Local News in Brief : Pipeline No Threat, State Officials Say

Los Angeles officials have asked the state to consider shutting down a Mobil Oil Co. pipeline that ruptured twice last month in the San Fernando Valley, but state fire officials said the line complies with safety regulations and does not pose a threat.

Citing a history of seven ruptures in the Bakersfield-to-Torrance crude oil pipeline in 15 years, Kenneth Cude, division engineer with the city Department of Transportation’s regulation and enforcement division, sent a letter to the state fire marshal’s office questioning whether the pipeline should be shut down pending a safety review.

But Walter J. Hernandez, chief of the fire marshal’s pipeline safety division in Sacramento, said there are no plans to order the pipeline shut down. Mobil completed high-pressure testing of the pipe early this month and it meets all safety regulations, he said.

“I would say it is pretty safe,” Hernandez said.