NTSB Safety Recommendation P-21-020

NTSB safety recommendation P-21-020.

TO THE PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION: Include criteria for minimum tolerance or safety zones for dredging in state pipeline safety program evaluation guidelines.

Priority: CLASS II

Overall Status: Open - Acceptable Response

Issued Date: 2021-12-21

Adopted Date: 2021-12-07

Synopsis: On Friday, August 21, 2020, about 0802 central daylight time, the US-flagged, non-propelled, 152-foot-long cutter-head suction dredge Waymon Boyd struck a submerged 16-inch liquid propane pipeline during dredging operations adjacent to the EPIC Marine Terminal, located on the Corpus Christi Ship Channel in Corpus Christi, Texas. A geyser of propane gas and water erupted adjacent to the vessel. Shortly thereafter, gas engulfed the vessel and an explosion occurred. Fire consumed the vessel and surrounding shoreline. A total of 18 personnel employed by Orion Marine Group were working or resting on the dredge and assist boats (tender boats, anchor barges, booster barges, and a supply barge) on the day of the accident. Three crewmembers aboard the Waymon Boyd and one on an adjacent anchor barge died in the explosion and fire. Six crewmembers aboard the dredge were injured. First responders located the injured and transported them to local hospitals. They were eventually transferred to burn units in San Antonio, Texas, where one of the crewmembers later died from his injuries. The Waymon Boyd, valued at $9.48 million, was a total loss. The cost of pipeline damage was $2.09 million. The cost of physical damage to the EPIC facility was $120,000.

Probable Cause: The National Transportation Safety Board determines that the probable cause of the hazardous liquid pipeline breach, propane release, and subsequent explosion and fire aboard the dredging vessel Waymon Boyd was Orion Marine Group’s inadequate planning and risk management processes, which failed to identify the proximity of their dredging operation to Enterprise Products’ pipeline TX219 and resulted in the absence of effective controls to prevent the dredge’s cutterhead from striking the pipeline. Contributing to the accident were deficient dredging plans provided by Schneider Engineering and Consulting, which resulted in incomplete and inaccurate information communicated to Enterprise Products by Orion Marine Group during the one-call process, which resulted in insufficient measures to protect the pipeline from excavation damage.

Ntsbnumber: DCA20FM026

Report Number: MAR-21-05

Addressee Name: PHMSA

Addressee Status: Open - Acceptable Response

Addressee Acronym: PHMSA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 2021-12-21

Communication Type: Transmittal Letter

Communication Contents: The attached letter from the NTSB Chair provides information about the NTSB’s December 7, 2021, report Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Strike and Subsequent Explosion and Fire aboard Dredging Vessel Waymon Boyd, EPIC Marine Terminal, Corpus Christi Ship Channel, Corpus Christi, Texas, August 21, 2020, NTSB/MAR-21/05. The details of this accident investigation and the resulting safety recommendations may be found in the attached report, which can also be accessed at http://www.ntsb.gov. The NTSB is vitally interested in these recommendations because they are designed to prevent accidents and save lives. We would appreciate a response within 90 days of the date of this letter, detailing the actions you have taken or intend to take to implement these recommendations. When replying, please refer to the safety recommendations by number (for example, P-21-018 through -020). We encourage you to submit your response to ExecutiveSecretariat@ntsb.gov. If your reply exceeds 20 megabytes, including attachments, please e mail us at the same address for instructions on how to send larger documents. Please do not submit both an electronic copy and a hard copy of the same response. This letter provides information about the National Transportation Safety Board’s (NTSB) December 7, 2021, report Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Strike and Subsequent Explosion and Fire aboard Dredging Vessel Waymon Boyd, EPIC Marine Terminal, Corpus Christi Ship Channel, Corpus Christi, Texas, August 21, 2020, NTSB/MAR-21/05. The details of this accident investigation and the resulting safety recommendations may be found in the attached report, which can also be accessed at http://www.ntsb.gov. As a result of this investigation, we identified the following safety issues: • Inadequate project planning and risk assessment. • Ineffective pipeline damage prevention. • Lack of pipeline hazard training. Accordingly, the NTSB makes the following safety recommendations to PHMSA. Additional information regarding these recommendations can be found in the noted sections of the report. • In collaboration with Coastal and Marine Operators and the Council for Dredging and Marine Construction Safety, develop recommended practices and processes for pipeline operators and dredging companies to obtain and use accurate pipeline location data during planning and one-call locating activities for pipelines both in and near project locations. (P-21-018) (See section 2.4.1) • In collaboration with Coastal and Marine Operators and the Council for Dredging and Marine Construction Safety, develop guidance for excavators to clearly identify proposed dredging boundaries for dredging projects before notifying one-call centers by either physically marking the boundaries where practicable, or identifying the boundary with accurate location data. (P-21-019) (See section 2.4.2) • Include criteria for minimum tolerance or safety zones for dredging in state pipeline safety program evaluation guidelines. (P-21-020) (See section 2.4.3) The NTSB is vitally interested in these recommendations because they are designed to prevent accidents and save lives. We would appreciate a response within 90 days of the date of this letter, detailing the actions you have taken or intend to take to implement these recommendations. When replying, please refer to the safety recommendations by number (Safety Recommendations P-21-018 through -020). We encourage you to submit your response to ExecutiveSecretariat@ntsb.gov. If your reply, including attachments, exceeds 20 megabytes, please e mail us at the same address for instructions on how to send larger documents. Please do not submit both an electronic copy and a hard copy of the same response.

Addressee Acronym: PHMSA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 2022-04-21

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: We note that you concur with this recommendation and have committed to work with states to incorporate minimum tolerance zone guidance for dredging in the states’ damage-prevention programs, and that you plan to include this guidance in your state pipeline safety evaluation guidelines. We further note that you will document if dredging is included in state excavation laws and if the states have established a tolerance zone for dredging. Once Safety Recommendations P-21-18 and -19 are complete, you will inform states that do not already address these criteria, via evaluation letters, that state law or regulations should be amended to do so. Pending the completion of these actions, Safety Recommendation P-21-20 is classified OPEN-- ACCEPTABLE RESPONSE.

Addressee Acronym: PHMSA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 2022-03-03

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: -From Tristan H. Brown, Deputy Administrator: Concur. PHMSA continues to evaluate all state (including the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico) damage prevention programs annually, per 49 CFR § 198.53. These annual evaluations of state excavation damage prevention programs utilize criteria described in 49 CFR § 198.55. As part of this evaluation, PHMSA determines whether the state enforcement program allows for excavation within established state excavation tolerance zones per 49 CFR § 198.55(a)(6): At a minimum, do the State's excavation damage prevention requirements include the following: (i) Excavators may not engage in excavation activity without first using an available one-call notification system to establish the location of underground facilities in the excavation area. (ii) Excavators may not engage in excavation activity in disregard of the marked location of a pipeline facility as established by a pipeline operator. PHMSA will add the following two questions to its 2022 state damage prevention program evaluations: 1) Is dredging included in state law or regulatory definitions for excavation? 2) Has the state established a tolerance zone for dredging in state law or regulations and, if so, what is the tolerance or safety zone? PHMSA will document the state response in our state evaluation checklist. If a state has an established tolerance zone for dredging activities, this information will be noted and used to inform further discussions in creating marine dredging tolerance zone recommended practices or guidance. Once tolerance zone guidance for dredging has been established in response to Recommendations P-21-018 and P-21-019, PHMSA will include in our evaluation letters to states that do not address such requirements already, that state law or regulations should be amended to address dredging tolerance zones. PHMSA will work with states to incorporate the tolerance zone guidance in the states’ damage prevention programs. CONCLUSION PHMSA is fully committed to carrying out its pipeline safety oversight authority to improve safety and protect Americans, while addressing all of the NTSB safety recommendations. PHMSA also values the role of the NTSB and our collective pipeline safety partnership. We believe the actions discussed above adequately address the aforementioned safety recommendations and we look forward to working with you and the dedicated staff at the NTSB as we continue our important work to help ensure the safe, reliable, and environmentally sound operation of the Nation’s pipeline transportation system. Thank you for your consideration regarding the updates of Recommendations P-21-018, P-21- 019, and P-21-020. Should you require further information or assistance, please feel free to call me or have your staff contact David Lehman, Director of the Program Development Division in the Office of Pipeline Safety.

Addressee Acronym: PHMSA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 2022-01-14

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: -From Tristan H. Brown, Deputy Administrator: Safety recommendation P-21-20 was issued on December 21, 2021. PHMSA is reviewing this recommendation and plans to respond within the 90 days requested by NTSB.