Pipe Line Failure Shows Our Crumbling Infastructure

Yep, that pipe started rusting the day Bush took office. Ya don't suppose that just maybe it's the fault of the PRIVATE company (BP) that's actually responsible for maintaining that pipe do you knucklehead?

Gene, you gotta stop this. It's really uncool.

What is uncool are the policiese we are following that ignore the most basic needs of this country.

MasonM

BP is one of the companies that Bush and the GOP gave a $12 Billion Tax cut. BP is one of the Oil Companies that has had an obscene increase in profits as we pay over $3.00 per gallon for gasoline. What is clear is the policy we are following that is allowing the oil companies to generate outrageous profits, pay their key executives salaries that can not be justified and these companies are NOT even properly protecting the pipe lines needed to insure our oil supply. They are not building new refineries and how much NEW energy that is under OUR control have they brought on line with these added profits? What is taking place is the Bush/GOP policy toward BIG OIL has gone into the pockets of the wealthy at the expense of the reminder of our citizens!

Why is it that you feel that Bush is somehow directly responsible for everything that breaks? He is not an inspector, he doesn't survey sites day in and day out to make sure that everything in this country is fine tuned and working properly. You are such an ignorant person. BTW, not giving money to fix something does not mean our economy is bad. all the basic needs of this country have been ignored for years, way longer than Bush was in office. You know nothing about politics and history, less than I do anyways. Shame on you.

does bp's pipeline count as infrastructure?

whether bp's abyssmal negligence is a consequence of insufficient oversight by an oil industry friendly administration is certainly a legitimate concern.

no doubt any shortage will work to bp's ultimate advantage.

seein as how hurricane season is just gettin underway, i'm thinkin of franchising a chain of livery stables.

CharlesC

Here is the issue. Bush and the conservatives have this idea that wants to have as little government regulation as possible on business. When I was corresponding with the economics Professor Bush had at Harvard this is one of the things he told me about GWB. He was very much opposed to almost ANY government regulation of business.

As it turns out, the useful life of the pipeline was set at 25 years. The pipeline is 29 years old. The way this problem was discovered is when a federal agency required BP to inspect the pipe due to the fact it was 4 years BEYOND its useful life. BP did not inspect the pipe until required to do so by a Federal Government agency. That turned out to be too late! BP ignored the 25 Year guide line. BP if left alone the way Bush and many conservatives believe would most likely have been discovered when there was an oil spilled over Alaska.

Enron with the regulations in place scammed this country. There are countless other examples. Thus the policy embraced by Bush and people who think like him has been proven NOT TO BENEFIT our country. Companies left on their own are interested in ONE THING-- Their Profits no matter what that may mean.

Bottom line-- The Bush/GOP policy to reduce or eliminate government oversight of business DOES NOT WORK. In a like manner, we can not allow unneeded regulations that do not enable companies to operate in a profitable way. There must be a balance. The problem we face today is that we have a government that is too far to the right and on the side of no or inadequate regulation. We need to move to more reasonable government regulation to protect this country!

Mama said if ya ain't got anything nice to say best not to say anything. I'm just gonna heed mama's advice.

You're a fucking retard! BP owns that pipeline. That's the way it works in the oil and gas industry. You build the pipeline to transport your oil or you pay to put it in one that belongs to someone else.

So when my company builds a pipeline and the hurricane comes up through the Gulf and destroys it, we are responsible for the repair. Pipelines break everyday. I guess since the media has chosen to jump all over this particular break you find an oportunity to blame Bush again.

Why are you crying so much over one pipeline in the US. The greater percentage of our oil comes from overseas. Oh yeah ... this is your MO.

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It is not the responsibility of the government to look over the shoulder of private industry to ensure they're doing everything right. Doesn't matter how essential that private industry is, short of nationalizing it, it's not the duty of the govt to keep tabs on it. No amount of circumlocutive reasoning will make it otherwise.

As it turns out, the useful life of the pipeline was set at 25 years. The pipeline is 29 years old. The way this problem was discovered is when a federal agency required BP to inspect the pipe due to the fact it was 4 years BEYOND its useful life. BP did not inspect the pipe until required to do so by a Federal Government agency. That turned out to be too late! BP ignored the 25 Year guide line. BP if left alone the way Bush and many conservatives believe would most likely have been discovered when there was an oil spilled over Alaska.

You do realize that you just explained who is really at fault with this paragraph? So why is this exactly Bush's fault again? Or are you so obseced with hating him that anything that is in any way close to him is somehow his fault if it goes wrong? i'm sure you blame Bush for the pot holes in your town as well.

The issues are the policies Bush and the GOP are following. They allow the companies to police themselves and reward them with tax cuts. Now we must ALL PAY for the failure of BP to properly maintain the oil lines. That system is not working but Bush will Stay the Course. Much of the other infrastructure is not private such as water/sewer systems, bridges, dams etc. We are ignoring all these essential facilities. Bush can recognize the need to repair them in Iraq but not in the U.S. WHY!

so...for all the pipelines that have not busted....is that Bush's doing, too?

Much of the other infrastructure is not private such as water/sewer systems, bridges, dams etc. We are ignoring all these essential facilities.

Typical Gene... Makes dumb ass blame Bush comment when it is proven yet again he has no point (or brain) he changes the subject. It's called misdirection Gene and the liberals have been doing it for years. Why don't you try a ploy that isn't so tired.

It is not the responsibility of the government to look over the shoulder of private industry to ensure they're doing everything right.

in this case, it is the responsibility of the department of transporation's pipeline & hazardous materials division to ensure proper operation and maintanence by bp--as it is also that of the environmental protection agency. bp may very well be liable for criminal prosecution since it appears the company deliberately chose underfund maintenance budgets for quite some time despite racking up record-setting profits during that same period of time. too bad the dot and epa can't be prosecuted as well for malfeasance.

considering both agencies report to and are directed by the executive branch--and factoring in the bush/cheney energy industry involvement--gene isn't nearly as far off base as yall would like to believe.

just john

Who do you think owns the roads, bridges, dams, sewer and water systems? This is the same infrastructure Bush helped rebuild in Iraq but ignores in our country. It is not just this pipeline. I did not say the Fed should rebuild the pipeline. What I said is in the case of BP, Bush and the conservatives refuse to regulate the essential companies and then when they fail on their own to act properly, all Americans must PAY and PAY and PAY! It is more important to insure the BIG OIL, and companies like ENRON can do as they please then to protect the 300 Million Americans.

Who do you think owns the roads, bridges, dams, sewer and water systems?

That's not what the original piece was about. Enron was alowed to do the terrible things that it did until they got caught. The only difference between what would have happened and what did happen was time.

BP is a client of ours. I know that what happened up north is not representative of their policies. BP is the most responsible party we deal with. We handle a large part of their drilling operations.

I guess in your world the 300 million Americans shouldn't be exempt from the government rule. If they get to control what a private industry does with it's assets, why shouldn't they be able to come into your home and tell you how and what you should do to make it run. Big government is a huge waste of money, greater than any war in history.

Enron with the regulations in place scammed this country.

--ColGene

As I recall, Gene, Enron was well into its game all during the 1990s. Let's see.....who was president in the 90s? I...don't think it was Bush...was it? No, they just got caught during his presidency. He had nothing to do with either their crimes or their getting caught at it, just like he had nothing to do with the damn pipeline.
Cheese and Crackers, man......can you ever write about anything else? Why don't you just cut to the chase and call your blog "Bush Truth as I want it to be"?

You know, it's not like absolutely nothing is getting done.
Let's talk infrastructure.....I was fifteen minutes late for work this morning because of highway construction (and I mean construction...they're building a new highway interchange and toll road that will connect with Rte. 22) going on about 5 miles east of my house. I sat in traffic for about half an hour while they did whatever they did in building the new overpass.
All Spring and into about June, they were repaving and repairing Rte. 22, replacing guardrails and painting new lines. It's a pleasure to ride on, now. Smooth as a baby's ass.
When I left Fort Wayne, Indiana, last summer, the whole city was torn up because the water dept. was replacing outmoded sewer lines and drainage culverts. My street was impassable for weeks. The only way in was from a side street that you had to go two blocks out of your way to get to.


Stop acting like everything is falling apart, Chicken Little. The things you're talking about here are no better or worse now than it was before he took office.

Everywhere you look, you see the Evil Hand of Bush at work; or not at work, as the case here may be. You're mildly paranoid and possibly delusional. You need help. Get it.

Until now the low volume pipelines were not under Federal inspection regulation and therefore not Federally inpected as the high volume pipelines have been. This has been a fact since the pipelines were built.

Due to the current problem the Bush administration is changing those rules to place the low volume pipes under the same Federal inspection regulations as the high pressure ones. This is something that wasn't done by any past administration.

So now, does Col Gene acknowledge that the Bush administration has taken steps to correct a mistake by past administrations to ensure this problem doesn't happen again, or will he find some reason to decry this as well?

The vast majority of the infrastructure we depend on is not actually owned by the federal government. In most cases, the federal government has little to no jurisdiction at all over the infrastructure; depending on whether or not federal funds were used, and on what terms.

If your local infrastructure is falling apart, it has nothing to do with Bush; and everything to do with your not keeping a closer watch on your city council, county board of supervisors, and state legislature.

And one company having problem with one infrastructure component of their own private operation, does not translate into all companies getting paid to ruin the country. Individuals don't always perform to standard. Companies drop the ball. Governments are generally corrupt and incompetent. None of this is Bush's fault, even if he is part of the problem for eight years or so.

Blame Bush, America or the Jews/. your speciality casting unreasoning blame,

But I must admit, my admiration for you has increased with your totally acceptable views on Jews.

Reply By: just john Posted: Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Who do you think owns the roads, bridges, dams, sewer and water systems?


That's not what the original piece was about.

Better read my blog again! See BELOW:




The pipe line failure in Alaska is a good example of the crumbling infrastructure in this country. Water and sewer systems, dams, bridges, the electric grids, pipe lines are all in desperate need of replacing. Bush gave Iraq $20 Billion to help rebuilding the infrastructure in Iraq but has ignored the very same needs in America.

Better read my blog again! See BELOW:

So do you have any intelligent thought? If you aren't going to adress the questions posed to you, why do you bother to blog about these subjects? I dare you to answer my question but I know what you are going to do. You are going to abandon this thread like you do all the rest because yet again you have been proven to be without point.

Water and sewer systems, dams, bridges, the electric grids, pipe lines are all in desperate need of replacing.

So how do you explain all of the udate work on existing sewer and water lines in our area and what about the new roads and repaving that is going on? I don't know what hole you live in but this stuff happens everyday.

oh, yeah...it does, and it does.....

I-69, just north of Coldwater, MI, is under construction...AGAIN....it has been every summer for the last couple of years.

They were just doing some work right down the street of our house about 3 weeks ago...only a matter of time when they get to right in front of our house.

I see road construction ALL THE TIME....everywhere I go...no matter what state I am in.

I lived in Alaska and part of the pipeline ran right through my back forty. You are sorely mistaken if you think the pipeline is ANYTHING like our infrastructure.

The entire length of the pipeline is flown TWICE a day by helicopter and visually inspected by truck from one end to the other once a week.

That thing is better maintained than most children.

There are several earthquakes a day in Alaska. Most you can't feel, some you can. Part of the pipeline is underground and part is above ground on great metal gerters that are a little flexible for all the quakes.

But occasionally a quake or the extreme weather damages the pipeline. When I lived there some yahoo went around shooting holes in it..causing the oil to spew out.

They fixed that in no time flat.

If the pipeline is down for more than three days you can bet there is another reason, other than "maintenance." Like maybe driving oil prices or something. Because I know for a fact the maintenance is daily and non stop.