{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120153004","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":"2015-09-08","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 193.2637.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120153004.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120153004.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120153004","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120153004","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 193.2637. The case was opened on 2015-09-08 and is reported as closed as of 2016-05-11. Proposed civil penalty: $58,100. Assessed civil penalty: $57,800. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120153004_Final Order_04292016.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120153004/120153004_Final%20Order_04292016.pdf\n\n120153004_Final Order_04292016_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120153004/120153004_Final%20Order_04292016_text.pdf\n\n120153004_NOPV_PCP_09082015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120153004/120153004_NOPV_PCP_09082015.pdf\n\n120153004_NOPV_PCP_09082015_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120153004/120153004_NOPV_PCP_09082015_text.pdf\n\n120153004_Operator Response To Notice_10122015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120153004/120153004_Operator%20Response%20To%20Notice_10122015.pdf\n\n120153004_Final Order_04292016_text.pdf\n\nApril 29, 2016\nMr. Robert C. Skaggs, Jr.\nChairman of the Board and CEO\nColumbia Pipeline Group, Inc.\n5151 San Felipe, No. 2500\nHouston, TX 77056\nRe: CPF No. 1-2015-3004\nDear Mr. Skaggs:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case to your subsidiary,\nColumbia Gas Transmission, LLC. It makes one finding of violation and assesses a reduced\ncivil penalty of $57,800. The penalty payment terms are set forth in the Final Order. This\nenforcement action closes automatically upon receipt of payment. Service of the Final Order by\ncertified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise provided under\n49 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 M. Hoffman, Manager-System Integrity, Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc.,\n1700 MacCorkle Avenue SE, Charleston, WV 25314\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\nIn the Matter of )\nColumbia Gas Transmission, LLC, ) CPF No. 1-2015-3004\na subsidiary of Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc., )\nRespondent. )\n)\n)\n)\n)\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom December 8 through December 12, 2014, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative\nof the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline\nSafety (OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of\nColumbia Gas Transmission, LLC (CGT or Respondent), in Chesapeake, Virginia. CGT owns\nand operates a liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility located in Chesapeake.\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Eastern Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated September 8, 2015, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty\n(Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that CGT had\nviolated 49 C.F.R. § 193.2637 and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $58,100 for the alleged\nviolation.\nCGT responded to the Notice by letter dated October 12, 2015 (Response). The Respondent did\nnot contest the allegation of violation, but did contest the number of instances of violation. CGT\nprovided an explanation of its actions and requested that the proposed civil penalty be reduced or\neliminated. Respondent did not request a hearing and, therefore, has waived its right to one.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 1-2015-3004\n2\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, CGT responded to the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R. Part\n193, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 193.2637, which states:\n§ 193.2637 Remedial measures.\n(a) Prompt corrective or remedial action must be taken whenever an\noperator learns by inspection or otherwise that atmospheric, external, or\ninternal corrosion is not controlled as required by this subpart.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 193.2637 by failing to take prompt\ncorrective or remedial action when it learned by inspection that atmospheric corrosion was not\ncontrolled at its LNG facility, as required by Part 193. Specifically, the Notice alleged that CGT\nfailed to follow its own procedures by not promptly remediating seven instances of deficiencies\nfound during atmospheric-corrosion inspections within the timeframes specified in its own\nprocedures.1\nRespondent did not contest six of the seven allegations of violation and requested the elimination\nor reduction of the penalty based upon six, as opposed to seven, instances of violation. In its\nResponse, CGT explained that one of the seven instances was for a conduit, a non-gas bearing\ncomponent, and, therefore, not subject to the same requirements for re-inspection or remediation\nas required for gas-bearing components.2\nI agree that the seventh instance does not constitute a violation and therefore I withdraw that one\nallegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that\nRespondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 193.2637 by failing to take prompt corrective or remedial\naction when it learned by inspection that atmospheric corrosion was not controlled as required by\nthis subpart.\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. In determining the amount of a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C.\n1 See CGT Plan 310.42.01 – Chesapeake LNG Facility Corrosion Control (requiring that Level 2 atmospheric\ncorrosion mitigation or re-inspection be performed within 12 months of discovery per Section 3.3.2.F). Here, the\natmospheric conditions were remediated or the components removed from service within 24 months of the initial\ninspection.\n2 Response, at 2.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 1-2015-3004\n3\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 $58,100 for the violations cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $58,100 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 193.2637, for failing to take prompt corrective or remedial action when it learned by inspection\nthat atmospheric corrosion was not controlled at its LNG facility, as required by this subpart.\nCGT failed to follow its procedures by not remediating deficiencies found during its atmospheric\ncorrosion inspections within the timeframes specified in its own procedures. Since there were\nonly six occurrences of violation, rather than seven as cited in the Notice, I am reducing the\nportion of the proposed penalty attributable to the gravity assessment criteria. This criterion\nincludes the number of instances of violation, which I am reducing from seven to six.\nAccordingly, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria for the Item\ncited above, I assess Respondent a total civil penalty of $57,800 for violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 193.2637.\nFailure to pay the $57,800 civil penalty will result in accrual of interest at the current annual rate\nin accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 3717, 31 C.F.R. § 901.9 and 49 C.F.R. § 89.23. Pursuant to\nthose same authorities, a late penalty charge of six percent (6%) per annum will be charged if\npayment is not made within 110 days of service. Furthermore, failure to pay the civil penalty\nmay result in referral of the matter to the Attorney General for appropriate action in a district\ncourt of the United States.\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 (AMK-325), Federal Aviation Administration,\n6500 S MacArthur Blvd., Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 79169. The Financial Operations Division\ntelephone number is (405) 954-8845.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.243, Respondent has the 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 the 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. § 190.243. The filing of a petition automatically stays the payment of\nany civil penalty assessed but does not stay any other provisions of the Final Order, including\nany required corrective actions. If Respondent submits payment of the civil penalty, the Final\n\n\n\nCPF No. 1-2015-3004\n4\nOrder becomes the final administrative decision and the right to petition for reconsideration is\nwaived.\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\n\n\n\nPayment Instructions\nCivil Penalty Payments of Less Than $10,000\nPayment of a civil penalty of less than $10,000 proposed or assessed, under Subpart B of\nPart 190 of the Pipeline Safety Regulations can be made by certified check, money order\nor wire transfer. Payment by certified check or money order (containing the CPF Number\nfor this case) should be made payable to the \"Department of Transportation\" and should\nbe sent to:\nFederal Aviation Administration\nFinancial Operations Division (AMK-325)\nATTN: Shelby Jones\n6500 S MacArthur Blvd.,\nOklahoma City, OK 79169\nWire transfer payments of less than $10,000 may be made through the Federal Reserve\nCommunications System (Fedwire) to the account of the U.S. Treasury. Detailed\ninstructions are provided below. Questions concerning wire transfer should be directed to\nthe Financial Operations Division at (405) 954-8845, or at the above address.\nCivil Penalty Payments of $10,000 or more\nPayment of a civil penalty of $10,000 or more proposed or assessed under Subpart B of\nPart 190 of the Pipeline Safety Regulations must be made wire transfer (49 C.F.R. §\n89.21 (b)(3)), through the Federal Reserve Communications System (Fedwire) to the\naccount of the U.S. Treasury. Detailed instructions are provided below. Questions\nconcerning wire transfers should be directed to the Financial Operations Division at\n(405) 954-8845, or at the above address.\n\n\n\nINSTRUCTIONS FOR ELECTRONIC FUND TRANSFERS\n(1) RECEIVER ABA\nNO. 021030004\n(2) TYPE/SUB-TYPE\n(Provided by sending bank)\n(3) SENDING BANK ABA NO.\n(Provided by sending bank)\n(4) SENDING BANK REF NO.\n(Provided by sending bank)\n(5) AMOUNT (6) SENDING BANK NAME\n(Provided by sending bank)\n(7) RECEIVER NAME\nTREAS NYC\n(8) PRODUCT CODE\n(Normally CTR, or as provided by sending bank)\n(9) BENEFICIAL (BNF) = AGENCY\nLOCATION CODE\nBNF = /ALC-69-14-0001\n(10) REASONS FOR PAYMENT\nExample: PHMSA - CPF # / Ticket Number/Pipeline\nAssessment number\nINSTRUCTIONS: You, as sender of the wire transfer, must provide the sending bank with the\ninformation for blocks (1), (5), (7), (9), and (10). The information provided in Blocks (1), (7),\nand (9) are constant and remain the same for all wire transfers to the Pipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration, Department of Transportation.\nBlock #1 - RECEIVER ABA NO. - \"021030004\". Ensure the sending bank enters this 9-digit\nidentification number; it represents the routing symbol for the U.S. Treasury at the Federal\nReserve Bank in New York.\nBlock #5 - AMOUNT - You as the sender provide the amount of the transfer. Please be sure the\ntransfer amount is punctuated with commas and a decimal point. EXAMPLE: $10,000.00\nBlock #7 - RECEIVER NAME - \"TREAS NYC\". Ensure the sending bank enters this\nabbreviation. It must be used for all wire transfers to the Treasury Department.\nBlock #9 - BENEFICIAL - AGENCY LOCATION CODE - \"BNF=/ALC-69-14-0001\". Ensure\nthe sending bank enters this information. This is the Agency Location Code for the Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration, Department of Transportation.\nBlock #10 - REASON FOR PAYMENT - “AC-payment for PHMSA Case # / To ensure your\nwire transfer is credited properly, enter the case number/ticket number or Pipeline Assessment number,\nand country.”\nNOTE: A wire transfer must comply with the format and instructions or the Department cannot\naccept the wire transfer. You as the sender can assist this process by notifying the Financial\nOperations Division (405) 954-8845 at the time you send the wire transfer.","truncated":false,"body_characters":13746}