{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120155010","title":"KIANTONE PIPELINE CORP — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2015-07-01","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.428(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120155010.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120155010.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120155010","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120155010","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving KIANTONE PIPELINE CORP. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 195.428(a). The case was opened on 2015-07-01 and is reported as closed as of 2016-02-12. Proposed civil penalty: $22,600. Assessed civil penalty: $22,600. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120155010_Final Order_01132016.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120155010/120155010_Final%20Order_01132016.pdf\n\n120155010_Final Order_01132016_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120155010/120155010_Final%20Order_01132016_text.pdf\n\n120155010_NOPV_PCP_07012015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120155010/120155010_NOPV_PCP_07012015.pdf\n\n120155010_NOPV_PCP_07012015_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120155010/120155010_NOPV_PCP_07012015_text.pdf\n\n120155010_Operator Response to Notice_07152015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120155010/120155010_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_07152015.pdf\n\n120155010_Final Order_01132016_text.pdf\n\nJanuary 13, 2016\nMr. David Wortman\nVice President of Supply and Transportation\nKiantone Pipeline Corporation\n15 Bradley Street\nWarren, PA 16365\nRe: CPF No. 1-2015-5010\nDear Mr. Wortman:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $22,600. 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, P.E., Director, PHMSA Eastern Region, OPS\nMr. John Wagner, Esq., Senior Vice President and General Counsel, Kiantone Pipeline\nCorporation, 15 Bradley Street, Warren, PA 16365\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 )\n)\n)\nKiantone Pipeline Corporation, )\na subsidiary of United Refining Company, )\nRespondent. )\n_______________________________________________ )\n) CPF No. 1-2015-5010\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom June 9 to June 27, 2014, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline\nand Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS),\nconducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of Kiantone Pipeline\nCorporation (Kiantone or Respondent) in Warren, Pennsylvania. Respondent, a subsidiary of\nUnited Refining Company,1 operates a hazardous liquid transmission pipeline system, which\nincludes 78 miles of interstate hazardous liquid transmission pipelines in New York and\nPennsylvania, 7 miles of intrastate hazardous liquid transmission pipeline in Pennsylvania, 7\nbreakout tanks for crude oil, and 3 breakout tanks for refined petroleum products.2\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Eastern Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated July 1, 2015, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty (Notice).\nIn accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that Kiantone had violated\n49 C.F.R. § 195.428 and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $22,600 for the alleged violations.\nKiantone responded to the Notice by letter dated July 15, 2015 (Response). The company did\nnot contest the allegations of violation but provided an explanation of its actions and requested\nthat the proposed civil penalty be reduced. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore\nhas waived its right to one.\n1 Bloomberg Business, Company Overview of Kiantone Pipeline Corporation, website:\nhttp://www.bloomberg.com/research/stocks/private/snapshot.asp?privcapid=3711580 (last accessed on December\n23, 2015).\n2 Pipeline Safety Violation Report (Violation Report), (July 1, 2015) (on file with PHMSA) at 1.\n\n\n\n2\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Kiantone did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 195, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.428(a), which states:\n§ 195.428 Overpressure safety devices and overfill protection systems.\n(a) Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, each operator\nshall, at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar\nyear, or in the case of pipelines used to carry highly volatile liquids, at\nintervals not to exceed 7½ months, but at least twice each calendar year,\ninspect and test each pressure limiting device, relief valve, pressure\nregulator, or other item of pressure control equipment to determine that it\nis functioning properly, is in good mechanical condition, and is adequate\nfrom the standpoint of capacity and reliability of operation for the service\nin which it is used.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.428(a) by failing to inspect and test\neach pressure relief valve at its Warren, Pennsylvania, facility at intervals not exceeding 15\nmonths, but at least once each calendar year. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Kiantone’s\nrelief valve inspections records for 2011, 2012, and 2013 showed that Kiantone inspected four\nrelief valves at the Warren Tank farm on December 2, 2011. The next inspection on these relief\nvalves was not until March 14, 2013. Kiantone failed to inspect and test these valves in 2012.\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. § 195.428(a) by failing to inspect and\ntest each pressure relief valve at its Warren, Pennsylvania, facility at intervals not exceeding 15\nmonths, but at least once each calendar year.\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.3 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\n3 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\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 $22,600 for the violation cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $22,600 for Respondent’s violating 49 C.F.R.\n§ 195.428(a) by failing to inspect and test each pressure relief valve at its Warren, Pennsylvania,\nfacility at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year.\nRespondent does not contest this violation, but requests the proposed penalty be reduced.\nKiantone claims its failure to inspect and test these valves at its Warren, Pennsylvania, facility\nwas due to a misinterpretation of § 195.428(a).4 Respondent states it reversed the requirement\nand believed the relief valves needed to be inspected and tested ‘every calendar year, not to\nexceed 15 months.’ Respondent notes it now correctly interprets this regulation, so that all\npressure relief valves at its Warren, Pennsylvania, facility will be inspected and tested at least\nonce each calendar year.5 Further, Kiantone asserts the violation of § 195.428(a) did not result\nin any unsafe conditions or impact persons or the environment.6\nAfter reviewing Respondent’s arguments, I find the civil penalty proposed in the Notice should\nnot be reduced. While Respondent now correctly interprets the clear language of § 195.428(a), it\nfailed to do so in 2012. Further, Respondent’s breach of § 195.428(a) is a serious violation that\ncould have resulted in an overpressure of the pipeline, potentially affecting the ongoing\noperational integrity at its facility in Warren, Pennsylvania, as well as creating adverse\nconsequences to the people and environment surrounding this facility. Accordingly, having\nreviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I assess Respondent a civil penalty of\n$22,600 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 195.428(a).\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 $22,600.\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, Mike\nMonroney Aeronautical Center, P.O. Box 269039, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125. The\nFinancial Operations Division telephone number is (405) 954-8845.\nFailure to pay the $22,600 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\n4 Respondent’s Response to the Notice (Response) at 1.\n5 Response at 1.\n6 Id.\n\n\n\n4\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.\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\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 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety","truncated":false,"body_characters":11804}