NTSB Safety Recommendation P-87-021

NTSB safety recommendation P-87-021.

THE NTSB RECOMMENDS THAT THE OFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY: INCREASE THE USE OF SANCTIONS WHICH REFLECT THE GRAVITY OF THE VIOLATION AND THE OPERATOR'S COMPLIANCE HISTORY AS A MEANS FOR MOTIVATING OPERATOR COMPLIANCE WITH FEDERAL PIPELINE SAFETY STANDARDS.

Priority: CLASS II

Overall Status: Closed - Acceptable Action

Issued Date: 1987-09-09

Adopted Date: 1987-07-20

Overall Date Closed: 1994-04-22

Synopsis: ABOUT 4:20 A.M. ON JULY 8, 1986, LINE 2N, AN 8-INCH PRODUCTS PIPELINE OPERATED BY WILLIAMS PIPE LINE COMPANY (WPL) AT MOUNDS VIEW, MINNESOTA, RUPTURED. UNLEADED GASOLINE UNDER 1,434 PSIG SPEWED FROM A 7 1/2-FOOT-LONG OPENING ALONG THE LONGITUDINAL SEAM OF THE PIPE. VAPORIZED GASOLINE COMBINED WITH AIR AND LIQUID GASOLINE FLOWED ALONG NEIGHBORHOOD STREETS. ABOUT 20 MINUTES LATER, THE GASOLINE VAPOR WAS IGNITED WHEN AN AUTOMOBILE ENTERED THE AREA. FOLLOWING AN EXPLOSION-LIKE NOISE, FIRE SPREAD RAPIDLY ALONG THE PATH OF THE LIQUID GASOLINE. TWO PERSONS WERE BURNED SEVERELY AND LATER DIED, AND ONE PERSON SUFFERED SERIOUS BURNS. THERE WAS SUBSTANTIAL PROPERTY DAMAGE AND SOIL AND WATER POLLU TION.

Ntsbnumber: DCA86AP014

Report Number: PAR-87-02

Addressee Name: RSPA

Addressee Status: Closed - Acceptable Action

Addressee Date Closed: 1994-04-22

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1988-10-25

Communication Type: Recommendation Reiteration

Communication Contents: From the pipeline accident report of the Piedmont Natural Gas Company natural gas explosion and fire in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on January 18, 1988. The Board adopted this report on 10/25/1988. In addition, the Safety Board reiterated the following safety recommendations: P-85-32 and P-87-21.

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1994-04-22

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: OPS & BOARD STAFFS COMPILED INFO ON THE COMPLIANCE ACTIONS TAKEN BY THE OPS BEFORE & AFTER ISSUANCE OF THIS RECOMMENDATION. THE DATA SHOW THAT THE OPS REDUCED IT RELIANCE ON WARNING LETTTERS FROM ABOUT 70 PERCENT IN 1985 TO ONLY 20 PERCENT IN 1991, THE LATEST YEAR FOR WHICH THAT THE INFO WAS AVAILABLE. CONVERSELY, RELIANCE ON CIVIL PENALTIES INCREASED EACH YEAR--FROM 9 IN 1987 TO 72 IN 1992. BASED ON THIS 6-YEAR RECORD OF STEPPING UP THE USE OF SANCTIONS TO IMPROVE OPERATOR COMPLIANCE, THE BOARD HAS CLASSIFIED P-87-21 "CLOSED--ACCEPTABLE ACTION."

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1994-02-22

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: -From Carl W. Vogt, Chairman: The National Transportation Safety Board has reviewed the actions taken by the Research and Special Programs Administration's (RSPA's) Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) in response to Safety Recommendations P-78-24, P-84-26, P-87-9 and -21, and P-90-21. Safety Recommendations P-78-24 asked RSPA to amend 49 CFR 192.181(a) to specifically define the requirement for location and number of emergency valves. In response to this recommendation, the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety issued Advisory Bulletin 94-02 on January 13, 1994. That bulletin provided operators of gas distribution systems with the OPS criteria for selecting emergency valve locations in high-pressure distribution systems. The Safety Board has reviewed those criteria and has determined that their use by OPS and State personnel in compliance assessments will achieve the intended objective. Therefore, Safety Recommendation P-78-24 is classified "Closed--Acceptable Alternate Action." Safety Recommendation P-84-26 asked RSPA to amend Federal regulations governing the pipelines that transport highly volatile liquids (49 CFR Part 195) to require a level of safety for the public comparable to that now required for natural gas pipelines (49 CFR Part 192). The Safety Board considered natural gas pipeline safety requirements superior to those for liquid pipelines. On February 4, 1994, the OPS issued a Final Rule, “Operation and Maintenance Procedures for Pipelines,” which requires that operation and maintenance procedures for both natural gas and liquid pipelines be more consistent. Although the action partially satisfies the objective of Safety Recommendation P-84-26, similar measures are needed in many other areas, such as establishing criteria for the performance of systems used to monitor the operation of pipelines. We encourage your continuing efforts on this issue and will maintain Safety Recommendation P-84-26 in an "Open—Acceptable Response” status. Safety Recommendation P-87-9 asked RSPA to amend 49 CFR Part 192 to eliminate the" grandfather clause" that permits operators of pipelines installed before November 12, 1970, to operate at levels of stress that exceed those levels permitted for pipelines installed after the effective date. In its letter of September 2, 1992, RSPA advised the Safety Board that on December 11, 1989, it had issued a rulemaking proposal and invited the public to comment on the action RSPA should take on the "grandfather clause." RSPA noted that at the time it adopted the grandfather exception, it did not have information to justify requiring operators to lower the pressure in the grandfathered lines. RSPA also conducted a study on the causes and frequency of gas accidents in pipelines operating above 72 percent of the specified minimum yield strength (SMYS) of the steel from which the pipes were manufactured. The September 2, 1992, letter advised the Safety Board that RSPA could not conclude, based on the comments to the rulemaking or on the study results, that grandfathered lines require special treatment when they operate above 72 percent of SMYS. Therefore, on September 9, 1992, RSPA withdrew its rulemaking proposal and asked the Safety Board to close this recommendation. After our review of RSPA's actions, the Safety Board agrees that this recommendation should be closed and has classified Safety Recommendation P-87-9 "Closed--Reconsidered." Safety Recommendation P-87-21 asked RSPA to increase its use of sanctions as a means for motivating operator compliance with Federal pipeline safety standards. OPS and Safety Board staffs compiled information on the compliance actions taken by the OPS before and after issuance of this recommendation. The data show that the OPS reduced its reliance on warning letters from about 70 percent in 1985 to only 20 percent in 1991, the latest year for which that information was available. Conversely, reliance on civil penalties increased each year--from 9 in 1987 to 72 in 1992. Based on this 6-year record of stepping up the use of sanctions to improve operator compliance, the Safety Board has classified Safety Recommendation P-87-21 "Closed--Acceptable Action." Safety Recommendation P-90-21 asked RSPA to "assess existing gas industry programs for educating the public on the dangers of gas leaks and on reporting gas leaks to determine the appropriateness of information provided, the effectiveness of educational techniques used and those techniques used in other public education programs, and based on its findings, amend the public education provision of the Federal regulations. Safety Board and RSPA staff discussed this recommendation on October 29, 1992. During that meeting, Safety Board staff noted that gas-industry public education programs appear to receive less than half as much public recognition as other public education programs, such as those that promote the use of seatbelts and child restraints. Safety Board personnel explained that RSPA needs to identify the techniques that make other public education programs more effective, determine which of them would improve gas-industry programs, and incorporate them into the Federal requirements. On April 5, 1993, the OPS issued Advisory Bulletin ADB-93-02, which directed 11 gas pipeline facility owners and operators to review and assess their continuing education programs as applied to customers and the public." That bulletin included pertinent information on the accidents investigated by the Safety Board, and in part, it cited Safety Recommendation P-90-21. It advised all natural gas owners and operators to review and assess their continuing education programs to "assure that they are in compliance with the provisions of 49 CFR 192.615(d)." Although the bulletin probably prompted most operators to review their programs, the Safety Board does not regard it as responsive to Safety Recommendation P-90-21 or consistent with the discussions on October 29, 1992, between RSPA and Safety Board staff. The Safety Board encourages RSPA to perform the evaluations necessary to accomplish the recommended action and has classified Safety Recommendation P-90-21 “Open--Unacceptable Response.” The Safety Board appreciates the steps RSPA has taken to improve pipeline safety, but we also encourage your continuing support for the objectives not yet realized.

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1989-01-03

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: IN REGARD TO PLACEMENT OF SAFETY RECOMMENDATION P-87-21 IN THE "OPEN--UNACCEPTABLE ACTION" CATEGORY, WE POINTED OUT IN OUR EARLIER RESPONSE THAT THE OPS HAS IMPLEMENTED NEW GUIDELINES WHICH INCLUDE INCREASED USE OF CIVIL PENALTIES FOR BOTH REPORTING AND OPERATION AND MAINTENANCE TYPE VIOLATIONS. THESE CHANGES HAVE RESULTED IN A SIGNIFICANT INCREASE IN THE USE OF CIVIL PENALTY SANCTIONS. THE FOLLOWING IS A TABLE OF THE NUMBER AND AMOUNT OF PROPOSED CIVIL PENATIES OF 1986, 1987, AND 1988.

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1994-02-24

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: ENCLOSED PLEASE FIND A TABLE PREPARED BY STAFF INDICATING THE USE OF SANCTIONS FOR CALENDAR YEARS 1985 THROUGH 1992.

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1988-05-09

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Communication Contents: OPS CONCURS WITH P-87-21 AND HAS INITIATED SEVERAL ACTIONS TO IMPROVE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF ENFORCEMENT ACTIVITY. IN AUGUST 1987, RSPA IMPLEMENTED A NEW INTERNAL ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURE REQUIRING THAT ALL ENFORCEMENT ACTIONS PROPOSED BY THE REGIONS BE REVIEWED AND APPROVED BY HEADQUARTERS STAFF PRIOR TO SENDING A NOTICE TO AN OPERATOR. THIS WAS TO ASSURE GREATER UNIFORMITY REGARDING SANCTIONS, UNIFORM INTERPRETATION OF THE REQUIREMENTS OF PERFORMANCE STANDARDS, AND TO ASSURE SUFFICIENT EVIDENCE TO SUPPORT THE CASE. OPS HAS ALSO ISSUED NEW ENFORCEMENT GUIDELINES TO INSPECTORS. IN 1986, THE AUTHORITY TO IMPOSE BOTH COMPLIANCE ORDERS AND CIVIL PENALTIES ON OPERATORS WAS CLARIFIED. AS A RESULT OF THE NEW GUIDELINES MORE CIVIL PENALTIES ARE BEING ASSESSED. RSPA IS ALSO RECOMMENDING TO CONGRESS AN AMENDMENT TO THE PIPELINE SAFETY STATUTES INCREASING THE AMOUNT OF CIVIL PENALTIES, WHICH ARE NOW LIMITED TO NOT MORE THAN $1,000 FOR EACH VIOLATION FOR EACH DAY THAT THE VIOLATION PERSISTS WITH A MAX PENALTY OF $200,000 FOR ANY RELATED SERIES OF VIOLATIONS. FINALLY, RSPA IS REVIEWING ITS PART 190 ENFORCEMENT PROCEDURES TO DETERMINE CHANGES WHICH WILL MAKE THESE PROCEDURES MORE EFFECTIVE AND WHICH WILL COMPLEMENT THE ALREADY IMPLEMENTED INTERNAL PROCEDURE. RSPA EXPECTS TO COMPLETE THIS REVIEW SOON.

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1988-10-12

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1989-05-19

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1990-12-10

Communication Type: Official Correspondence

Addressee Acronym: RSPA

Addressee Organization Type: G-Federal Government

Communication Date: 1992-08-31

Communication Type: Official Correspondence