{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120176003W","title":"UTICA EAST OHIO MIDSTREAM LLC — Warning Letter","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2017-06-08","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED warning letter citing 195.420(c), 195.446(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120176003w.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120176003w.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120176003w","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120176003W","body":"Warning Letter involving UTICA EAST OHIO MIDSTREAM LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.420(c),  195.446(a). The case was opened on 2017-06-08 and is reported as closed as of 2017-06-08. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120176003W_Operator Response To Notice_09272017.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120176003W/120176003W_Operator%20Response%20To%20Notice_09272017.pdf\n\n120176003W_Warning Letter_06082017.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120176003W/120176003W_Warning%20Letter_06082017.pdf\n\n120176003W_Warning Letter_06082017_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120176003W/120176003W_Warning%20Letter_06082017_text.pdf\n\n120176003W_Warning Letter_06082017_text.pdf\n\nWARNING LETTER\nOVERNIGHT EXPRESS DELIVERY\nJune 8, 2017\nJames Roberts\nVice President of Environmental, Health and Safety\nUtica East Ohio Midstream LLC\n600 Travis, Suite 5600\nHouston, TX 77002\nCPF 1-2017-6003W\nDear Mr. Roberts:\nFrom August 10 to 14, 2015, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United\nStates Code (U.S.C.) inspected Utica East Ohio Midstream LLC’s (UEO) intrastate hazardous\nliquid pipeline and certain procedures in its Operation, Maintenance and Emergency Manual,\nRevised July 2015 (OM&E Manual) and Control Room Manual (CRM), Revision date 7/17/2015\nin Salineville, Ohio. 1\nAs a result of the inspection, it is alleged that you have committed probable violations of the\nPipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The items inspected\nand the probable violations are:\n1. §195.420 Valve maintenance.\n(a) …\n(c) Each operator shall provide protection for each valve from unauthorized operation\nand from vandalism.\n1 UEO is a joint venture between Access Midstream Partners L.P. (Access) (Williams Partners L.P. merged with\nAccess), M3 Midstream LLC (Momentum) and EV Energy Partners, L.P. See, William’s website, available at\nhttp://investor.williams.com/press-release/access-midstream-partners-projects/utica-east-ohio-announces-major-\nexpansion (last accessed May 10, 2017).\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2017-6003W\nUEO failed to provide protection for each valve from vandalism as prescribed in §195.420(c).\nDuring the field inspection, the PHMSA representative observed and took photographs of the\nfollowing valve stations:\n1. 2. MLV#600 on Castle Road near Scio; and\nMLV#300 on Route 39 in Mechanicstown.\nThese valve stations were located in an open area, on a property, with no gate or fence. The valve\nstations were surrounded by guardrails (an approximate five feet long vertical rail, four feet from\nthe ground with posts at each end, and spaced approximately three feet apart from each other\naround the valve), allowing an individual(s) access to the valve. The PHMSA representative did\nnot notice a security camera, alarm or other means to protect the valve from vandalism. Therefore,\nUEO did not provide protection from vandalism for the valves.\nUEO sent an e-mail dated May 12, 2017 to the PHMSA representative stating that it installed\nfencing around the valve stations since the inspection, and attached a photograph of the Route 39\nvalve station with barbed wire fencing around it.\n2. §195.446 Control room management.\n(a) General. This section applies to each operator of a pipeline facility with a controller\nworking in a control room who monitors and controls all or part of a pipeline facility\nthrough a SCADA2 system. Each operator must have and follow written control room\nmanagement procedures that implement the requirements of this section. The\nprocedures required by this section must be integrated, as appropriate, with the\noperator's written procedures required by §195.402. An operator must develop the\nprocedures no later than August 1, 2011…\nUEO failed to have and follow written control room management procedures that implemented all\nrequirements of §195.446 from 2013 to late mid-2015 as prescribed in §195.446(a). In addition,\nUEO failed to integrate control room management procedures, as appropriate, into its written\nprocedures for operations, maintenance, and emergencies which are required by §195.402 as\nprescribed in §195.446(a).\nDuring this inspection, UEO provided the following details about the pipeline system:\n1) 12” NGL Spine from Kensington Plant to Harrison Hub, Line UEO-8000 commisioned\nin 7/28/13\n2) 3) 8” Ethane Line to ATEX, Line UEO 4000-8 commisioned in 2/12/14\n8” Propane Line to ATEX, Line UEO 4100-8 commisioned in 11/7/13\n4) 8” NGL Spine from Leesville Plant to Harrison Hub, UEO 6000-8 commisioned in\n12/8/14\n5) Control room at Leesville Plant\n2 As defined in §195.2, supervisory control and data acquisition (SCADA) system means a computer-based system\nor systems used by a controller in a control room that collects and displays information about a pipeline facility and\nmay have the ability to send commands back to the pipeline facility.\n120176003W_Warning Letter_06082017_text Page 2 of 4\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2017-6003W\nThe PHMSA representative requested to review the control room management procedures. UEO\npresented the CRM. The PHMSA representaive noted that the CRM was the intial version which\nhad a July 17, 2015 approval date and an August 15, 2015 implementation date.\nAccording to §195.446, UEO was required to have and follow control room procedures on the date\nthe pipeline began operation in 2013.\nSubsequently, on April 10, 2017, the PHMSA representative sent an e-mail to UEO requesting\ninformation about the control room at Leesville Plant. By email dated April 18, 2017, UEO\nresponded with the following statements:\nThe Leesville Plant started up in early December 2014 but at that time the Leesville\ncontrol room was not utilized for the monitoring and control of liquid pipeline\nsystems. The monitoring and control of the liquid pipeline systems was a shared\nfunction between the Kensington and Harrison Plant Control Rooms since initial\nstart-up of the UEO system. At the time of the 2015 inspection, the monitoring,\nmeasurement, and control of all liquid pipeline systems had been transitioned and\ncentralized to the Leesville Plant.\nKensington and Harrison Plant Control rooms did monitor and control all or part of\nthe UEO pipeline systems through a SCADA system… Both the Kensington and\nHarrison Plants had the ability to monitor and control these pipelines… Given the\npipeline monitoring and control scheme above, it was determined that the\ncentralization of pipeline monitoring and control was necessary and therefore a\ntransition was started in 2014 that led to the pipeline control and monitoring at the\nLeesville Plant. All 3 plants had procedures and training in place for board/control\nroom operators to monitor and control the pipeline systems as described above but\nno single and formalized CRM Plan was in place (emphasis added). Various SOPs\nand Control System Manuals were utilized.\nIn another e-mail dated May 3, 2107, UEO stated that a “formalized CRM plan was implemented\nin 2015 as well as the pipeline control centralized at Leesville,prior to this our procedures for\npipeline control were intertwined with PSM plant Standard Operating Procedures. These\nprocedures were basic operating procedures (emphasis added).” UEO did not demostrate that it\nhad and followed written control room management procedures that implemented all requirements\nof §195.446 from 2013 to late mid-2015.\nTherefore, UEO failed to have and follow written control room management procedures that\nimplemented all requirements of §195.446 from 2013 to late mid-2015 as prescribed in\n§195.446(a).\nIn addition, the control room management procedures in the CRM were not incorporated, as\nappropriate, into the OM&E Manual. The OM&E Manual did not mention or reference the control\nroom management procedures in the CRM. Therefore, UEO failed to integrate control room\nmanagement procedures, as appropriate, into its written procedures for operations, maintenance,\nand emergencies which are required by §195.402 as prescribed in §195.446(a).\n120176003W_Warning Letter_06082017_text Page 3 of 4\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2017-6003W\nAs of April 27, 2017, under 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 CFR § 190.223, you are subject to a civil\npenalty not to exceed $209,002 per violation per day the violation persists up to a maximum of\n$2,090,022 for a related series of violations. We have reviewed the circumstances and supporting\ndocuments involved in this case, and have decided not to conduct additional enforcement action\nor penalty assessment proceedings at this time. We advise you to correct the items identified in\nthis letter. Failure to do so will result in Utica East Ohio Midstream LLC being subject to additional\nenforcement action.\nNo reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, please submit all correspondence to\nRobert Burrough, Acting Director, PHMSA Eastern Region, 820 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 103,\nWest Trenton, NJ 08628. Please refer to CPF 1- 2017-6003W on each document you submit, and\nwhenever possible provide a signed PDF copy in electronic format. Smaller files may be emailed\nto robert.burrough@dot.gov. Larger files should be sent on a CD accompanied by the original\npaper copy to the Eastern Region Office.\nPlease be advised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement action is subject to\nbeing made publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your responsive material qualifies\nfor confidential 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 confidential\ntreatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted information qualifies for\nconfidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b).\nSincerely,\nRobert Burrough\nActing Director, Eastern Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n120176003W_Warning Letter_06082017_text Page 4 of 4","truncated":false,"body_characters":10072}