Regulators Seek a Record Fine Against Pipeline

WASHINGTON —  Federal regulators on Friday sought a record fine of more than $3 million against Olympic Pipeline Co. for numerous safety violations found in the wake of a fatal accident a year ago in Bellingham, Wash.

Olympic operated the pipeline in an unsafe manner and violated numerous pipeline safety standards, including failure to take precautions to prevent damage to the pipeline, failure to test safety equipment and inadequately training employees, the Office of Pipeline Safety asserted.

“There were sustained and multiple violations of our safety standards,” said Kelley Coyner, administrator of the Research and Special Programs Administration, the Transportation Department agency that oversees the pipeline safety office.

Two 10-year-old boys and an 18-year-old fisherman died after a pipeline broke June 10, spewing 229,000 gallons of gasoline into a park. The gasoline ignited, sending a fireball more than a mile down a creek.

“It is true that Olympic has been fined $3.05 million by OPS as a result of the June 10 accident in Bellingham,” said Olympic spokesman Pearse Edwards. “Olympic has not had an opportunity to review the basis of the fine, and we don’t have any further comment at this point.”