# BUCKEYE PARTNERS, LP — Notice of Probable Violation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** CPF 120145002
- **title:** BUCKEYE PARTNERS, LP — Notice of Probable Violation
- **source type:** enforcement
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** historical
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2014-04-02
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.446(a), 195.446(c)(2).
- **machine formats:** - **json:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120145002.json
- **markdown:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120145002.md
- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120145002
- **source url:** https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120145002
**body:**

Notice of Probable Violation involving BUCKEYE PARTNERS, LP. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.446(a),  195.446(c)(2). The case was opened on 2014-04-02 and is reported as closed as of 2015-08-04. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.

Official case documents:

120145002_Closure Letter_08042015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120145002/120145002_Closure%20Letter_08042015.pdf

120145002_Closure Letter_08042015_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120145002/120145002_Closure%20Letter_08042015_text.pdf

120145002_Final Order_11262014.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120145002/120145002_Final%20Order_11262014.pdf

120145002_Final Order_11262014_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120145002/120145002_Final%20Order_11262014_text.pdf

120145002_NOPV_PCO_04022014.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120145002/120145002_NOPV_PCO_04022014.pdf

120145002_NOPV_PCO_04022014_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120145002/120145002_NOPV_PCO_04022014_text.pdf

120145002_Operator Response_04292014.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120145002/120145002_Operator%20Response_04292014.pdf

120145002_Closure Letter_08042015_text.pdf

U.S. Department Of Transportation Pipeline and 609.989.2171
Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration
820 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 103
West Trenton, NJ 08628
OVERNIGHT EXPRESS DELIVERY
August 4, 2015
T. Scott Collier
Vice President, Performance Assurance Asset Integrity
Buckeye Partners, L.P.
Five Tek Park
9999 Hamilton Boulevard
Breinigsville, PA 18031
CPF 1-2014-5002
Dear Mr. Collier:
On November 26, 2014, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Office of
Pipeline Safety, issued Buckeye Partners, LP (Buckeye) a Final Order in the above-referenced
case. This Order included a Compliance Order. This Compliance Order required Buckeye to
take certain actions to ensure compliance with the pipeline safety regulations applicable to its
operations.
Subsequently, we received your letter dated February 5, 2015, wherein you responded to this
Compliance Order and submitted related documentation. Based on our review of your February
5, 2015 submission, it has been determined that you have complied with the terms of this Order.
Accordingly, this case is now closed and no further action is contemplated with respect to the
matters involved in this case.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
Byron Coy, PE
Director, Eastern Region
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration

120145002_Final Order_11262014_text.pdf

NOVEMBER 26, 2014
Mr. Clark C. Smith
Chairman, CEO, and President
Buckeye Partners, LP
One Greenway Plaza
Suite 600
Houston, TX 77046
Re: CPF No. 1-2014-5002
Dear Mr. Smith:
Enclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of
violation and specifies actions that need to be taken by Buckeye Partners, LP, to comply with the
pipeline safety regulations. When the terms of the compliance order have been completed, as
determined by the Director, Eastern Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, this enforcement action
will be closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of
mailing, or as otherwise provided under 49 C.F.R. § 190.5.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
Jeffrey D. Wiese
Associate Administrator
for Pipeline Safety
Enclosure
cc: Mr. Byron Coy, P.E., Director, Eastern Region, OPS
Mr. T. Scott Collier, Vice-President, Performance Assurance Asset Integrity,
Buckeye Partners, LP
CERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
OFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590
____________________________________
)
In the Matter of )
)
Buckeye Partners, LP, ) CPF No. 1-2014-5002
)
Respondent. )
____________________________________)
FINAL ORDER
On March 12-16, 2012, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and
Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS),
conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of Buckeye Partners,
LP (Buckeye or Respondent), in Breinigsville, Pennsylvania. The inspection focused on the
control room management procedures Buckeye applied to its facilities in Breinigsville. Buckeye
owns and operates approximately 6,000 miles of hazardous liquid pipelines in the Northeast and
Upper Midwest regions.1
As a result of the inspection, on April 2, 2014, the Director, Eastern Region, OPS (Director),
issued a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Compliance Order (Notice) to Respondent.
In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that Buckeye had violated
49 C.F.R. § 195.446 and proposed ordering Buckeye to take certain measures to correct the
alleged violation.
Buckeye responded to the Notice by letter dated April 29, 2014 (Response). Respondent did not
contest the allegation of violation but provided certain information concerning the corrective
actions it had taken. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to
one.
FINDING OF VIOLATION
In its Response, Buckeye did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.
Part 195, as follows:
1 Buckeye Partners, L.P. – About US, Buckeye Partners, L.P.,
http://www.buckeye.com/AboutUs/tabid/54/Default.aspx (last visited September 16, 2014).



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Item 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.446(c)(2), which states:
§ 195.446 Control room management.
(a) General. This section applies to each operator of a pipeline
facility with a controller working in a control room who monitors and
controls all or part of a pipeline through a SCADA system. Each operator
must have and follow written control room management procedures that
implement the requirements of this section. The procedures required by
this section must be integrated, as appropriate, with the operator’s written
procedures required by § 195.402. An operator must develop the
procedures no later than August 1, 2011, and must implement the
procedures according to the following schedule . . . .
(c) Provide adequate information. Each operator must provide its
controllers with the information, tools, processes and procedures necessary
for the controllers to carry out the roles and responsibilities the operator
has defined by performing each of the following: . . . .
(2) Conduct a point-to-point verification between SCADA displays and
related field equipment when field equipment is added or moved and when
other changes that affect pipeline safety are made to field equipment or
SCADA displays; . . . .
The Notice alleged that Respondent violated § 195.446(c)(2) by failing to have and follow
written control room management procedures that provide its controllers with the information
necessary for them to carry out their proper roles and responsibilities. Specifically, it alleged
that Buckeye failed to include sufficient information in its procedures to enable the company’s
controllers to conduct “point-to-point verifications” between its Supervisory Control and Data
Acquisition (SCADA) system and related field equipment throughout its system. Under the
regulation, operators must identify and test the reliability of all “safety-related points” within its
control system whose functions are necessary for the safe operation of the pipeline network.
The Notice further alleged that Respondent could not show it even had a written process or
criteria for determining which points within its control system were safety-related.
In its Response, Buckeye did not contest the allegations of violation, but provided information
concerning the corrective actions it had taken. Respondent also noted that after the PHMSA
inspection, steps were completed to remedy the violation.
Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated
49 C.F.R. § 195.446(c)(2).
This finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action
taken against Respondent.



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COMPLIANCE ORDER
The Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Item 1 in the Notice, for violation of
49 C.F.R. § 195.446(c)(2). Under 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the
transportation of gas, hazardous liquids, or who owns or operates a pipeline facility, is required
to comply with the applicable safety standards established under chapter 601.
In its Response, Buckeye did not contest the allegation of violation and stated its intent to
address the violation stated in the Notice. Accordingly, the compliance terms proposed in the
Notice for Item 1 are included in this Order.
Pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217, Respondent is
ordered to take the following actions to ensure compliance with the pipeline safety regulations
applicable to its operations:
1. With respect to the violation of § 195.446(c)(2) (Item 1), Respondent must:
(a) Amend its control room management procedures to include a definition
for safety-related points and criteria/process regarding how it determines
which points are safety-related; and
(b) Create a listing of its safety-related points in accordance with its control
room management procedures and federal pipeline safety regulations.
2. Respondent must submit documentation demonstrating completion of the above
item to the Director, Eastern Region, OPS, within 60 days of receipt of this Final
Order.
3. It is requested (not mandated) that Respondent maintain documentation of the
safety improvement costs associated with fulfilling this compliance order and
submit the total to the Director, Eastern Region, OPS. It is requested that these
costs be reported in two categories:
(a) Total cost associated with preparation/revision of plans, procedures,
studies and analyses; and
(b) Total cost associated with replacements, additions, and other changes to
pipeline infrastructure.
The Director may grant an extension of time to comply with any of the required items upon a
written request timely submitted by the Respondent and demonstrating good cause for an
extension.
Failure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties
not to exceed $200,000 for each violation for each day the violation continues or in referral to the
Attorney General for appropriate relief in a district court of the United States.



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The terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with
49 C.F.R. § 190.5.
___________________________________ __________________________
Jeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued
Associate Administrator
for Pipeline Safety
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