Pipeliners were working Friday to relieve pressure on a leaking valve that was venting off carbon dioxide west of Summit, and the situation still poses no immediate public danger, officials said.
The leak occurred around 6 p.m. Thursday at the Olive Valve Station on Hart Lane near Magee Road and Robb Street Extension west of Summit.
Civil defense officials said a valve would not properly close and was venting the gas. They notified residents in the area about the incident in case of the need to evacuate, but that danger seems even more unlikely now because of the reduced pressure on the system, a spokesman with pipeline owner ExxonMobil Pipeline Co. said Friday afternoon.
Crews isolated the leaking valve station from the main pipeline by closing valves on either side of it. The gas that continued to leak was what was remaining between the two closed valves.
Crews were monitoring CO2 levels, which were said to be well below the threshold of warranting an emergency response such as an evacuation.
“EMPCo technicians are onsite and are coordinating the response with local first responders,” the company said in a statement. “Our top priorities are to mitigate the impact and to help maintain the safety of our employees, the community and the environment. We thank all first responders for their help in doing so.”
ExxonMobil acquired the pipeline when it bought Texas-based Denbury Resources, which used carbon dioxide in area oil production to pressurize oil fields.
