{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120105001","title":"COLONIAL PIPELINE CO — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2010-02-16","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.401(b).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120105001.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120105001.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120105001","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120105001","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving COLONIAL PIPELINE CO. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 195.401(b). The case was opened on 2010-02-16 and is reported as closed as of 2011-06-17. Proposed civil penalty: $92,500. Assessed civil penalty: $0. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120105001_FinalOrder_06172011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120105001/120105001_FinalOrder_06172011.pdf\n\n120105001_FinalOrder_06172011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120105001/120105001_FinalOrder_06172011_text.pdf\n\n120105001_NOPV PCP_02162010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120105001/120105001_NOPV%20PCP_02162010.pdf\n\n120105001_NOPV PCP_02162010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120105001/120105001_NOPV%20PCP_02162010_text.pdf\n\n120105001_Operator Response to NOPV_03172010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120105001/120105001_Operator%20Response%20to%20NOPV_03172010.pdf\n\n120105001_FinalOrder_06172011_text.pdf\n\nJUN 17 2011\nMr. Tim Felt\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer\nColonial Pipeline Company\n1185 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 100\nAlpharetta, GA 30009-4738\nRe: CPF No. 1-2010-5001\nDear Mr. Felt:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It withdraws a finding\nof violation and proposed civil penalty. Therefore, this enforcement action is now closed.\nService of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as\notherwise 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. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, Pipeline Safety\nMr. Byron Coy, Director, Eastern Region, PHMSA\nMs. Caroline P. Sims, Senior Attorney, Colonial Pipeline Company\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [7005 1160 0001 0075 9565]\n\n\n\nU.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION\nPIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION\nOFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY\nWASHINGTON, D.C. 20590\n____________________________________\n)\nIn the Matter of )\n)\nColonial Pipeline Company, ) CPF No. 1-2010-5001\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nOn October 17, 2006, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Virginia State\nCorporation Commission, as agent for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety\ninspection of the facilities and records of Colonial Pipeline Company (Colonial or Respondent)\nin Chesapeake, Virginia. Colonial is the operator of a 5,519-mile pipeline system, which\ndelivers petroleum products from refineries in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Alabama to\nterminals in the South and Eastern United States.\nThe investigation arose out of an incident that occurred at the Chesapeake Terminal on October\n16 and 17, 2006. The incident involved a breakout tank that overflowed while receiving\npetroleum products from the Colonial pipeline. At the time of the incident, a valve on the\nbreakout tank had been left open, and a high-level alarm failed to communicate the unsafe\ncondition of the tank to the Colonial Operation and Control Center (OCC) in Atlanta, Georgia.\nDuring the week prior to the incident, the Allied Terminal manager had informed the OCC that\nthe high-level alarms on the tank had failed.\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Eastern Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated February 16, 2010, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty. In\naccordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that Respondent had violated\n49 C.F.R. § 195.401(b) and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $92,500 for the alleged\nviolation.\nColonial responded to the Notice by letters dated March 17, 2010, and April 12, 2010\n(Response).\nWITHDRAWAL OF ALLEGATION\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. Part 195, as follows:\n\n\n\n2\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.401(b), which as of the\ndate of the Notice, stated:\n§ 195.401 General Requirements\n(a) . . .\n(b) Whenever an operator discovers any condition that could adversely\naffect the safe operation of its pipeline system, it shall correct it within a\nreasonable time. However, if the condition is of such a nature that it\npresents an immediate hazard to persons or property, the operator may not\noperate the affected part of the system until it has corrected the unsafe\ncondition.1\nThe Notice alleged that Colonial violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.401(b) by operating a part of its\npipeline system without correcting a condition that presented an immediate hazard to persons or\nproperty. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Respondent knew that the high-level alarms on the\nChesapeake Terminal breakout tank had failed on October 9, 2006, and delivered petroleum\nproducts to the tank on October 16 and 17, 2006, without correcting that unsafe condition.\nIn its Response, Colonial stated that Allied Terminals, Inc. (Allied) is the owner and operator of\nthe Chesapeake Terminal. Respondent further stated that Colonial relinquishes custody over the\npetroleum products delivered to the Terminal at an isolating flange, that the company has no\nauthority over the conduct of the employees or operation of the breakout tanks that receive those\npetroleum products, and that it does not use the breakout tanks at the Chesapeake Terminal for\nstorage, surge protection, or reinjection into its interstate pipeline system.\nAfter considering all of the evidence, I hereby withdraw the allegation of violation.\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.\n1 Section 195.401(b) was amended by Pipeline Safety: Periodic Updates of Regulatory References to Technical\nStandards and Miscellaneous Edits, 75 Fed. Reg. 48593, 48607 (Aug. 11, 2010).\n\n\n\n3\nThe Notice proposed a total civil penalty of $92,500 for the alleged violation of § 195.401(b).\nSince the allegation has been withdrawn, the proposed penalty is not assessed.\nThis enforcement action is closed.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety","truncated":false,"body_characters":7293}