<i>Question</i>: With the current issue over a possible liquefied natural gas terminal here in Coos Bay and the pipeline going southeast to Malin, what is the safety record of the Williams pipeline located in the Willamette Valley?

<i>Answer</i>: There have been several pipeline failures along the Williams pipeline that traverses Oregon and Washington, on its way to New Mexico.

The U.S. Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has records of incidents going back to 1998 and detailed information of incidents going back to 2002.

During that time, the Northwest Pipeline has suffered two material failures in Oregon, one near Wolf Creek in January 1998 and the other in January 1999 at an undisclosed location. Neither incident caused any fatalities or injuries. Property damage from the two incidents came to about $750,000. No further information about the impacts of the failure was available from the agency.

There also were six incidents involving the Northwest Pipeline in Washington. Again, there were no injuries or fatalities.

The most expensive one occurred in February 1999 in Stevenson, Wash. The cause of the accident was “natural force damage,” which resulted in $4.78 million worth of property damage. No further information was available.

Another rupture in 2003 near Lake Tapps in Pierce County, Wash., forced Williams to abandon about 268 miles of 26-inch pipe and replace it with about 80 miles of 36-inch pipeline in four sections along the same corridor.

According to a U.S. DOT corrective action order, the failure caused an explosion that catapulted pieces of the pipeline 250 feet from their original position. Gas continued to be released from the pipe, which was constructed in the late 1950s, for about an hour. A nearby school, supermarket and between 30 and 40 houses were evacuated.

Michele Swaner, a spokeswoman for Williams, said the project to replace the pipe was completed in December 2006.