Pipeline Firm Sues Neb. Excavator Over 2007 Leak

JOSH FUNK

OMAHA, Neb. (AP) — A pipeline company wants a Nebraska excavating firm to pay for the damage caused when a pipeline carrying liquid fuels such as propane and butane leaked more than 70,000 gallons in 2007. The bill could top $2 million.

Mid-America Pipeline LLC filed a federal lawsuit against Wilson Excavating this week.

The lawsuit claims Wilson Excavating damaged the pipeline while trying to remove beaver dams in eastern Nebraska's Saunders County, about 10 miles west of Omaha.

Officials at Wilson Excavating in Yutan, Neb., declined to comment because they have not seen the lawsuit.

Mid-America Pipeline's attorney did not immediately respond to messages left Tuesday and Wednesday. Pipeline regulators with the U.S. Department of Transportation did not immediately respond to a message left Wednesday.

Mid-America is a subsidiary of Houston-based Enterprise Products Partners L.P. Enterprise spokesman Rick Rainey declined to comment on the lawsuit, but he provided some background on the leak.

The 8-inch diameter pipeline carries natural gas liquids, such as propane, to the Midwest.