{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120101001","title":"ALGONQUIN GAS TRANSMISSION, L.L.C. (SPECTRA ENERGY PARTNERS, LP) — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2010-01-21","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.605(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120101001.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120101001.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120101001","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120101001","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving ALGONQUIN GAS TRANSMISSION, L.L.C. (SPECTRA ENERGY PARTNERS, LP). PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 192.605(a). The case was opened on 2010-01-21 and is reported as closed as of 2010-06-16. Proposed civil penalty: $69,000. Assessed civil penalty: $69,000. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120101001_FinalOrder_06162010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120101001/120101001_FinalOrder_06162010.pdf\n\n120101001_FinalOrder_06162010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120101001/120101001_FinalOrder_06162010_text.pdf\n\n120101001_NOPV_01212010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120101001/120101001_NOPV_01212010.pdf\n\n120101001_NOPV_01212010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120101001/120101001_NOPV_01212010_text.pdf\n\n120101001_operator response to notice_02182010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120101001/120101001_operator%20response%20to%20notice_02182010.pdf\n\n120101001_FinalOrder_06162010_text.pdf\n\nJUN 16 2010\nMr. Andrew Drake\nVice President, Transmission Services\nAlgonquin Gas Transmission LLC\n5400 Westheimer Court\nHouston, Texas 77056\nRe: CPF No. 1-2010-1001\nDear Mr. Drake:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $69,000. I acknowledge receipt of your wire transfer of\n$69,000 on February 19, 2010, and accept it as payment in full of the civil penalty assessed\nherein. Therefore, this case is now closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is\ndeemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise provided under 49 C.F.R. § 190.5.\nThank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nJeffrey D. Wiese\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\nEnclosure\ncc: Mr. Byron Coy, Director, Eastern Region, PHMSA\nCERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [7005 1160 0001 0043 9450]\n\n\n\nU.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION\nPIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION\nOFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY\nWASHINGTON, D.C. 20590\n_________________________________\nIn the Matter of )\nAlgonquin Gas Transmission LLC, ) CPF No. 1-2010-1001\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n_________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nOn October 23, 2008, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS),\ninvestigated an unplanned outage of gas service that occurred at Algonquin Gas Transmission\nLLC (Algonquin or Respondent)’s M&R Station in Tiverton, Rhode Island. Algonquin, a\nsubsidiary of Spectra Energy Transmission Corp., operates 1,100 miles of natural gas pipeline\nthroughout Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, and Rhode Island.\n1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Eastern Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated January 21, 2010, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty\n(Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that Algonquin\nhad committed five violations of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) and proposed assessing a civil penalty\nof $69,000 for the alleged violations. The Notice also proposed finding that Respondent had\ncommitted certain other probable violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 192 and warning Respondent to\ntake appropriate corrective action or be subject to future enforcement action.\nAlgonquin responded to the Notice by letter dated February 18, 2010 (Response). Algonquin did\nnot contest the allegations of violation and paid the proposed civil penalty of $69,000, as\nprovided in 49 C.F.R. § 190.227. Payment of the penalty serves to close the case with prejudice\nto Respondent.\n1 http://www.spectraenergy.com/what_we_do/businesses/us/assets/algonquin (last accessed April 12, 2010).\n\n\n\n2\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a), which states, in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline,\na manual for written procedures for conducting operations and\nmaintenance activities and for emergency response. For transmission\nlines, the manual must include procedures for handling abnormal\noperations. This manual must be reviewed and updated by the operator at\nintervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year.\nThis manual must be prepared before operations of a pipeline system\ncommence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations\nwhere operations and maintenance activities are conducted….\nThe Notice alleged that Algonquin violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) by failing to follow its\nwritten procedures for purging gas. Specifically, the operator failed to comply with its written\nprocedure known as Standard Operating Procedure, 5-3010, Purging Gas-General Requirements\n(SOP #5-3010). This procedure required the operator’s personnel to develop site-specific\npurging procedures as part of the pipeline shutdown process. The site-specific procedures are\ndeveloped using the schematics of the specific facility and must identify the proposed valves to\nbe operated, as well as the sequence of events personnel must follow.\nIn purging gas at the M&R station #33 in Tiverton, the operator’s personnel failed to include all\nof the proposed valves pursuant to these procedures. A valve which was not included in the site-\nspecific procedure was left in the closed position, resulting in an incomplete purge. This\nincomplete purge allowed for the subsequent entry of air into the local distribution system and\ncaused a gas outage to 47 customers. Algonquin did not contest this allegation. Accordingly, I\nfind that Algonquin committed a violation of § 192.605(a) by failing to follow its SOP #5-3010.\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a), which states, in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline,\na manual for written procedures for conducting operations and\nmaintenance activities and for emergency response. For transmission\nlines, the manual must include procedures for handling abnormal\noperations. This manual must be reviewed and updated by the operator at\nintervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year.\nThis manual must be prepared before operations of a pipeline system\ncommence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations\nwhere operations and maintenance activities are conducted….\n\n\n\n3\nThe Notice alleged that Algonquin violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) by failing to follow its SOP\n#5-3010, which required a review of the purging procedure by company technical staff prior to\nbeginning the purging process. The purging procedures concerning the M&R Station #33 were\nnot reviewed by company technical staff prior to the October 2008 purging event. This failure\ncould have contributed to the October 23, 2008 unplanned gas outage since the Algonquin region\ntechnical staff may have detected the omission of the closed valve on the site-specific\nprocedures. Algonquin did not contest this allegation but rather stated its intention to clarify its\nprocedures and conduct enhanced training on the requirements of its purging procedures.2\nAccordingly, I find that Algonquin committed a violation of § 192.605(a) by failing to follow its\nSOP #5-3010 which required a review of the purging procedure by Algonquin technical staff.\nItem 3: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a), which states, in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline,\na manual for written procedures for conducting operations and\nmaintenance activities and for emergency response. For transmission\nlines, the manual must include procedures for handling abnormal\noperations. This manual must be reviewed and updated by the operator at\nintervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year.\nThis manual must be prepared before operations of a pipeline system\ncommence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations\nwhere operations and maintenance activities are conducted….\nThe Notice alleged that Algonquin violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) by failing to follow its SOP\n#5-3010, specifically the “Notification” section. The procedure required company personnel to\nlimit the purging of odorized gas to the hours of 6:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. unless otherwise\nauthorized by the company’s Director of Pipeline Integrity. Algonquin personnel conducted the\npurging event at M&R Station #33 between the hours of 12:57 a.m. and 2:16 a.m. The company\ncould not demonstrate that the timing of this event was otherwise authorized by Algonquin’s\nDirector of Pipeline Integrity. Algonquin did not contest this allegation of violation.\nAccordingly, I find that Algonquin violated § 192.605(a) by failing to follow its SOP #5-3010,\nspecifically the “Notification” section.\nItem 4: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a), which states, in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline,\na manual for written procedures for conducting operations and\nmaintenance activities and for emergency response. For transmission\n2 Response, 1.\n\n\n\n4\nlines, the manual must include procedures for handling abnormal\noperations. This manual must be reviewed and updated by the operator at\nintervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year.\nThis manual must be prepared before operations of a pipeline system\ncommence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations\nwhere operations and maintenance activities are conducted….\nThe Notice alleged that Algonquin violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) by failing to follow its SOP\n#5-3010, specifically the “Beginning Purge” section. The company’s procedures required its\npersonnel to contact Gas Control and review the purge procedure as soon as the stringer bead in\nthe last tie-in weld had been completed. The company procedures prohibited the purge from\noccurring until Gas Control had reviewed the site-specific purge procedure. If Respondent’s\npersonnel had contacted Gas Control, the closed valve may have been identified before purging\ntook place. The failure to follow this procedure could have been a contributing factor to the\nOctober 23, 2008 unplanned gas outage. Algonquin did not contest this violation. Accordingly,\nI find that Algonquin violated § 192.605(a) by failing to follow its SOP #5-3010 procedures\nwhich required personnel to contact Gas Control prior to beginning the purging operation.\nItem 5: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a), which states, in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline,\na manual for written procedures for conducting operations and\nmaintenance activities and for emergency response. For transmission\nlines, the manual must include procedures for handling abnormal\noperations. This manual must be reviewed and updated by the operator at\nintervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year.\nThis manual must be prepared before operations of a pipeline system\ncommence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations\nwhere operations and maintenance activities are conducted….\nThe Notice alleged that Algonquin violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) by failing to follow its SOP\n#5-3010, specifically the “Reporting to Gas Control” section. Pursuant to the procedure,\ncompany personnel were required to report to Gas Control at the beginning and end of the purge\nand every time a valve was checked. Algonquin could not demonstrate that these actions were\ntaken. In fact, the section of the Site Specific Purging Procedures where the field staff would\nnormally confirm that the Gas Control was contacted was left blank. The company did not\ncontest this allegation. Accordingly, I find that Algonquin violated § 192.605(a) by failing to\nfollow its procedures which required personnel to report to Gas Control each time a valve was\nchecked and at the time the purge began and ended.\nThese findings of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement\naction taken against Respondent.\n\n\n\n5\nWARNING ITEMS\nWith respect to Items 6 and 7, the Notice alleged probable violations of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a)\nbut did not propose a civil penalty or compliance order for these items. Therefore, these are\nconsidered to be warning items. The warnings were for:\n49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) (Item 6) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to follow\nthe “Reporting to Gas Control” section of the Purging Gas procedures\n(#5-3010), by neglecting to complete the Purge Report Form for M&R\nstation #33 Form (Form #17-116); and\n49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) (Item 7) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to follow\nthe Site Specific Purging Section of the Purging Gas procedures\n(#5-3010), by neglecting to document the date, time, and individuals\nperforming tasks during the shutdown and purge.\nAccordingly, having considered the evidence, I find, pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205, that\nprobable violations of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) (Notice Item 6) and 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a)\n(Notice Item 7) have occurred and Respondent is hereby advised to correct such conditions. In\nthe event that OPS finds a violation of this regulation in a subsequent inspection, Respondent\nmay be subject to future enforcement action.\nASSESSMENT OF PENALTY\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122, Respondent is subject to an administrative civil penalty not to exceed\n$100,000 per violation for each day of the violation, up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any\nrelated series of violations. In determining the amount of a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60122 and 49 C.F.R. § 190.225, I must consider the following criteria: the nature,\ncircumstances, and gravity of the violation, including adverse impact on the environment; the\ndegree of Respondent’s culpability; the history of Respondent’s prior offenses; the Respondent’s\nability to pay the penalty and any effect that the penalty may have on its ability to continue doing\nbusiness; and the good faith of Respondent in attempting to comply with the pipeline safety\nregulations. In addition, I may consider the economic benefit gained from the violation without\nany reduction because of subsequent damages, and such other matters as justice may require.\nThe Notice proposed a penalty of $13,800 for the violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605 (a) (Item 1),\nfor Algonquin’s failure to develop site specific purging procedures as part of the pipeline\nshutdown process pursuant to its SOP #5-3010, Purging Gas-General Requirements. Algonquin\ndid not contest this allegation of violation. I have reviewed the entire record, including, but not\nlimited to, the circumstances of this violation, the culpability of the operator, the gravity of the\nharm, and this particular operator’s prior enforcement history. Accordingly, I find the proposed\ncivil penalty amount justified and assess a civil penalty of $13,800 for violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.605(a).\n\n\n\n6\nThe Notice proposed a penalty of $13,800 for the violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) (Item 2),\nfor Algonquin’s failure to have the site specific purging procedures reviewed by company\ntechnical staff pursuant to its SOP #5-3010, Purging Gas-General Requirements. Algonquin did\nnot contest this allegation of violation. I have reviewed the entire record, including, but not\nlimited to, the circumstances of this violation, the culpability of the operator, the gravity of the\nharm, and this particular operator’s prior enforcement history. Accordingly, I find the proposed\ncivil penalty amount justified and assess a civil penalty of $13,800 for violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.605(a).\nThe Notice proposed a penalty of $13,800 for the violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) (Item 3),\nfor Algonquin’s failure to limit the purging operation to certain hours pursuant to its SOP #5-\n3010, Purging Gas-General Requirements. Algonquin did not contest this allegation of violation.\nI have reviewed the entire record, including, but not limited to, the circumstances of this\nviolation, the culpability of the operator, the gravity of the harm, and this particular operator’s\nprior enforcement history. Accordingly, I find the proposed civil penalty amount justified and\nassess a civil penalty of $13,800 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a).\nThe Notice proposed a penalty of $13,800 for the violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) (Item 4),\nfor Algonquin’s failure to contact Gas Control prior to beginning and ending the purge limit the\npurging operation to certain hours pursuant to its SOP #5-3010, Purging Gas-General\nRequirements. Algonquin did not contest this allegation of violation. I have reviewed the entire\nrecord, including, but not limited to, the circumstances of this violation, the culpability of the\noperator, the gravity of the harm, and this particular operator’s prior enforcement history.\nAccordingly, I find the proposed civil penalty amount justified and assess a civil penalty of\n$13,800 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a).\nThe Notice proposed a penalty of $13,800 for the violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) (Item 5),\nfor Algonquin’s failure to report valve checks to Gas Control pursuant to its SOP #5-3010,\nPurging Gas-General Requirements. Algonquin did not contest this allegation of violation. I\nhave reviewed the entire record including, but not limited to, the circumstances of this violation,\nthe culpability of the operator, the gravity of the harm, and this particular operator’s prior\nenforcement history. Accordingly, I find the proposed civil penalty amount justified and assess a\ncivil penalty of $13,800 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a).\nTherefore, I assess Respondent a total civil penalty of $69,000, which Respondent has already\nremitted to PHMSA.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order shall be effective upon receipt of service.\n__________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety","truncated":false,"body_characters":18544}