{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120115004","title":"COLONIAL PIPELINE CO — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2011-04-08","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.412(a), 195.505(f), 195.54(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120115004.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120115004.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120115004","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120115004","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving COLONIAL PIPELINE CO. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.412(a),  195.505(f),  195.54(a). The case was opened on 2011-04-08 and is reported as closed as of 2011-12-29. Proposed civil penalty: $43,100. Assessed civil penalty: $43,100. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120115004_Final Order_12292011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120115004/120115004_Final%20Order_12292011.pdf\n\n120115004_Final Order_12292011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120115004/120115004_Final%20Order_12292011_text.pdf\n\n120115004_NOPV PCP_04082011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120115004/120115004_NOPV%20PCP_04082011_text.pdf\n\n120115004_Operator  Response to Notice _05232011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120115004/120115004_Operator%20%20Response%20to%20Notice%20_05232011.pdf\n\n120115004_Final Order_12292011_text.pdf\n\nDEC 29 2011\nMr. Tim Felt\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer\nColonial Pipeline Company\n1185 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 100\nAlpharetta, GA 30009-4738\nRe: CPF No. 1-2011-5004\nDear Mr. Felt:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding\nof violation and assesses a civil penalty of $43,100. This is to acknowledge receipt of\npayment of the full penalty amount, by wire transfer, dated May 9, 2011. This enforcement\naction is now closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon\nthe 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. A. Mac Taylor, Regulatory Manager, Colonial Pipeline Company\nMr. Byron Coy, Director Eastern Region, OPS\nMr. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, OPS\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [_\n71791000164203038408\n__]\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. 1-2011-5004\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nBetween August 16-20, 2010, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS),\nconducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of Colonial Pipeline Company’s (Colonial or\nRespondent) facilities throughout Maryland and records located in Woodbine, Maryland.\nRespondent owns and operates approximately 5,519 miles of hazardous liquid pipeline, which\ndelivers petroleum products to 12 states and the District of Columbia.\n1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Eastern Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated April 8, 2011, a Notice of Probable Violation, Proposed Civil Penalty and\nWarning (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that\nColonial had violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.412(a) and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $43,100\nfor the alleged violation. The Notice also proposed finding that Respondent had committed\ncertain other probable violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 195 and warned Respondent to take\nappropriate corrective action or be subject to future enforcement action.\nColonial responded to the Notice by letter dated May 23, 2011 (Response). The company did\nnot contest the allegation of violation and paid the proposed civil penalty of $43,100, as provided\nin 49 C.F.R. § 190.227. Payment of the penalty serves to close the case with prejudice to\nRespondent.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Colonial did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 195, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.412(a), which states:\n1 http://www.colpipe.com/ab_main.asp (last accessed August 26, 2011).\n\n\n\n2\n§ 195.412 Inspection of rights-of-way and crossings under navigable\nwaters.\n(a) Each operator shall, at intervals not exceeding 3 weeks, but at least\n26 times each calendar year, inspect the surface conditions on or adjacent\nto each pipeline right-of-way. Methods of inspection include walking,\ndriving, flying or other appropriate means of traversing the right-of-way.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.412(a) by failing to adequately\ninspect the surface conditions on or adjacent to each of its pipeline right-of-ways (ROWs), using\naerial or foot patrols, at intervals not exceeding 3 weeks, but at least 26 times each calendar year.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that during the mid-August 2010 audit, PHMSA had observed\nand photographed overgrown areas with dense vegetation, excessive tree canopy, and obscured\npipeline markers on or adjacent to Colonial’s ROW at its main line crossings of Line 3 and Line\n4 at Esworthy Road, Mockingbird Drive by property plots 14A-14D and Pennington Avenue.\nPHMSA asserted that the company’s aerial patrol records did not indicate the overgrown areas;\nand the August 9, 2010 aerial patrol records did not reference any areas of concern or low\nvisibility. I find that Colonial failed to demonstrate that it performed inspections of the surface\nconditions on or adjacent to the ROW where overgrown trees on the ROW precluded effective\ninspection of the pipeline surface conditions by aerial patrol. Colonial did not dispute the\nallegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that\nRespondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.412(a) by failing to inspect the surface conditions on or\nadjacent to its pipeline ROWs using aerial patrols, at intervals not exceeding 3 weeks, but at least\n26 times each calendar year.\nThis finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action\ntaken against Respondent.\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 total civil penalty of $43,100 for the violation cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $43,100 for Respondent’s violation of\n49 C.F.R. § 195.412(a), for failing to inspect the area surface conditions on or adjacent to each of\nits pipeline ROWs at intervals not exceeding 3 weeks, but at least 26 times each calendar year.\nRespondent did not contest the allegation of violation. This regulation provides safety\nprecautions that minimize the risk of accident or injury to human life, the environment and\n\n\n\n3\nproperty. Maintaining a system of inspection ensures reasonable promptness in the detection of\nall surface conditions on and adjacent to the pipeline ROW. Respondent is fully culpable for its\nfailure to inspect surface conditions on or adjacent to its pipeline ROW within the required\ninterval. The overgrown areas inhibited Colonial’s ability to effectively inspect the ROW by\naerial patrol. Accordingly, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I\nassess Respondent a civil penalty of $43,100, already paid by Respondent for violating 49 C.F.R.\n§ 195.412(a).\nWARNING ITEMS\nWith respect to Items 2, 3, and 4, the Notice alleged probable violations of Part 195 but did not\npropose a civil penalty or compliance order for these items. Therefore, these are considered to\nbe warning items. The warnings were for:\n49 C.F.R. § 195.505(f) (Item 2) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to communicate\nchanges that affect a covered task to individuals performing those covered tasks,\nas the company instituted an updated procedure for locating and marking lines\nprior to excavation and a Colonial employee used an outdated version of the\nprocedure;\n49 C.F.R. § 195.54(a) (Item 3) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to file an accident\nreport within 30 days after discovery of the accident, as required by §195.50; and\n49 C.F.R. § 195.505(f) (Item 4) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to communicate\nchanges that affect a covered task to an individual performing that covered task.\nRespondent’s employee had continued to use the notation “I/A” (impaired access)\nafter Colonial instituted an updated procedure to discontinue the use of “I/A” for\nmonthly tank inspections.\nAccordingly, having considered such information, I find, pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205, that\nprobable violations of 49 C.F.R. § 195.505(f) (Notice Item 2), 49 C.F.R. § 195.54(a) (Notice\nItem 3), and 49 C.F.R. § 195.505(f) (Notice Item 4) have occurred and Respondent is hereby\nadvised to correct such conditions. If OPS finds a violation of any of these items in a subsequent\ninspection, Respondent may be subject to future enforcement action.\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":9937}