Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Infrastructure topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Martinez approves two-year extension to Shell Pipeline franchise to allow orderly abandonment
Summary
Council introduced and approved a two-year extension of a 2006 Shell Pipeline franchise to allow time for a decommissioning plan for an idle pipeline that staff and Shell say will be abandoned in place (likely by filling with cellular concrete slurry) with engineering review, permitting and coordination to minimize surface impacts.
The Martinez City Council on Feb. 18 moved to extend for two years the franchise granted to Shell Pipeline Company LLC for a dormant pipeline that crosses several city streets, a step Shell and staff said is needed to complete a careful abandonment and decommissioning process.
City staff and Shell representatives told the council the pipeline — built under earlier franchises, drained in 1998 and idle for decades — must be either brought back into service or formally abandoned under state rules. Shell’s field representative, Katie Cooper, said the company has purged hydrocarbons, maintained a nitrogen blanket and will follow federal and state standards in the abandonment process.
Shell engineers and the city’s engineering staff described the likely technical approach: isolate the line, perform limited potholing at a few locations, and introduce a lightweight cellular concrete slurry from a center access point that will hydraulically push material to the ends so the pipe is filled and stabilized in place. Staff emphasized that the plan will be subject to engineering review, city permits and coordination to avoid conflicts with the city’s pavement program and to limit surface disturbance.
Council members pressed for assurances about the pipeline’s current integrity, depth, the chemical composition of filling material, potential environmental seepage and scheduling relative to upcoming street paving. Shell and its engineers said cathodic protection and prior nitrogen purging have maintained pipeline integrity; they committed to provide detailed engineering specifications and timelines to the city engineer. One engineer said site work, once permitted, would take on the order of weeks (two weeks of active work was cited) and would be staged to avoid newly paved stretches when possible.
Council approved the two-year extension by unanimous vote and directed staff to require a full technical plan and final approvals to return for final council sign-off on the abandonment method and findings. Shell said it would coordinate with the city manager’s office and engineering division and provide additional operational details for review.
