorney Michael Nesteroff, representing the pipeline companies, cited previous cases, writing "courts cannot 'unring the bell' once highly sensitive information has been released, which could cause irreparable injury."

"This information can be used to wreak havoc on the natural gas systems in the Northwest," said Dan Kirschner, executive director of the Northwest Gas Association. "It makes it easier to disrupt service to millions of homes and thousands of businesses in Western Washington."

But Shelley Hall, a lawyer who argued on behalf of Allied Daily Newspapers of Washington and the Bellingham newspaper, cited the 1999 explosion of a pipeline in Bellingham that killed three young men. In the wake of the disaster, citizens picked apart the operation of pipelines.

"The pipelines are essentially turning those years of experience on their head and saying less information is better," Hall said.

As for whether releasing the information could aid terrorists, she said: "The information they've provided about supposed security risks is speculative."

The state already released large-scale maps of the pipelines, which show their location. That information is also easily seen by anyone near pipelines, because the pipelines are clearly marked for safety reasons.

What's at issue in the public-records dispute is information such as the operating pressure, thickness of pipeline walls, and the locations of features including pressure regulators and the spots where pipes are tested for strength.

Kirschner compared the extra details to those a political candidate might keep in his campaign donors' list that are not provided to the Public Disclosure Commission, saying, "I might want to share that with someone, but I have control over who gets it, and for what purpose."

Along with the Herald, the other original requester of the information was Jean Buckner, a gubernatorial appointee to the Citizens' Pipeline Advisory Council. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer was the next to request the data, followed by the Seattle Times, Tacoma News Tribune, Spokane Spokesman-Review, Tri-City Herald, and citizen activist Ken Meyer.

Although a bill keeping the pipeline information secret (HB 1478) was killed last week in the Legislature, there are several other pieces of legislation still in play that relate to pipelines. Supporters of keeping the data secret are planning to try to get the provision inserted into one of those bills.

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P-I reporter Robert McClure can be reached at 206-448-8092 or robertmcclure@seattlepi.com.

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