{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120131037","title":"COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2013-12-23","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.603.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120131037.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120131037.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120131037","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120131037","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 192.603. The case was opened on 2013-12-23 and is reported as closed as of 2014-12-17. Proposed civil penalty: $24,400. Assessed civil penalty: $24,400. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120131037_Closure Letter_12172014.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120131037/120131037_Closure%20Letter_12172014.pdf\n\n120131037_Closure Letter_12172014_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120131037/120131037_Closure%20Letter_12172014_text.pdf\n\n120131037_Final Order_09102014.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120131037/120131037_Final%20Order_09102014.pdf\n\n120131037_Final Order_09102014_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120131037/120131037_Final%20Order_09102014_text.pdf\n\n120131037_NOPV PCP PCO_12232013.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120131037/120131037_NOPV%20PCP%20PCO_12232013.pdf\n\n120131037_NOPV PCP PCO_12232013_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120131037/120131037_NOPV%20PCP%20PCO_12232013_text.pdf\n\n120131037_Operator Response to Notice_02112014.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120131037/120131037_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_02112014.pdf\n\n120131037_Final Order_09102014_text.pdf\n\nSEPTEMBER 10, 2014\nMr. Shawn L. Patterson\nPresident\nColumbia Gas Transmission Corporation\n1700 MacCorkle Avenue, SE\nCharleston, WV 25314\nRe: CPF No. 1-2013-1037\nDear Mr. Patterson:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of\nviolation, assesses a civil penalty of $24,400, and specifies actions that need to be taken by\nColumbia Gas Transmission Corporation to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. The\npenalty payment terms are set forth in the Final Order. When the civil penalty has been paid and\nthe terms of the compliance order completed, as determined by the Director, Eastern Region, this\nenforcement action will be 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, PE, Director, Eastern Region, OPS\nMr. Perry Michael Hoffman, Manager – System Integrity, Columbia Gas Transmission\nCorporation\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__________________________________________\nIn the Matter of )\nColumbia Gas Transmission Corporation, ) CPF No. 1-2013-1037\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n__________________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nBetween July 23-31, 2012, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, inspectors from the New York State\nDepartment of Public Service (NYSDPS), acting as agents for the Pipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), pursuant to Chapter\n601 of 49 United States Code, conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and\nrecords of Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation (CGT) Millennium Pipeline facilities in\nKirkwood, NY. CGT, a subsidiary of Columbia Pipeline Group, operates approximately 12,000\nmiles of pipeline, transporting an average of 3 billion cubic feet of natural gas per day through 10\n1\nstates.\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Eastern Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated December 23, 2013, a Notice of Probable Violation, Proposed Civil Penalty, and\nProposed Compliance Order (Notice), which also included a warning pursuant to 49 C.F.R.\n§ 190.205. In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that CGT had\ncommitted various violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 192 and proposed assessing a civil penalty of\n$24,400 for the alleged violations. The Notice also proposed ordering Respondent to take certain\nmeasures to correct the alleged violations. The warning items required no further action, but\nwarned the operator to correct the probable violation.\nCGT responded to the Notice by letter dated February 11, 2014 (Response). The company did\nnot contest the allegations of violation but provided information concerning the corrective\nactions it had taken and submitted copies of its revised procedures. Respondent did not request a\nhearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\n1 See http://www.columbiapipelinegroup.com/en/about-us/our-companies.aspx#columbiagastransmission, last\nvisited on August 7, 2014.\n\n\n\n2\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response and, CGT did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 192, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.603, which states in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.603 General Provisions.\n(a) . . . .\n(b) Each operator shall keep records necessary to administer the procedures\nestablished under § 192.605.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.603 by failing to keep records\nnecessary to administer the procedures established under § 192.605. Specifically, the Notice\nalleged that CGT failed to adequately document what caused a compressor station emergency\nshutdown (ESD) in its Abnormal Operations Report as required by its procedures. Respondent\ndid not contest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the\nevidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.603 by failing to keep records\nnecessary to administer the procedures established under § 192.605.\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$200,000 per violation for each day of the violation, up to a maximum of $2,000,000 for any\nrelated series of violations.2 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; and any effect\nthat the penalty may have on its ability to continue doing business; and the good faith of\nRespondent in attempting to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. In addition, I may\nconsider the economic benefit gained from the violation without any reduction because of\nsubsequent damages, and such other matters as justice may require. The Notice proposed a total\ncivil penalty of $24,400 for the violations cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $24,400 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.603, for failing to keep document adequate records necessary to administer the procedures\nunder § 192.605. CGT neither contested the allegation nor presented any evidence or argument\n2 The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act of 2011, Pub. L. No. 112-90, § 2(a)(1), 125 Stat.\n1904, January 3, 2012, increased the civil penalty liability for violating a pipeline safety standard to $200,000 per\nviolation for each day of the violation, up to a maximum of $2,000,000 for any related series of violations.\n\n\n\n3\njustifying a reduction in the proposed penalty. Respondent failed to comply with its own\nprocedures for documenting abnormal operations. Operators must properly follow procedures\nregarding abnormal operations in order to respond to, investigate, and correct the cause of an\nunintended shutdown, which could result in a hazard. Accordingly, having reviewed the record\nand considered the assessment criteria, I assess Respondent a civil penalty of $24,400 for\nviolation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.603.\nIn summary, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria for each of the\nItems cited above, I assess Respondent a total civil penalty of $24,400.\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Item 1 in the Notice for violation of\n49 C.F.R. § 60118. Under 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation\nof gas or who owns or operates a pipeline facility is required to comply with the applicable\nsafety standards established under chapter 601. Pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217, Respondent is ordered to take the following actions to\nensure compliance with the pipeline safety regulations applicable to its operations:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 192.603 (Item 1), Respondent must perform an\nanalysis to determine the cause of the ESD activation and submit the analysis to the\nDirector within 90 days after receipt of this Final Order.\nThe Director may grant an extension of time to comply with any of the required items upon a\nwritten request timely submitted by the Respondent and demonstrating good cause for an\nextension.\nFailure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties\nnot to exceed $200,000 for each violation for each day the violation continues or in referral to the\nAttorney General for appropriate relief in a district court of the United States.\nWARNING ITEMS\nWith respect to Items 2 and 3, the Notice alleged probable violations of Part 192 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. § 192.603 (Item 2) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to keep records\nnecessary to administer the procedures established under § 192.605, specifically\nthe records of the capacity review of each and every overpressure protection\ndevice required by § 192.743(a); and\n49 C.F.R. § 192.603 (Item 3) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to keep records\nnecessary to administer the procedures established under § 192.605, specifically\n\n\n\n4\nthe records documenting a 2011 field population density survey that was required\nby its procedures.\nCGT presented information in its Response showing that it had taken certain actions to address\nthe cited items. If OPS finds a violation of any of these items in a subsequent inspection,\nRespondent may be subject to future enforcement action.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.215, Respondent has a right to submit a Petition for Reconsideration of\nthis Final Order. The petition must be sent to: Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline\nSafety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC\n20590, with a copy sent to the Office of Chief Counsel, PHMSA, at the same address. PHMSA\nwill accept petitions received no later than 20 days after receipt of service of this Final Order by\nthe Respondent, provided they contain a brief statement of the issue(s) and meet all other\nrequirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.215. The filing of a petition automatically stays the payment of\nany civil penalty assessed. Unless the Associate Administrator, upon request, grants a stay, all\nother 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\n\n120131037_Closure Letter_12172014_text.pdf\n\nU.S. Department Of Transportation Pipeline and 609.989.2171\nHazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n820 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 103\nWest Trenton, NJ 08628\nEXPRESS OVERNIGHT DELIVERY\nDecember 17, 2014\nMr. Shawn L. Patterson\nPresident\nColumbia Gas Transmission Corporation\n1700 MacCorkle Avenue, SE\nCharleston, WV 25314\nCPF 1-2013-1037\nDear Mr. Patterson:\nOn September 10, 2014, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\nissued to the Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation a Final Order in the above-referenced\ncase. This Order included a Compliance Order and Civil Penalty assessment. Based on our\nreview of the documentation you provided, and confirmation of payment of the civil penalty, it\nhas been determined that you have complied with the terms of this Order.\nAccordingly, this case is now closed and no further action is contemplated with respect to the\nmatters involved in this case. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nByron Coy, PE\nDirector, Eastern Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nCc: Mr. Kevin Speicher, NYSDPS\n\n120131037_NOPV PCP PCO_12232013_text.pdf\n\nU.S. Department Of Transportation Pipeline and 609.989.2171\nHazardous Materials\nSafety Administration\n820 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 103\nWest Trenton, NJ 08628\nNOTICE OF PROBABLE VIOLATION\nPROPOSED CIVIL PENALTY\nand\nPROPOSED COMPLIANCE ORDER\nEXPRESS MAIL OVERNIGHT\nDecember 23, 2013\nShawn L. Patterson\nPresident Engineering & Project Development\nColumbia Gas Transmission Corp.\n1700 MacCorkle Avenue, SE\nCharleston, WV 25314\nCPF 1-2013-1037\nDear Mr. Patterson:\nBetween July 23-31, 2012 inspectors from the New York State Department of Public Service (NYSDPS),\nacting as agents for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) pursuant to\nChapter 601 of 49 United States Code inspected the Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation (CGT)\nMillennium Pipeline facilities in Kirkwood, NY.\nAs a result of the inspection, it appears that you have committed probable violations of the Pipeline Safety\nRegulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected and the probable violations are:\n1. §192.603 General Provisions.\n(b) Each operator shall keep records necessary to administer the procedures established\nunder §192.605.\nCGT failed to keep adequate records necessary to administer the procedures established under\n§192.605(c) Abnormal operation. Specifically, the CGT Abnormal Operations Report (AOR) for Work\nOrder Number (WO) B2293112 dated 6/13/2011 did not adequately document what caused the\ncompressor station emergency shutdown (ESD).\nCGT Procedure 220.005.003 Version 6, effective 02232011, Paragraph 2.1.1 states...”Record a\ndescription to explain the Abnormal Operation (Required)”. The description recorded on WO B2293112\nto explain the abnormal operation states “Station ESD between 10 AM 6/12/11 and 8 AM 6/13/11”. The\ndescription provided by CGT does not indicate what caused the emergency shutdown. Therefore CGT\nfailed to keep records necessary to administer the procedures established under §192.605.\nNYSDPS commented on the inadequate AOR and requested and received a copy of the AOR during the\nJuly 2012 inspection.\n\n\n\n1-2013-1037\n2. §192.603 General Provisions.\n(b) Each operator shall keep records necessary to administer the procedures established\nunder §192.605.\nCGT failed to produce to produce records to show that a capacity review required by §192.743(a) of each\nand every overpressure protection device had been done in 2011.\nCGT representatives stated during the inspection of the Corning Compressor Station that the capacity\nreview is part of an undocumented consideration, and is only documented upon input from the local\nengineer that there were known changes to the pipeline.\nAs of 12/17/2012 there had been no records provided by CGT to NYSDPS as requested for overpressure\nprotection device capacity review documentation for 2011.\n3. §192.603 General Provisions.\n(b) Each operator shall keep records necessary to administer the procedures established\nunder §192.605.\nCGT failed to keep adequate records necessary to administer the procedures established under\n§192.605. Specifically, CGT Plan No._220.02.03_Sec 3.2.1 and 3.3.1 Effective 12/31/2011 states…\n“Field population density surveys shall be conducted annually on all pipelines to identify any changes in\nclass location and HCAs. Ongoing surveys will also be conducted throughout the year by Operations,\nwho will identify and document new structures using GPS coordinates and other data with Plan\n200.02.01”.\nCGT could not produce records to substantiate that they conducted a field population density study in\n2011. Therefore, CGT failed to keep records necessary to administer the procedures established under\n§192.605.\nProposed Civil Penalty\nUnder 49 United States Code, § 60122, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $200,000 per\nviolation per day the violation persists up to a maximum of $2,000,000 for a related series of violations.\nFor violations occurring prior to January 4, 2012, the maximum penalty may not exceed $100,000 per\nviolation per day, with a maximum penalty not to exceed $1,000,000 for a related series of violations.\nThe Compliance Officer has reviewed the circumstances and supporting documentation involved in the\nabove probable violations and has recommended that you be preliminarily assessed a civil penalty of\n$24,400 as follows:\nItem number PENALTY\n1 $24,400\nWarning Items\nWith respect to items 2 and 3, we have reviewed the circumstances and supporting documents involved in\nthis case and have decided not to conduct additional enforcement action or penalty assessment\nproceedings at this time. We advise you to promptly correct this item. Failure to do so may result in\nadditional enforcement action.\nProposed Compliance Order\nWith respect to item 1 pursuant to 49 United States Code § 60118, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration proposes to issue a Compliance Order to Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation.\nPlease refer to the Proposed Compliance Order, which is enclosed and made a part of this Notice.\n120131037_NOPV_PCP_PCO_12232013 Page 2 of 4\n\n\n\n1-2013-1037\nResponse to this Notice\nEnclosed as part of this Notice is a document entitled Response Options for Pipeline Operators in\nCompliance Proceedings. Please refer to this document and note the response options. All material you\nsubmit in response to this enforcement action may be made publicly available. If you believe that any\nportion of your responsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with\nthe complete original document you must provide a second copy of the document with the portions you\nbelieve qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted\ninformation qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b). If you do not respond within 30\ndays of receipt of this Notice, this constitutes a waiver of your right to contest the allegations in this\nNotice and authorizes the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as alleged in this\nNotice without further notice to you and to issue a Final Order.\nPlease submit all correspondence in this matter to Byron Coy, PE, Director, PHMSA Eastern Region, 820\nBear Tavern Road, Suite 103, W. Trenton, NJ 08628. Please refer to CPF 1-2013-1037 on each\ndocument you submit, and please whenever possible provide a signed PDF copy in electronic format.\nSmaller files may be emailed to Byron.Coy@dot.gov. Larger files should be sent on a CD accompanied\nby the original paper copy to the Eastern Region Office.\nAdditionally, if you choose to respond to this (or any other case), please ensure that any response\nletter pertains solely to one CPF case number.\nSincerely,\nByron Coy, PE\nDirector, Eastern Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nCc: Kevin Speicher, NYSDPS\nEnclosures: Proposed Compliance Order\nResponse Options for Pipeline Operators in Compliance Proceedings\n120131037_NOPV_PCP_PCO_12232013 Page 3 of 4\n\n\n\n1-2013-1037\nPROPOSED COMPLIANCE ORDER\nPursuant to 49 United States Code § 60118, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n(PHMSA) proposes to issue to Columbia Gas Transmission Corporation (CGT) a Compliance Order\nincorporating the following remedial requirements to ensure the compliance of CGT with the pipeline\nsafety regulations:\n1. 2. 3. In regard to Item Number 1 of the Notice pertaining to CGT failure to keep adequate\nrecords by not identifying what was the cause of the ESD activation, CGT is to perform\nan analysis to determine the cause of the ESD activation.\nCGT shall have 90 days from the receipt of a Final Order to complete the requirements\nfor Item Number 1 of the Notice and forward the completed analysis to Byron Coy, PE,\nDirector, Eastern Region, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.\nIt is requested (not mandated) that CGT maintain documentation of the safety\nimprovement costs associated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total\nto Byron Coy, PE, Director, Eastern Region, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration. It is requested that these costs be reported in two categories: 1) total cost\nassociated with preparation/revision of plans, procedures, studies and analyses, and 2)\ntotal cost associated with replacements, additions and other changes to pipeline\ninfrastructure.\n120131037_NOPV_PCP_PCO_12232013 Page 4 of 4","truncated":false,"body_characters":21041}