Some welder got out of town ahead of the posse.
By MARY JANE SMETANKA, Star Tribune
Last update: April 24, 2010 - 9:53 PM
Welds on gas pipelines at 250 locations in 25 Minnesota cities are being spot-checked after a problem was discovered with work done by a welder for a contractor for Centerpoint Energy.
The problem was found in a weld last fall in southern Minnesota. Centerpoint says there are no immediate safety concerns.
However, the boring of holes in the ground to X-ray pipe welds could be disruptive in places like Richfield, where the work soon will affect sidewalks and landscaping surrounding the nearly new roundabout at 66th Street and Portland Avenue S.
"I've been with Richfield for 30 years and this has never happened before," said Mike Eastling, the city's director of public works.
Centerpoint spokeswoman Rebecca Virden said it will take several months for workers with Michels Corp., a pipeline and construction firm that did the welding, to re-check welds. While there are no gas leaks and pipes are functioning normally, she said, the utility has standards for welds that one Michels employee apparently didn't always meet.
The problem was discovered at a project in Kasota, Minn., at the end of the construction season, Virden said. She said a Centerpoint supervisor overseeing the work "didn't like the way the weld appeared, had it X-rayed and found it unsatisfactory." She said welds are supposed to be a certain thickness to prevent problems that can occur when the ground freezes and contracts.
"There is no leakage; it's about future reliability," she said. "It is not a safety issue at this point, but it's not up to code and standards, and it's not acceptable."
The welder, who worked for Michels in 2008 and 2009, is no longer with the firm, according to Centerpoint. Virden said that Michels, which is responsible for re-checking welds, has checked welds at about one-fifth of the locations where the welder worked and hasn't found other problems so far.
Most of the welds that are being checked are on service lines that come out of steel gas mains, Virden said. Michels, a national firm based near Fond du Lac, Wis., specializes in construction work for utilities. It has been a contractor for Centerpoint since 2003, and Virden said Centerpoint has been happy with Michels' work.
Bob Osborn, vice president for Michels' pipeline division, said he is not familiar with the details of the Minnesota case. He said problems with welders are rare. Those who work on gas pipelines undergo extensive training and are retested every six months to make sure they meet job standards.
"Utilities are under more scrutiny than ever," Osborn said. "That this is happening is really kind of a positive."
Hennepin County, which issued permits allowing Michels to spot-check welds, is requiring that the contractor restore sidewalks and landscaping around Richfield's roundabout to new condition. Unless faulty welds are found, the disruption at 66th and Portland should be confined to sidewalks and landscaping areas, because city engineers required that much of the new pipe that was laid there not be directly under the roundabout.
Mary Jane Smetanka ? 612-673-7380