"NEW ORLEANS — A corroded pipeline that ruptured and spilled 350,000 gallons (1.6 million liters) of diesel fuel into a New Orleans area wetland did not have a fully functioning leak detection system at the time, according to federal records, which also show the spill was larger than previously reported.
Two of three components of a leak detection system for the 16-inch (40-centimeter) pipeline did not issue alarms as they were supposed to when it broke just east of New Orleans on Dec. 27, 2021, Collins Pipeline Company disclosed in an accident report submitted to federal regulators.
The third part of the system worked as designed and issued an alarm, according to the report. It was not clear from the information provided by the company when that alarm went off or if the parts of the system that malfunctioned caused any delay in its response."
