Placitas residents, represented by the Las Placitas Association (LPA), have longstanding concerns about an aging crude oil pipeline running through their community. Recent repairs have sparked renewed anxiety over safety and environmental risks.
The 66-year-old Tex-New Mex crude oil pipeline is owned by MPLX, a company formed by Marathon Petroleum Corporation that operates energy infrastructure and provides fuel distribution services. The Tex-New Mex is one of five pipelines crisscrossing Las Huertas Creek in Placitas.
“MPLX is replacing segments of its Tex-New Mex pipeline as part of its proactive long-term integrity management program,” MPLX said in an email. “This program is preventive in nature and is designed to address long-term pipeline integrity needs. There have been no problems or leaks on the segments of the pipeline we are replacing.”
As of 2017, the pipeline was transporting about 4.2 million gallons of crude oil per day, equivalent to about 100,000 barrels — each barrel containing 42 gallons.
Community members are increasingly alarmed by the aging pipeline’s proximity to residential areas and community buildings built after the pipeline was installed, such as the senior center and the elementary school in Placitas.
LPA leaders say the group worries about potential leaks and spills that could lead to environmental hazards. Despite the oil company’s repairs, the group is seeking increased transparency and is advocating for the pipeline’s relocation.
“Ultimately, what we’d like to do is get all of (the pipeline) in the creek moved over to the Buffalo Tract, to the Bureau of Land Management (BLM) land, because there’s no houses or anything going on there for at least 50 years because it just got withdrawn,” said David Haigh, vice president of LPA.
Pipeline history
The same year Sputnik was reentering the atmosphere and Nikita Khrushchev became the head of the USSR, the Texas-New Mexico Pipe Line Company completed a pipeline that ran diagonally across New Mexico, from the Aneth and San Juan Basin oil fields in the four corners to southeastern New Mexico where oil was moved through other pipelines to Gulf Coast refineries.
The 16-inch Tex-New Mex crude oil pipeline traverses the interstate north of Bernalillo and cuts through Placitas en route to the La Huerta community, passing beneath homes, the school and the senior center before reaching the pumping station. From there, it zigzags along Las Huertas Road and Creek, crossing over the Montezuma crest into the Estancia Valley and onward to the oil fields of southeastern New Mexico.
A 2018 Signpost article highlighted the 60th anniversary of the pipeline, shedding light on its history and the numerous changes in ownership over the years.
One constant, however, was the pipeline itself. It was constructed using an outdated method called low-frequency electric-resistance welding, which has since become obsolete. Prevalent from the 1920s to 1970, the technique involved shaping flat steel into a cylinder and using a low-frequency electric current to heat and weld the seam.
In 2013, a 65-year-old ExxonMobil pipeline constructed using that welding method ruptured, flooding a neighborhood in Mayflower, Arkansas, with an estimated 210,000 gallons of crude oil. The rupture was attributed to a hook crack within the weld zones, a flaw characteristic of that welding technique. This type of crack curves toward either the interior or exterior surface of the pipeline, compromising its integrity and resulting in the catastrophic failure.
“If there ever turned out to be a fracture or a crack, it’s not going to explode but it would be an ecological disaster if you get crude oil pumping all over everybody’s yard,” Haigh said. “Eventually it would work its way down into the water table and then everybody who’s on wells up there would be out of luck.”
Changing hands
In 2015, Western Refining, Inc. acquired the pipeline, originally owned by Giant Industries, for $1.2 billion. Western Refining restored the pipeline at an estimated cost of $30 million.
Western was then sold to Texas-based oil and gas company Andeavor in 2017 for $5.8 billion and in 2018, Andeavor was sold to Ohio-based Marathon Petroleum Corp. for $23.3 billion, according to the El Paso Times.
According to Haigh, LPA first became involved with the pipeline issue when the group learned that the BLM district office in Farmington had approved reactivating and increasing the flow to the pipeline after it had been idle for 20 years. This development prompted the group to organize and address the potential risks associated with the pipeline’s reactivation.
“It just seems like it’s an accident waiting to happen,” he said.
The main area of concern in Placitas is a 5,000-foot section of pipeline corridor that runs along and beneath the streambed, passing through residential areas on either side of the Camino de las Huertas crossing. This normally dry streambed drains a watershed estimated to cover 25-30 square miles, including the northeast side of the Sandia Mountains.
During large rainstorms, water flow can erode the soil and expose the pipes. Additionally, boulders and debris from the mountains can be carried by the heavy rain, potentially damaging the exposed pipes.
A 2006 flash flood ripped out the Camino de las Huertas crossing and left a boulder atop a stretch of exposed pipeline once buried to a depth of 6 feet or more.
A 2010 engineering study, cited during an inspection of the creek attended by residents, activists, federal inspectors, state and county officials and representatives of the pipeline companies, projected that erosion would likely cause the streambed to drop by 6 feet by 2040.
According to MPLX, the company performs comprehensive preventive maintenance, that goes “above and beyond state and federal regulations” and includes regular on-foot pipeline surveys, aerial surveys, examining the inside of pipelines with in-line inspection tools and soil erosion repairs as needed.
Community asks
The LPA wants three major changes regarding the pipeline, according to Joan Fenicle, the group’s treasurer.
First, they want community oversight and transparency about any repair work on the pipelines in the creek.
According to the email from MPLX, “As a matter of practice, we communicate regularly with landowners along our right of way, keeping them informed about pipeline maintenance activities. In Placitas, this has included providing information about the current pipeline replacement project. Our engagement typically entails letters, phone calls and for those landowners who have been interested in learning more about the project, we have been happy to have face-to-face meetings.”
Fenicle said the company reported to the Bureau of Reclamation that it completed remedial work in the creek following a major flood a few years ago. In the LPA’s opinion, the work was significant and should have required a permit from the bureau, as it involved running heavy equipment up and down the creek bed.
“They ripped out trees. They hauled in truckloads of big boulders and dumped in the creek bed which was destructive to the ecology of the creek,” Fenicle said.
Second, they want double-walled pipelines installed on the entire length of the corridor in Placitas to replace obsolete single-walled pipes.
“If they’re only replacing sections… it’s kind of like putting a band-aid on a gash head wound,” Haigh said. “They’ll fix a spot here, and it’ll break somewhere else because it will go to the next weakest link in the pipeline.”
The third request is to relocate the entire pipeline corridor north to the Buffalo Tract area on BLM land, but that proposal has garnered concerns in the past for different reasons.
The 2018 Signpost article reported that environmental activist Elaine Cimino of Common Ground Rising cautioned against targeting the Buffalo Tract, to which both Santa Ana and San Felipe pueblos have staked claims, without first engaging the tribal governments.
“We don’t want to push our problem out onto cultural-resource lands,” she said. “This is a big concern here.”
The LPA also sought information on the locations of the two shutoff valves in case of an emergency. However, the companies refused to disclose this information, citing national security concerns related to potential environmental sabotage. To learn more or get involved, visit the LPA website at lasplacitas.org