Josh - you left out what it was while you were busy telling us what it was not.
Most likely due to the mining in the area in recent years. (Blasting, vibration, etc.)
Those pipes are laid in a bedded trench, sealed with a coating and have anode beds, every so many feet.. if you were to bury a piece of 1 cubic foot of stainless steel next to the pipe, or in close proximity it would not last 1 year. The design of the system uses the anode beds to draw corrosion away from the pipe.
Colonial took full responsibility of the spill and if you will go back and read the Caaba River Society is pleased with both the response and cleanup procedures they put in place.
Very few times do you hear of an incident like this Geno. However if it was all shipped by rail or tanker truck how many times do you think an incident would occur?
