{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120111015","title":"TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPE LINE COMPANY — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2011-10-05","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.605(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120111015.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120111015.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120111015","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120111015","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPE LINE COMPANY. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 192.605(a). The case was opened on 2011-10-05 and is reported as closed as of 2012-03-05. Proposed civil penalty: $50,000. Assessed civil penalty: $50,000. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120111015_Final Order_03052012.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120111015/120111015_Final%20Order_03052012.pdf\n\n120111015_Final Order_03052012_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120111015/120111015_Final%20Order_03052012_text.pdf\n\n120111015_NOPV-PCP_10052011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120111015/120111015_NOPV-PCP_10052011.pdf\n\n120111015_NOPV-PCP_10052011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120111015/120111015_NOPV-PCP_10052011_text.pdf\n\n120111015_Operator Response_10102011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120111015/120111015_Operator%20Response_10102011.pdf\n\n120111015_Final Order_03052012_text.pdf\n\nMAR 5 2012\nMr. Larry Hjalmarson\nVice President, Safety Environmental and Integrity\nTranscontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC\n2800 Post Oak Boulevard\nHouston, TX 77056\nRe: CPF No. 1-2011-1015\nDear Mr. Hjalmarson:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding\nof violation and assesses a civil penalty of $50,000. This is to acknowledge receipt of\npayment of the full penalty amount, by wire transfer, dated October 13, 2011. This\nenforcement action is now closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed\neffective 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, OPS\nMr. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, OPS\nMr. Randy Barnard, President, Gas Pipeline, Williams Partners GP, LLC\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [71791000164203306651]\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 )\nTranscontinental Gas Pipe Line )\nCompany, LLC, ) CPF No. 1-2011-1015\na/k/a Williams Gas Pipeline—TRANSCO, )\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n_____________________________________ )\nFINAL ORDER\nOn August 31 to September 3, 2009, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the New\nYork Department of Public Service, 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 Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC\n(Transco or Respondent) in Staten Island, New York.\ntransportation system that covers 10,000 miles and serves major markets in New York City,\nAtlanta, and the Mid-Atlantic region, including two natural gas pipelines in the Staten Island area\napproximately 15 miles in length.\n1 Transco operates an interstate natural gas\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Eastern Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated October 5, 2011, 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 Transco had\nviolated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $50,000 for the alleged\nviolation.\nTransco responded to the Notice by letter dated October 10, 2011 (Response). The company did\nnot contest the allegation of violation and paid the proposed civil penalty of $50,000, as provided\nin 49 C.F.R. § 190.227. Payment of the penalty serves to close the case with prejudice to\nRespondent.\n1 Williams Partners L.P., is a master limited partnership involved in the transportation, gathering, treating,\nprocessing, and storage of oil and natural gas. According to its website, Williams Partners L.P.,\nowns a 100 percent interest in Transco. http://www.williamslp.com/Gas_Pipeline (last accessed Jan. 9, 2012).\n\n\n\n2\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Transco did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated\n49 C.F.R. Part 192, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a), which states:\n§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline,\na manual of written procedures for conducting operations and maintenance\nactivities and for emergency response. For transmission lines, the manual\nmust also include procedures for handling abnormal operations. This\nmanual must be reviewed and updated by the operator at intervals not\nexceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year. This manual\nmust be prepared before operations of a pipeline system commence.\nAppropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations where\noperations and maintenance activities are conducted.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) by failing to prepare and\nfollow a manual of written procedures for conducting operations and maintenance activities and\nfor emergency response. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Transco failed to follow its own\nprocedure, Corrosion Control Policy 20.08.00.07, “External Corrosion Control: Electrical\nIsolation,\n” which required Respondent’s employees to verify the electrical isolation of cased\npipelines by surveying and analyzing casing-to-soil potentials at those locations at least once\nevery five years, preferably on an annual basis. The Notice alleged that Transco could not\nprovide records showing that the company had performed the required electrical isolation\nsurveys and analyses for three different covered locations: Milepost (MP) 216+35; MP 221+24;\nand MP 492+00.\nRespondent did not contest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all\nof the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) by failing to prepare and\nfollow a manual of written procedures for conducting operations and maintenance activities and\nfor emergency response.\nThis finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action\nagainst Respondent.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with\n49 C.F.R. § 190.5.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety","truncated":false,"body_characters":6701}