A Little Unexpected Sanity -- Keystone Pipeline Allowed to Re-Open -- I Guess $5.00 Gasoline Isn't a Pretty Sight

Link here.

Just a day after ordering a TransCanada Corp. subsidiary to make necessary repairs and address safety issues arising from leaks last month along the Keystone oil pipeline, the US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration gave TransCanada Oil Pipeline Operations Inc. permission on June 4 to restart the system.

Approval to restart the pipeline came after TCOPO submitted metallurgical testing results of the failed pipe components and satisfied the US Department of Transportation agency that necessary repairs were made and all immediate safety issues were addressed, PHMSA Central Region Director David Barrett said in a letter to Vern Meier, vice-president of TransCanada’s US pipeline operations. He authorized a daylight restart no sooner than June 5 under restricted conditions and close monitoring by PHMSA.

TransCanada employees worked around the clock to take all necessary actions to allow the pipeline to resume safe operations, TransCanada Chief Executive Russ Girling said on June 5. He confirmed that PHMSA would closely monitor the line’s operation.

You can be sure the agency will closely monitor the line's operation: "Hell hath no fury like a federal bureaucrat scorned."

I thought I had posted the original story. I guess I didn't. For those who forgot, the Keystone recently reported two spills: a 400-bbl spill and a 10-bbl spill.

I can't comment much on a 400-bbl spill, not knowing all the facts, but a 10-bbl spill ... when the administration referenced the 10-bbl spill as one of the reasons for shutting down the Keystone, it spoke volumes about this administration's pro-growth policy.

A 10-bbl spill.

In the airline industry this would be the same as shutting down United Airlines so that all walkways could be inspected for safety issues following a report of a passenger spraining his ankle upon boarding. And not letting United fly the friendly skies until all walkways were certified safe by the US Walkway and Moving Sidewalk Safety Administration (WMSSA).