{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120151027M","title":"ALGONQUIN GAS TRANSMISSION, L.L.C. (SPECTRA ENERGY PARTNERS, LP) — Notice of Amendment","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2015-12-17","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of amendment citing 192.225(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120151027m.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120151027m.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120151027m","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120151027M","body":"Notice of Amendment involving ALGONQUIN GAS TRANSMISSION, L.L.C. (SPECTRA ENERGY PARTNERS, LP). PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 192.225(a). The case was opened on 2015-12-17 and is reported as closed as of 2016-02-10. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120151027M_Closure Letter_02102016.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120151027M/120151027M_Closure%20Letter_02102016.pdf\n\n120151027M_Closure Letter_02102016_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120151027M/120151027M_Closure%20Letter_02102016_text.pdf\n\n120151027M_Notice of Amendment_12172015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120151027M/120151027M_Notice%20of%20Amendment_12172015.pdf\n\n120151027M_Notice of Amendment_12172015_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120151027M/120151027M_Notice%20of%20Amendment_12172015_text.pdf\n\n120151027M_Operator Response to Notice_01142016.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120151027M/120151027M_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_01142016.pdf\n\n120151027M_Closure Letter_02102016_text.pdf\n\nOVERNIGHT EXPRESS DELIVERY\nFebruary 10, 2016\nJ. Andrew Drake\nVice President, Operations & EHS\nAlgonquin Gas Transmission Co. (Spectra Energy Corp)\n5400 Westheimer Court\nHouston, TX 77056\nCPF 1-2015-1027M\nDear Mr. Drake:\nFrom October 16-22, 2015, an inspector from the Connecticut Department of Energy and Environmental\nProtection (CT DEEP) acting as agent for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n(PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety, pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code inspected the\nAlgonquin Gas Transmission’s (AGT) (a subsidiary of Spectra Energy Corp)(Spectra) main construction\nwork (Spectra’s AIM Project) along the pipeline right-of-way west of Milestone Road in Danbury,\nConnecticut.\nAs a result of the inspection, AGT was issued a Notice of Amendment on December 17, 2015, which\nproposed amendment of your procedures.\nAGT submitted its amended procedures on January 14, 2016.\nMy staff reviewed the amended procedures, and it appears that the inadequacies outlined in this Notice of\nAmendment have been corrected.\nThis letter is to inform you no further action is necessary and this case is now closed. Thank you for your\ncooperation.\nSincerely,\nByron Coy, PE\nDirector, Eastern Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nCc: Mr. Karl Baker, CT DEEP\n\n120151027M_Notice of Amendment_12172015_text.pdf\n\nNOTICE OF AMENDMENT\nOVERNIGHT EXPRESS DELIVERY\nDecember 17, 2015\nJ. Andrew Drake\nVice President, Operations & EHS\nAlgonquin Gas Transmission Co. (Spectra Energy Corp)\n5400 Westheimer Court\nHouston, TX 77056\nCPF 1-2015-1027M\nDear Mr. Drake:\nFrom October 16-22, 2015, an inspector from the Connecticut Department of Energy and\nEnvironmental Protection (CT DEEP) acting as agent for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety, pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49\nUnited States Code inspected the Algonquin Gas Transmission’s (AGT) (a subsidiary of Spectra\nEnergy Corp)(Spectra) main construction work (Spectra’s AIM Project) along the pipeline right-\nof-way west of Milestone Road in Danbury, Connecticut.\nOn the basis of the inspection, PHMSA has identified the apparent inadequacies found within\nAGT’s plans or procedures, as described below:\n1. §192.225 Welding procedures.\n(a) Welding must be performed by a qualified welder or welding operator in accordance\nwith welding procedures qualified under section 5, section 12, or Appendix A of API Std\n1104 (incorporated by reference, see §192.7) or section IX ASME Boiler and Pressure\nVessel Code (BPVC) (incorporated by reference, see §192.7), to produce welds which meet\nthe requirements of this subpart. The quality of the test welds used to qualify welding\nprocedures must be determined by destructive testing in accordance with the referenced\nwelding standard(s).\nAGT’s welding procedure specification is inadequate in that it does not specify the size of the\nroot bead opening. API 1104 section 5.3.2.4 and section 12.4.2.5 both require that the welding\nprocedure specification shall include the size of the root bead opening.\nAGT was using weld procedure AIM-BMX-423.0 for the Spectra AIM project. The operator’s\nrepresentative said that after the size of the root bead was brought to his attention, AGT revised\n\n\n\n1-2015-1027M\nits welding procedure specification to identify that the root opening shall be 1/16” to 5/32”. This\nwas established as the test weld for this procedure was made using a root opening in this range.\nEvidence is based on personal observations, photographs taken, procedures reviewed by the CT\nDEEP inspector, and statements made by operator representatives.\nResponse to this Notice\nThis Notice is provided pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60108(a) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.237. Enclosed as\npart 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. Be\nadvised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement action is subject to being\nmade publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your responsive material qualifies for\nconfidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document you\nmust provide a second copy of the document with the portions you believe qualify for\nconfidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted information\nqualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b). If you do not respond within 30 days\nof 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\nthis Notice without further notice to you and to issue a Final Order.\nIf, after opportunity for a hearing, your plans or procedures are found inadequate as alleged in\nthis Notice, you may be ordered to amend your plans or procedures to correct the inadequacies\n(49 C.F.R. § 190.237). If you are not contesting this Notice, we propose that you submit your\namended procedures to my office within 30 days of receipt of this Notice. This period may be\nextended by written request for good cause. Once the inadequacies identified herein have been\naddressed in your amended procedures, this enforcement action will be closed.\nIt is requested (not mandated) that AGT maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs\nassociated with fulfilling this Notice of Amendment (preparation/revision of plans, procedures)\nand submit the total to Byron Coy, PE, Director, PHMSA Eastern Region, 820 Bear Tavern\nRoad, Suite 103, W. Trenton, NJ 08628, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration. In correspondence concerning this matter, please refer to CPF 1-2015-1027M\nand, for each document you submit, please provide a (signed) copy in electronic format\nwhenever possible. Smaller files may be emailed to Byron.Coy@dot.gov. Larger files should be\nsent on a CD accompanied by the original (signed) paper copy to the Eastern Region Office.\nSincerely,\nByron Coy, P.E.\nDirector, Eastern Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nCc: Karl Baker, CT DEEP\nEnclosure: Response Options for Pipeline Operators in Compliance Proceedings\n120151027M_NOA_12172015 Page 2 of 2","truncated":false,"body_characters":7479}