Proposed Florida-to-S.C. fuel pipeline would be regulated by feds

A Texas company is working on plans to build a fuel pipeline from Florida to South Carolina that would run underground through five counties in the Palmetto State, but not be subject to S.C. regulators.

Kinder Morgan of Houston said it hopes to begin construction on the $1 billion pipeline next spring, several media outlets have reported. The proposal calls for the pipeline to lead to a 900,000 barrel tank farm in Belton, which had a 250,000-gallon leak that is undergoing a cleanup, according to media reports and the Savannah (Ga.) Riverkeeper.

Neither the S.C. Public Service Commission nor the consumer advocacy Office of Regulatory Staff has regulatory authority over the pipeline, Dukes Scott, director of the consumer agency, said Thursday. Regulatory oversight is left to federal agencies because the project involves interstate commerce, said Scott, who once worked at the Public Service Commission.

It’s unclear whether the state Department of Health and Environmental Control would have a regulatory role, though the agency has monitored the Belton cleanup where the Savannah Riverkeeper said the agency has removed 176,901 gallons of product and 2,832 tons of soil so far.

The Palmetto Pipeline Project would be part of a 360-mile pipeline that would run from Jacksonville, Fla., through Aiken, Edgefield, McCormick and Abbeville, before ending in the Anderson County town of Belton. It could begin operations during the summer of 2017.

Anderson County administrator Rusty Burns said much of the pipeline would run through right of way easements in that county. Kinder Morgan spokeswoman Melissa Ruiz said the company is talking with homeowners about allowing the pipeline to run through their property as well. Maps the company provided to Anderson County show that 92 landowners would be affected over 11.1 miles.

The Cheddar community near Belton has been troubled by environmental problems, including a landfill and aging fuel facilities, said M. Cindy Wilson, who represents the area on Anderson County Council.

The pipeline could carry up to 167,000 barrels of gasoline, diesel or ethanol each day and would link into an exiting line in Jacksonville. The pipeline would travel through Georgia and into South Carolina near North Augusta.

Opposition to the pipeline has surfaced in the Savannah area where more than 600 people attended a meeting last week in Richmond Hill. Another meeting is scheduled for May 7 in Waynesboro, Ga., Riverkeeper Tonya Bonitatibus said in a statement.

“The discovery of such a high-volume spill is completely in contrast with Kinder Morgan’s repeated statements regarding their spill detection monitoring,” Bonitatibus said of the Belton leak. “It has been five months since the leak was reported. The claim that this company can immediately detect and promptly clean up a spill has been shown in this instance to be false.”

This story was originally published April 30, 2015 at 11:43 AM with the headline "Proposed Florida-to-S.C. fuel pipeline would be regulated by feds."