State environmental regulators decided yesterday that they will never know who is to blame for damage to a petroleum pipeline in Bellingham that started a chain of events that likely led to a deadly rupture and explosion two years ago.

The state Ecology Department had identified IMCO General Construction Inc. as the probable culprit and had wanted to fine it. The Bellingham company did work on the city water system and dug around the site of the rupture in 1994.

But two months ago IMCO gave records to the Ecology Department that showed that in 1993, city of Bellingham crews dug potholes near the site of the rupture to locate the pipeline and city water lines.

About the same time, a lead investigator with the National Transportation Safety Board shared information with the Ecology Department, said Sheryl Hutchison, a spokeswoman for the state agency. The NTSB has yet to issue a final report on the Olympic Pipe Line rupture and fire, which killed three people.

The NTSB's information also shows that city crews were digging in 1993 where the pipeline later ruptured, Hutchison said. She added that nothing the NTSB provided could "shed any more light" on who damaged the pipe.

The construction equipment used is no longer available for inspection and can't be matched to damage marks on the pipe.

The Ecology Department has decided that it cannot fine IMCO.

"We're excited and happy as hell that they finally came to this decision," IMCO President Frank Imof said. He had maintained all along that his company did not damage the pipeline.

The Ecology Department didn't blame the city for the damage and said it will never be able to find out who dented the pipeline.

Bellingham officials reacted with alarm yesterday at the Ecology Department's suggestion that its employees may be at fault, saying that information about crews working over the pipeline in 1993 had been readily available.

"We're really astounded that they would say something like that," deputy city administrator Don Keenan said. "We're very certain that our crews did not do any damage to the pipeline."

Other city officials said Olympic had its workers monitor the digging. They also said the fact that the city had been digging in 1993 around the site of the future rupture had been widely known.

In March or April, the city found a map that showed where its crews were digging. The city gave that information to IMCO and to the NTSB.

Hutchison said Ecology Department investigators didn't know about the digging until May,

IMCO's attorneys said information obtained from Olympic and from Bellingham shows that city crews used backhoes and were digging near where the pipe would later rupture as many as three times in 1993.

Francis Floyd, one of IMCO's attorneys, said that the information released by the Ecology Department is "the tip of the iceberg" and that subsequent disclosures will further demonstrate IMCO's lack of responsibility for the accident.

The pipeline ruptured June 10, 1999, spilling more than 200,000 gallons of gasoline into two creeks. The gasoline ignited, and two 10-year-old boys were burned and later died. An 18-year-old fishermen was overcome by fumes and drowned.

Investigators dug up the pipe and discovered 27 gouges that fit a backhoe's claws, according to the Ecology Department.

Before the rupture, the damaged pipe had endured numerous surges in pressure, investigators have found. At the same time, Olympic's internal tests showed possible problems with the pipe where it later ruptured, but the company never dug it up to inspect it.

And finally, on the day of the accident, Olympic's computer system shut down. The company did not detect the leak immediately and restarted the pipeline, sending more gasoline out of the rupture, federal prosecutors have alleged. In September, a federal grand jury indicted two companies and three employees in the accident.

In 2001, the Ecology Department fined IMCO, Olympic Pipe Line and Equilon Pipeline Co. $7.86 million over the pipeline rupture. Equilon was the majority owner of Olympic and, state officials believe, ran Olympic at the time of the accident.

At the time, the state intended for the three companies to work out how much each would contribute to the total fine of $7.86 million.

But in June, the Ecology Department decided it would delay fining Equilon until it got more information.

Instead, the state decided to fine Olympic and Shell Pipeline Co. $7.86 million each. Shell acquired Equilon and its potential liabilities earlier this year. The companies have appealed the fines.

Seattle P-I

-- Anonymous, July 12, 2002