{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120125019","title":"SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P. — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2012-11-06","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.54(b).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120125019.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120125019.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120125019","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120125019","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 195.54(b). The case was opened on 2012-11-06 and is reported as closed as of 2013-06-24. Proposed civil penalty: $22,500. Assessed civil penalty: $22,500. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120125019_Final Order_06132013.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120125019/120125019_Final%20Order_06132013.pdf\n\n120125019_Final Order_06132013_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120125019/120125019_Final%20Order_06132013_text.pdf\n\n120125019_NOPV_PCP_11062012.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120125019/120125019_NOPV_PCP_11062012.pdf\n\n120125019_NOPV_PCP_11062012_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120125019/120125019_NOPV_PCP_11062012_text.pdf\n\n120125019_Operator Response_12042012.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120125019/120125019_Operator%20Response_12042012.pdf\n\n120125019_Final Order_06132013_text.pdf\n\nJUNE 13, 2013\nMr. Michael J. Hennigan\nPresident\nSunoco Pipeline, LP\n1818 Market Street\nSuite 1500\nPhiladelphia, PA 19103\nRe: CPF No. 1-2012-5019\nDear Mr. Hennigan:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $22,500. The penalty payment terms are set forth in the\nFinal Order. This enforcement action closes automatically upon receipt of payment. Service of\nthe Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise\nprovided 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, PE, Director, Eastern Region, OPS\nMr. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, OPS\nMr. Kevin Dunleavy, Chief Counsel, Sunoco, Inc., 1735 Market Street, Suite LL,\nPhiladelphia, PA 19103\nMr. David Chalson, Vice President, Operations, Sunoco Pipeline, LP, 4041 Market\nStreet, Aston, PA 19014\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\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)\nSunoco Pipeline, LP, ) CPF No. 1-2012-5019\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nPursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), conducted an investigation of an\nincident involving the hazardous liquid pipeline system operated by Sunoco Pipeline, LP\n(Sunoco or Respondent), in Sharon Hill, Pennsylvania. The accident occurred at Sunoco’s\nDarby Creek Tank Farm (DC Tank Farm), a large crude-oil storage terminal serving the\ncompany’s Philadelphia refinery.1 The company operates over 7,500 miles of hazardous liquid\npipelines in 14 states.2\nThe investigation revealed that on February 8, 2011, corrosion on the bottom of one of the DC\nTank Farm’s breakout tanks caused a crude oil spill, resulting in a loss of approximately\n38 barrels (Failure).\n3 According to the company, the spill was identified by its local operating\npersonnel, was wholly contained on its property, and caused soil, but not water, contamination.4\nAfter reviewing Respondent’s accident reports describing the Failure, the Director, Eastern\nRegion, OPS, issued to Respondent, by letter dated November 6, 2012, a Notice of Probable\nViolation and Proposed Civil Penalty (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the\nNotice proposed finding that Sunoco had violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.54(b) and proposed assessing\na civil penalty of $22,500 for the alleged violation.\nSunoco responded to the Notice by email dated December 4, 2012 (Response). The Response\n1 Sunoco Logistics, Terminal Facilities, available at http://www.sunocologistics.com/Customers/Business-\nLines/Terminal-Facilities/54/ (last accessed May 20, 2013).\n2 Sunoco Logistics, Integrity Management Plan, available at http://www.sunocologistics.com/Public-\nAwareness/Pipeline-Integrity/Integrity-Management-Plan/111/ (last accessed May 20, 2013).\n3 Pipeline Safety Violation Report (Violation Report), (Nov. 6, 2012) (on file with PHMSA) at app. A 1, 5-7.\n4 Violation Report at app. A 2-3.\n\n\n\n2\ndid not contest the allegation of violation and indicated Sunoco’s intention to pay the proposed\npenalty. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn the Response, Sunoco did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated\n49 C.F.R. Part 195, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.54, which states:\n§ 195.54 Accident reports.\n(a) Each operator that experiences an accident that is required to be\nreported under § 195.50 must, as soon as practicable, but not later than 30\ndays after discovery of the accident, file an accident report on DOT Form\n7000–1.\n(b) Whenever an operator receives any changes in the information\nreported or additions to the original report on DOT Form 7000-1, it shall\nfile a supplemental report within 30 days.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.54(b) by failing to submit a timely\nsupplemental report after receiving changes or additions to the information contained in its\noriginal accident report. Specifically, the Notice alleged that on March 7, 2011, Sunoco\nsubmitted an original accident report describing the Failure but without identifying its cause.\nBased on a subsequent out-of-service inspection dated April 20, 2011, a Sunoco contractor\nidentified the cause of the spill: a combination of topside corrosion, caused by a coating failure,\nand soilside corrosion that together produced a hole in the tank bottom.5 Sunoco did not file a\nsupplemental report with such additional information until April 30, 2012, roughly 11 months\nafter the deadline for filing a supplemental accident report.\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. § 195.54(b) by failing to submit a\nsupplemental report within 30 days of receiving changes or additions to the information\ncontained in its original accident report.\nThis finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action\ntaken against Respondent.\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\n49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 C.F.R. § 190.225, I must consider the following criteria: the nature,\nASSESSMENT OF PENALTY\n5 Violation Report at app. B, page 5.\n\n\n\n3\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 $22,500 for the violation cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $22,500 for Respondent’s violation of\n49 C.F.R. § 195.54(b), for failing to submit a timely supplemental report after receiving changes\nor additions to the information contained in its original accident report. Sunoco neither contested\nthe allegation nor presented any evidence or argument justifying a reduction in the proposed\npenalty. Although the company’s failure to file a timely supplemental report did not directly\naffect public safety or the environment, it did impact PHMSA’s safety mission. The agency\nrequires operators to supplement their accident reports because PHMSA needs accurate and\ncomplete reports to effectively target its resources on those problems that cause accidents.\nAccordingly, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I assess\nRespondent a civil penalty of $22,500 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 195.54(b).\nIn summary, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria for the single\nItem cited above, I assess Respondent a total civil penalty of $22,500.\nPayment of the civil penalty must be made within 20 days of service. Federal regulations\n(49 C.F.R. § 89.21(b)(3)) require such payment to be made by wire transfer through the Federal\nReserve Communications System (Fedwire), to the account of the U.S. Treasury. Detailed\ninstructions are contained in the enclosure. Questions concerning wire transfers should be\ndirected to: Financial Operations Division (AMZ-341), Federal Aviation Administration, Mike\nMonroney Aeronautical Center, P.O. Box 269039, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125. The\nFinancial Operations Division telephone number is (405) 954-8893.\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":9586}