NTSB Safety Recommendation Letter P-12-001 through P-12-002

Page 1Official PDFNational Transportation Safety Board Washington, DC 20594 Safety Recommendation Date: July 25, 2012 In reply refer to: P-12-1 and -2 The Honorable Ray H. LaHood Secretary U.S. Department of Transportation Washington, DC 20590 On July 10, 2012, the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) adopted its report concerning the July 25, 2010, accident, in which a segment of a 30-inch-diameter pipeline owned and operated by Enbridge Incorporated ruptured in a wetland in Marshall, Michigan. 1 Additional information about this accident and the resulting recommendations may be found in the report of the investigation, which can be accessed at our website, http://www.ntsb.gov. As a result of this investigation, the NTSB reiterated Safety Recommendation P-11-8 to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) and issued 19 new recommendations, including 8 to PHMSA, 6 to Enbridge Incorporated, 1 to the American Petroleum Institute, 1 to the Pipeline Research Council International, 1 to the International Association of Fire Chiefs and the National Emergency Number Association, and the following 2 recommendations to the U.S. Secretary of Transportation: P-12-1 Audit the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s onshore pipeline facility response plan program’s business practices, including reviews of response plans and drill programs, and take appropriate action to correct deficiencies. P-12-2 Allocate sufficient resources as necessary to ensure that the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s onshore pipeline facility response plan program meets all of the requirements of the Oil Pollution Act of 1990. 1 Enbridge Incorporated Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Rupture and Release, Marshall, Michigan, July 25, 2010, Pipeline Accident Report NTSB/PAR-12/01 (Washington, D.C.: National Transportation Safety Board, 2012). 8423#

Page 22 These recommendations are derived from the NTSB’s investigation and are consistent with the evidence we found and the analysis we performed. Chairman HERSMAN, Vice Chairman HART, and Members SUMWALT, ROSEKIND, and WEENER concurred in these recommendations. The NTSB is vitally interested in these recommendations because they are designed to prevent accidents and save lives. We would appreciate receiving a response from you within 90 days addressing the actions you have taken or intend to take to implement these recommendations. When responding, please refer to Safety Recommendations P-12-1 and -2. We encourage you to submit updates electronically to correspondence@ntsb.gov. If your response includes attachments that exceed 5 megabytes, please e-mail us at the same address for instructions. To avoid confusion, please do not submit both an electronic copy and a hard copy of the same response. Sincerely, [Original Signed] Deborah A.P. Hersman Chairman#