Nickels Threatens To Shut Down Olympic Pipeline

Summary

Seattle mayor says he wants a high-pressure water test conducted on the line through Seattle, or else he'll turn it off.

Story Published: Jul 14, 2003 at 10:02 AM PST

Story Updated: Aug 31, 2006 at 12:06 AM PST

Nickels Threatens To Shut Down Olympic Pipeline
SEATTLE - Seattle Mayor Greg Nickels is demanding that Olympic Pipeline conduct a high-pressure water test on its line through Seattle. Nickels says that's the best way to determine the safety of the line, which carries 8 million gallons of fuel a week.

Other, less reliable testing recently uncovered 131 anomalies in the seams that hold the Seattle portion of the line together.

Last Friday, Olympic refused to conduct the tests and Nickels says he'll shut it down Aug. 26.

Olympic says such a test isn't practical or necessary and that Nickels has no legal authority to shut down the line.