A Walking Tour at the Core of the Explosion

In July 1999, Northwest Citizen posted 54 photos of the Whatcom Falls Park area where the 16-inch gasoline pipeline rupture took place. I was given the tour by Thor Cutler, the Federal Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) official who was participating in the investigation and restoration of the explosion site. For weeks, I had sought access from local officials who had  closed off the area. Of course, locals and the state Ecology Department had no desire to enable NW Citizen to report. Thor was very open to giving me a tour.

The photos were taken on the afternoon of July 20, about six weeks after the explosion. I added descriptions to each photo based on what I saw and what Thor told me. Much had already been cleared from the explosion site that was close to Bellingham's drinking water treatment facility. What was striking to me was how many pipelines crossed each other in this small area. Reporting in our corporate news media ignored or minimized this fact. It was stark to see it in person.  

Questions remain about why the rupture - why the pipe broke - at that very spot. I have heard that a local construction company dinged and dented the Olympic company gas pipeline with a backhoe while doing work for the water treatment plant. The glaring question is why these pipes were all so close to each other. And the next question is - if the pipe was dented,  was it then reported to Olympic Pipe Line Company so it could be repaired? These, and other related questions have been largely ignored by our local officials and local news media. Now, 25 years on, they are still relevant and answers are needed if we want to prevent another tragedy from happening in our community.  

My early NW Citizen website from 1995 until 2008 is still partially online. A google search anytime in the past 25 years would show what I am linking to here. I have not changed a single thing since that 1999 posting. Many words are now run together because they were on separate lines in the original web pages. I have left it all as it was in the interest of historical accuracy.  

54 photos taken July 20, 1999 at the core of the pipeline rupture.

Linked below is Thor Cutler's report as the Federal Environmental Protection Agency representative here. His was a special task focused on process and getting aid to the community.