# BUCKEYE PARTNERS, LP — Hazardous liquid — incident on 2009-12-29 **Citation:** PHMSA Report 20090367 **Type / status:** incident / historical **Agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration **Effective:** 2009-12-29 **Published:** 2009-12-29 Hazardous liquid incident in ASTON, DELAWARE County, PA. Reported cause: 1. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 0 injuries, YES GASOLINE released, $2,706,458 reported property damage. Operator-reported incident data submitted to PHMSA, generally within 30 days. Records may be supplemented or corrected and do not represent final agency causal findings. PHMSA trend classification: significant incident, not serious. ## Document text Hazardous liquid incident in ASTON, DELAWARE County, PA. Reported cause: 1. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 0 injuries, YES GASOLINE released, $2,706,458 reported property damage. Operator-reported incident data submitted to PHMSA, generally within 30 days. Records may be supplemented or corrected and do not represent final agency causal findings. Report number: 20090367. Operator ID: 1845. Reported incident date: 12/29/2009. Cause detail: CORROSION, EXTERNAL Cause detail: ON DECEMBER 29, 2009 AT 10:00 P.M., BUCKEYE PARTNERS� (BUCKEYE) CONTROL CENTER IN BREINIGSVILLE, PA RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE ASTON, PA FIRE MARSHALL REPORTING GASOLINE ODORS IN THE AREA OF CLEARVIEW LANE IN ASTON, PA. BUCKEYE�S 8� PIPELINE IN THE AREA (CT553JP) HAD BEEN SHUT DOWN EARLIER IN THE DAY AS PART OF A NORMAL, SCHEDULED SHUT DOWN AND THE PIPELINE PRESSURE WAS BEING MONITORED. AFTER NOTIFICATION FROM BUCKEYE�S CONTROL CENTER, FIELD PERSONNEL ARRIVED AT THE SITE AND CONFIRMED THE PRESENCE OF GASOLINE ODORS. AT 12:45 A.M. ON DECEMBER 30, 2009, A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (PADEP) MEASURED GAS ODORS IN SEVERAL ADJACENT SANITARY SEWER MANHOLES AS WELL AS A FEW NEARBY RESIDENCES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT REQUESTED THE EVACUATION OF FOUR RESIDENCES AS A PRECAUTION UNTIL THE VAPOR LEVELS SUBSIDED. AT 1:40 A.M. ON DECEMBER 30, 2009 A UNIFIED COMMAND WAS ESTABLISHED BY BUCKEYE�S LOCAL OPERATIONS MANAGER. BUCKEYE PERSONNEL PROCEEDED TO WALK THE PIPELINE RIGHT OF WAY AND ALTHOUGH NO VISIBLE PRODUCT WAS SEEN, THEY DID DETECT AN ODOR IN SOME AREAS. BUCKEYE DECIDED TO WALK THE PIPELINE RIGHT OF WAY AGAIN DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS AND TO DIG TEST HOLES IN THE AREAS OF HIGH VAPOR LEVELS. BY NOON ON DECEMBER 30, 2009, BUCKEYE HAD A TOTAL OF TEN LOCATIONS PROBED BETWEEN CHERRY TREE STREET AND OVERLOOK STREET WITH NO PRODUCT FOUND. THE TEST HOLES DUG ON ARBOR LANE WERE ALSO FOUND TO BE CLEAN OF PRODUCT. AT 12:28 P.M. ON DECEMBER 30, 2009, THE PADEP REPRESENTATIVE INDICATED THAT IT APPEARED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS IN THE VICINITY OF SCOTT LANE BECAUSE THE SEWER MANHOLES ON CHERRY TREE STREET AND FRAZER STREET HAD HIGH VAPOR LEVELS. BUCKEYE DECIDED TO EXCAVATE THE GASOLINE TANK LINES INSIDE THE ADJACENT CHELSEA STATION SINCE THESE PIPELINES WERE CLOSER TO SCOTT STREET. AT 10:00 P.M. ON DECEMBER 30, 2009 BUCKEYE PERSONNEL IDENTIFIED HIGH VAPOR LEVELS AND VISIBLE PRODUCT IN THE EXCAVATION AT THE TANK JUNCTION VALVES IN CHELSEA STATION. THE RELEASE WAS DETERMINED TO BE ON THE TANK 701 LINE. AT 1:30 A.M. ON DECEMBER 31, 2009, BUCKEYE INSTALLED A PLIDCO SLEEVE, WHICH STOPPED THE RELEASE. AT NOON ON DECEMBER 31, 2009, ALL RESIDENTS WERE CLEARED TO SAFELY RETURN TO THEIR HOMES. ON JANUARY 1, 2010, THE LOCAL SEWER AUTHORITY CONFIRMED AT LEAST THREE BREACHES IN THE SANITARY SEWER LINE LOCATED UNDER CHERRY TREE STREET. THESE BREACHES ALLOWED GASOLINE FROM THE RELEASE TO GET INTO THE SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM. THE LOCAL SEWER AUTHORITY IS PRESENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF REPAIRING THE SEWER SYSTEM IN THIS AREA. BUCKEYE CONTINUES TO MONITOR THE PLIDCO SLEEVE TWICE DAILY UNTIL PERMANENT REPAIRS CAN BE COMPLETED, WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 8, 2010. BUCKEYE HAS DUG NUMEROUS TEST WELLS AND CONTINUES TO WORK ON BOTH THE REMEDIATION OF THE RELEASE AND DETERMINING THE ESTIMATED VOLUME. BUCKEYE NOTIFIED ALL APPROPRIATE OUTSIDE AGENCIES OF THIS INCIDENT. PERMANENT REPAIRS WERE COMPLETED ON FEBRUARY 12, 2010 BY CUTTING OUT THE DAMAGED PIPE AND REPLACING IT WITH CERTIFIED PIPE. THE DAMAGED PIPE HAS BEEN SENT TO A LABORATORY FOR METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS. METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS REVEALED THE CAUSE OF THE EXTERNAL CORROSION TO BE MICROBIOLOGICALLY INDUCED CORROSION. REMEDIATION IS STILL ON-GOING. OPERATION OF THE FACILITY WAS TURNED OVER TO CONOCOPHILLIPS ON 3-1-11. ---------------- UPDATE 12/11/12 COSTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT ACUTAL AMOUNTS AFTER TURNING OPERATION OVER TO THE OWNER, CONOCO PHILLIPS. THIS RELEASE REPORT IS BEING FINALIZED BY BUCKEYE. NO FURTHER UPDATES WILL BE SUBMITTED. PHMSA trend classification: significant incident, not serious. PHMSA standardized cause: CORROSION — EXTERNAL. PHMSA indexed costs: $2,706,458 reported total cost, $1,493,756.082 in 1984 dollars, $3,678,661.502 in current-year dollars. PHMSA trend flags, standardized causes, and indexed costs are analytical fields added to operator-reported incident data. They do not represent final agency causal findings. ## Provenance - Official: Yes - Source: - Source ID: `phmsa-pipeline-incidents` - SHA-256: `3375850736c5888e95475b66ec07f18073f1fd467cc231848529ebf91306c5f5` - Retrieved: 2026-08-20T03:30:32.010Z - Exported: 2026-08-26T15:02:41.606Z - Document slug: `phmsa-incident-99b1008218f5239fa80bf48b` ### Source metadata ```json { "recordKind": "pipeline_incident", "datasetType": "hazardous_liquid", "datasetLabel": "Hazardous liquid", "datasetPeriod": "January 2002 to December 2009", "report": { "number": "20090367", "supplementalNumber": null, "type": null, "receivedDate": null, "receivedDateRaw": null }, "operator": { "id": "1845", "name": "BUCKEYE PARTNERS, LP" }, "incident": { "date": "2009-12-29", "dateRaw": "12/29/2009" }, "location": { "city": "ASTON", "county": "DELAWARE", "state": "PA", "postalCode": "19014", "latitude": 39.86, "longitude": -75.45, "type": null, "details": {}, "facilityName": null }, "cause": { "category": "1", "details": { "CAUSE_TXT": "CORROSION, EXTERNAL", "NARRATIVE": "ON DECEMBER 29, 2009 AT 10:00 P.M., BUCKEYE PARTNERS� (BUCKEYE) CONTROL CENTER IN BREINIGSVILLE, PA RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE ASTON, PA FIRE MARSHALL REPORTING GASOLINE ODORS IN THE AREA OF CLEARVIEW LANE IN ASTON, PA. BUCKEYE�S 8� PIPELINE IN THE AREA (CT553JP) HAD BEEN SHUT DOWN EARLIER IN THE DAY AS PART OF A NORMAL, SCHEDULED SHUT DOWN AND THE PIPELINE PRESSURE WAS BEING MONITORED. AFTER NOTIFICATION FROM BUCKEYE�S CONTROL CENTER, FIELD PERSONNEL ARRIVED AT THE SITE AND CONFIRMED THE PRESENCE OF GASOLINE ODORS. AT 12:45 A.M. ON DECEMBER 30, 2009, A REPRESENTATIVE OF THE PENNSYLVANIA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL PROTECTION (PADEP) MEASURED GAS ODORS IN SEVERAL ADJACENT SANITARY SEWER MANHOLES AS WELL AS A FEW NEARBY RESIDENCES. THE FIRE DEPARTMENT REQUESTED THE EVACUATION OF FOUR RESIDENCES AS A PRECAUTION UNTIL THE VAPOR LEVELS SUBSIDED. AT 1:40 A.M. ON DECEMBER 30, 2009 A UNIFIED COMMAND WAS ESTABLISHED BY BUCKEYE�S LOCAL OPERATIONS MANAGER. BUCKEYE PERSONNEL PROCEEDED TO WALK THE PIPELINE RIGHT OF WAY AND ALTHOUGH NO VISIBLE PRODUCT WAS SEEN, THEY DID DETECT AN ODOR IN SOME AREAS. BUCKEYE DECIDED TO WALK THE PIPELINE RIGHT OF WAY AGAIN DURING DAYLIGHT HOURS AND TO DIG TEST HOLES IN THE AREAS OF HIGH VAPOR LEVELS. BY NOON ON DECEMBER 30, 2009, BUCKEYE HAD A TOTAL OF TEN LOCATIONS PROBED BETWEEN CHERRY TREE STREET AND OVERLOOK STREET WITH NO PRODUCT FOUND. THE TEST HOLES DUG ON ARBOR LANE WERE ALSO FOUND TO BE CLEAN OF PRODUCT. AT 12:28 P.M. ON DECEMBER 30, 2009, THE PADEP REPRESENTATIVE INDICATED THAT IT APPEARED THAT THE PROBLEM WAS IN THE VICINITY OF SCOTT LANE BECAUSE THE SEWER MANHOLES ON CHERRY TREE STREET AND FRAZER STREET HAD HIGH VAPOR LEVELS. BUCKEYE DECIDED TO EXCAVATE THE GASOLINE TANK LINES INSIDE THE ADJACENT CHELSEA STATION SINCE THESE PIPELINES WERE CLOSER TO SCOTT STREET. AT 10:00 P.M. ON DECEMBER 30, 2009 BUCKEYE PERSONNEL IDENTIFIED HIGH VAPOR LEVELS AND VISIBLE PRODUCT IN THE EXCAVATION AT THE TANK JUNCTION VALVES IN CHELSEA STATION. THE RELEASE WAS DETERMINED TO BE ON THE TANK 701 LINE. AT 1:30 A.M. ON DECEMBER 31, 2009, BUCKEYE INSTALLED A PLIDCO SLEEVE, WHICH STOPPED THE RELEASE. AT NOON ON DECEMBER 31, 2009, ALL RESIDENTS WERE CLEARED TO SAFELY RETURN TO THEIR HOMES. ON JANUARY 1, 2010, THE LOCAL SEWER AUTHORITY CONFIRMED AT LEAST THREE BREACHES IN THE SANITARY SEWER LINE LOCATED UNDER CHERRY TREE STREET. THESE BREACHES ALLOWED GASOLINE FROM THE RELEASE TO GET INTO THE SANITARY SEWER SYSTEM. THE LOCAL SEWER AUTHORITY IS PRESENTLY IN THE PROCESS OF REPAIRING THE SEWER SYSTEM IN THIS AREA. BUCKEYE CONTINUES TO MONITOR THE PLIDCO SLEEVE TWICE DAILY UNTIL PERMANENT REPAIRS CAN BE COMPLETED, WHICH IS SCHEDULED FOR THE WEEK OF FEBRUARY 8, 2010. BUCKEYE HAS DUG NUMEROUS TEST WELLS AND CONTINUES TO WORK ON BOTH THE REMEDIATION OF THE RELEASE AND DETERMINING THE ESTIMATED VOLUME. BUCKEYE NOTIFIED ALL APPROPRIATE OUTSIDE AGENCIES OF THIS INCIDENT. PERMANENT REPAIRS WERE COMPLETED ON FEBRUARY 12, 2010 BY CUTTING OUT THE DAMAGED PIPE AND REPLACING IT WITH CERTIFIED PIPE. THE DAMAGED PIPE HAS BEEN SENT TO A LABORATORY FOR METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS. METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS REVEALED THE CAUSE OF THE EXTERNAL CORROSION TO BE MICROBIOLOGICALLY INDUCED CORROSION. REMEDIATION IS STILL ON-GOING. OPERATION OF THE FACILITY WAS TURNED OVER TO CONOCOPHILLIPS ON 3-1-11. ---------------- UPDATE 12/11/12 COSTS HAVE BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT ACUTAL AMOUNTS AFTER TURNING OPERATION OVER TO THE OWNER, CONOCO PHILLIPS. THIS RELEASE REPORT IS BEING FINALIZED BY BUCKEYE. NO FURTHER UPDATES WILL BE SUBMITTED." } }, "consequences": { "fatalities": 0, "injuries": 0, "commodity": "GASOLINE", "release": "YES", "propertyDamage": 2706458, "estimatedOperatorCost": null, "estimatedEmergencyCost": null, "estimatedEnvironmentalCost": null, "ignition": null, "explosion": null, "evacuated": null, "raw": { "FATAL": "0", "INJURE": "0", "SPILLED": "YES", "LOSS": "386", "PRPTY": "2706458" } }, "provenance": { "viewId": "27nc-rsge", "viewUrl": "https://data.transportation.gov/api/views/27nc-rsge", "assetId": "928038f8-523b-4003-aeff-79675b193086", "archiveFilename": "Hazardous Liquid Accident Data - January 2002 to December 2009.zip", "archiveSha256": "a2b2cdba25ba93b241fa8f3c63a67779f3070c7522d5936b53fa6913820694d8", "memberPath": "accident_hazardous_liquid_jan2002_dec2009.txt", "memberSha256": "8340acd748efe1e334483f11a79d2c39112815b75d7342c4b920f6dea0f55421", "rowNumber": 3013, "rowSha256": "73f0760b8efb5c2c123374b789041768f5116c6f750478489f407c0231da5e4e" }, "caveat": "Operator-reported incident data submitted to PHMSA, generally within 30 days. 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They do not represent final agency causal findings.", "provenance": { "sourceUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/sites/phmsa.dot.gov/files/data_statistics/pipeline/PHMSA_Pipeline_Safety_Flagged_Incidents.zip", "landingPageUrl": "https://www.phmsa.dot.gov/data-and-statistics/pipeline/pipeline-incident-flagged-files", "catalogUrl": "https://data.transportation.gov/Pipelines-and-Hazmat/Pipeline-Incident-Flagged-Files/qdme-9bbm", "retrievalMode": "official_live", "archivedAt": null, "archiveSha256": "317e6a3e16d60b9b677efe391dc40258b5dd7ead83fb8bea74cb553cedfbbdec", "workbook": "hl2002to2009.xlsx", "sheet": "hl2002to2009", "rowNumber": 3013, "rowSha256": "be8ca966f91db39db4f748c9db4821159ce0c5449cac8d6649e7334aed73f330" } }, "jurisdiction": "US", "operatorName": "BUCKEYE PARTNERS, LP" } ```