Cancel permits of quarries posing a risk to petroleum pipeline: environmentalists

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Environmentalists have urged the State government to cancel the permits of stone quarries located within 500 metres of the underground petroleum pipeline laid by the Bharat Petroleum Corporation Limited (BPCL) in Karur, Tiruppur, and Coimbatore districts.

Quoting a letter from the BPCL, received by R. Palanisamy of Karudayampalayam in Karur district under the Right to Information Act, R.S. Mugilan, coordinator, Tamil Nadu Environment Protection Movement, said the high-density pipeline had been laid to carry petroleum products from Cochin Refinery to Coimbatore and Karur.

It had been laid after obtaining Right of Use (RoU) as per the provisions of the Petroleum and Minerals Pipelines Act, 1962. Of the several stones and granite quarries that function in the State, some are situated very close to the petroleum pipeline. As per relevant sections of the Act, safety precautions must be considered for blasting operations within 500 metres of the pipeline. 

The RTI reply further said that a pre-work survey must be conducted by an accredited third-party surveyor before any blasting activity, with a written report outlining special conditions and adjustments to the blasting plan to protect the pipeline. It must be ensured that the peak particle velocity (PPV) does not exceed two inches per second. The pipeline operator must be immediately informed if the PPV readings approach or exceed this limit, it added.

SOPs required

In addition to that, a procedure qualification record for blasting within 500 metres of the pipeline must be developed, witnessed by an accredited third-party surveyor and BPCL officials, as well as a Standard Operating Procedure, specifying the number of detonators employed per blast to maintain the PPV limit.

The additional safety precautions must be incorporated depending on the site conditions such as the topography of area, type of soil, and other factors such as rock strata, environmental, and atmospheric conditions.

Mr. Mugilan alleged that several stone quarries at Kuppam, Karudayampalayam, Pavithram, Punnam and other villages in Karur district were located close to the pipeline. Out of about 335 quarries in Karur district, about 75 quarries fell within a 500-metre radius of the pipeline.

Similar situation

The situation in Tiruppur and Coimbatore districts was similar, with many of the quarries failing to comply with the conditions of the BPCL.

The Tamil Nadu Pollution Control Board and other agencies had failed to monitor the safety measures taken. Hence, the State government should take immediate steps to check whether the quarries had followed the conditions, he added.

The activist urged the government to immediately cancel the permits of those quarries that failed to implement the precautionary measures. Slackness might lead to dangerous consequences, he said.