# TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE COMPANY — Warning Letter

**Citation:** CPF 220101005W  
**Type / status:** enforcement / historical  
**Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration  
**Effective:** Not stated  
**Published:** 2010-03-11

CLOSED warning letter citing 192.479(a).

## Document text

Warning Letter involving TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE COMPANY. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 192.479(a). The case was opened on 2010-03-11 and is reported as closed as of 2010-03-11. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.

Official case documents:

220101005W_operator response_04122010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220101005W/220101005W_operator%20response_04122010.pdf

220101005W_Warning Letter_03112010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220101005W/220101005W_Warning%20Letter_03112010.pdf

220101005W_Warning Letter_03112010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220101005W/220101005W_Warning%20Letter_03112010_text.pdf

220101005W_Warning Letter_03112010_text.pdf

WARNING LETTER
CERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
March 11, 2010
Mr. William Cope
Vice President, Eastern Operations
Tennessee Gas Pipeline
569 Brookwood Village
Room 766
Birmingham, AL 35209
CPF 2-2010-1005W
Dear Mr. Cope:
On September 14-18, 21-24, and November 2-6, 2009, a representative of the Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United
States Code inspected Tennessee Gas Pipeline (TGP) procedures and records in Catlettsburg,
Clay City, Greenup and Morehead, Kentucky and Batesville and Greenville, Mississippi; and
TGP’s pipeline facilities in Arkansas, Kentucky, Mississippi, and Ohio.
As a result of the inspection, it appears that TGP has committed a probable violation of the
Pipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected and
the probable violation is:
§192.479 Atmospheric corrosion control; General.
(a) Each operator must clean and coat each pipeline or portion of pipeline that is
exposed to the atmosphere, except pipelines under paragraph (c) of this section.
At TGP’s Compressor Station 63 in Batesville, Mississippi, the compressor unit suction
and discharge piping in the basements of Compressor Buildings A and B had numerous
areas where the paint had disbanded from the pipe exposing the pipe. Several of the areas
with disbanded paint have extensive surface rust.



Under 49 United States Code, § 60122, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
$100,000 for each violation for each day the violation persists up to a maximum of $1,000,000
for any related series of violations. We have reviewed the circumstances and supporting
documents involved in this case, and have decided not to conduct additional enforcement action
or penalty assessment proceedings at this time. We advise you to correct the item identified in
this letter. Failure to do so will result in TGP being subject to additional enforcement action.
No reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer to
CPF 2-2010-1005W. Be advised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement
action is subject to being made publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your
responsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the
complete original document you must provide a second copy of the document with the portions
you believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe
the redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b).
Sincerely,
Linda Daugherty
Director, Southern Region
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
2

## Provenance

- Official: Yes
- Source: <https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/220101005W>
- Source ID: `phmsa-enforcement`
- SHA-256: `4110526c08e2533c2c87429a4ab335dd656f1bf1e7334a5abf91fef6e6b3647a`
- Retrieved: 2026-08-20T04:44:44.458Z
- Exported: 2026-08-23T12:35:50.009Z
- Document slug: `phmsa-enforcement-220101005w`

### Source metadata

```json
{
  "cpf": "220101005W",
  "operator": "TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE COMPANY",
  "region": "Southern",
  "pipelineType": "GAS INTERSTATE ONSHORE",
  "caseStatus": "CLOSED",
  "citedSections": [
    "192.479(a)"
  ],
  "dataAsOf": "08/04/2026 12PM",
  "caseDataAsOf": "2026-08-04",
  "attachmentCount": 3,
  "attachments": [
    {
      "name": "220101005W_operator response_04122010.pdf",
      "url": "https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220101005W/220101005W_operator%20response_04122010.pdf",
      "bytes": 76004,
      "category": "party_submission"
    },
    {
      "name": "220101005W_Warning Letter_03112010.pdf",
      "url": "https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220101005W/220101005W_Warning%20Letter_03112010.pdf",
      "bytes": 89221,
      "category": "agency_document"
    },
    {
      "name": "220101005W_Warning Letter_03112010_text.pdf",
      "url": "https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220101005W/220101005W_Warning%20Letter_03112010_text.pdf",
      "bytes": 17590,
      "category": "agency_document"
    }
  ],
  "extractedAgencyDocumentCount": 1,
  "attachmentPolicy": "Official attachment links are retained. Agency-issued documents may also include a verified local PDF and page-level text representation.",
  "jurisdiction": "US",
  "operatorName": "TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE COMPANY"
}
```
