Marathon Pipe Line and Safety

A petroleum pipeline, owned by Marathon Pipe Line (MPL), runs along both sides of Phillippi Street. As a result, ACHD has been working closely with MPL throughout the project development and has continued to do so to ensure that the highest safety standards are being maintained during construction. These safety standards include the Federal Pipeline Safety Standards adopted at 49 C.F.R. Part 195 and include regulations relating to design requirements, construction, pressure testing, operation, and maintenance (including maximum operating pressure, valve maintenance, pipeline repairs, pipe movement, over pressure safety devices, public awareness, damage prevention, and leak detection), qualification of pipeline personnel, and corrosion control. In addition, Idaho has established underground facility damage protection standards and requirements at Title 55, Chapter 22 to ensure any excavation is done safely and carefully, and with knowledge of the location of underground facilities such as the Marathon pipeline.

Additional steps being taken to ensure neighborhood safety:

• When our contractor, Knife River, is working within 50 feet of the pipelines a MPL representative will be on-site.
• An ACHD inspector will be on-site on a regular basis.
• ACHD and Knife River have taken significant efforts to determine the pipeline location.
• MPL authorized equipment will be used when compaction is required over the pipelines.
• MPL monitors and controls the pipeline network 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Pressure changes would trigger an immediate alarm at their operations center.
• Both pipelines are outfitted with valves that can be shut down remotely.
• MPL has an established Emergency Response Plan, which includes working with local emergency responders and maintaining the proper equipment to address different situations.