{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 120190013W","title":"DANVILLE, CITY OF — Warning Letter","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2019-09-13","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED warning letter citing 192.616(a), 192.616(c).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120190013w.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120190013w.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-120190013w","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/120190013W","body":"Warning Letter involving DANVILLE, CITY OF. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.616(a),  192.616(c). The case was opened on 2019-09-13 and is reported as closed as of 2019-09-13. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n120190013W_Warning Letter_09132019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120190013W/120190013W_Warning%20Letter_09132019.pdf\n\n120190013W_Warning Letter_09132019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/120190013W/120190013W_Warning%20Letter_09132019_text.pdf\n\n120190013W_Warning Letter_09132019_text.pdf\n\nWARNING LETTER\nOVERNIGHT EXPRESS DELIVERY\nSeptember 13, 2019\nKelly P. Kinnett, P.E.\nWater and Gas Director\nCity of Danville\n1040 Monument Street.\nDanville, VA 24540\nCPF 1-2019-0013W\nDear Mr. Kinnett:\nFrom July 19, 2017 to November 9, 2017, inspectors from the Virginia State Corporation\nComission (VA SCC), acting as Agent for the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code, inspected the City\nof Danville’s (City) procedures.\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 item(s) inspected\nand the probable violation(s) are:\n1. §192.616 Public Awareness\n(a) Except for an operator of a master meter or petroleum gas system covered under\nparagraph (j) of this section, each pipeline operator must develop and implement\na written continuing public education program that follows the guidance\nprovided in the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Recommended Practice\n(RP) 1162 (incorporated by reference, see § 192.7).\nThe City failed to implement a written continuing public education program that follows the\nguidance provided in the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Recommended Practice (RP) 1162.\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2019-0013W\nSpecifically, the City failed to obtain management commitment and support for the City’s Baseline\nand Supplemental Public Awareness Programs.\nAPI RP 1162, Public Awareness Programs for Pipeline Operators, 1st edition, December 2003,\nincorporated by reference, stated in part:\n“2.6 Baseline and Supplemental Public Awareness Programs\n…\nStep 2. Obtain Management Commitment and Support\n Develop a company Policy and “statement of support” for the Public Awareness\nProgram. This should include a commitment of participation, resources, and funding\nfor the development, implementation, and management of the program.”\nDuring the inspection, VASCC inspector reviewed the City’s Public Awareness Plan, revised\nDecember 2013 (Plan). Appendix E Supplement 1 Statement of Support of the Plan was unsigned\nand undated by the Mayor and City Manager lines.\nPer the City’s Response to Notice of Investigation, dated September 20, 2017, the City\nacknowledged that no record of a signed Statement of Support was found. The City attached an\nupdated Statement of Support, signed by the Director of Utilities and the Division Director of\nWater & Gas on 9/18/2017.\nTherefore, the City failed to implement a written continuing public education program that\nfollowed the guidance provided in API RP 1162.\n2. §192.616 Public Awareness\n(a) Except for an operator of a master meter or petroleum gas system covered under\nparagraph (j) of this section, each pipeline operator must develop and implement\na written continuing public education program that follows the guidance\nprovided in the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Recommended Practice\n(RP) 1162 (incorporated by reference, see § 192.7).\nThe City failed to implement a written continuing public education program that follows the\nguidance provided in the American Petroleum Institute's (API) Recommended Practice (RP) 1162.\nSpecifically, the City failed to complete and document annual reviews of its program\nimplementation in accordance with Section 2.3 of the City’s Public Awareness Plan, revised\nDecember 2013 (Plan).\nAPI RP 1162, Public Awareness Programs for Pipeline Operators, 1st edition, December 2003,\nincorporated by reference, stated in part:\n120190013W_Warning Letter_09132019_text Page 2 of 5\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2019-0013W\n“8.3 Measuring Program Implementation\nThe operator should complete an annual audit or review of whether the program has been\ndeveloped and implemented according to the guidelines in this RP.”\nDuring the inspection, VASCC inspector reviewed the City’s Plan. The Plan stated in part:\n“2.3 Program Effectiveness Review\nThe PA Program Administrator or his designee is responsible for periodic review of the\nperformance of the Public Awareness Program. … Form 2.2-Annual Review will be\npopulated annually. Form 2.2 is to be placed in Appendix E after completion. …”\nThe VA SCC inspector requested Form 2.2-Annual Review for 2014, 2015, and 2016. The City\nprovided records of activities that occurred in 2014, 2015, and 2016, but not the completed Form\n2.2-Annual Review.\nTherefore, the City failed to implement its written continuing public education program that\nfollowed the guidance provided in API RP 1162 by failing to complete and document an annual\nreview of its Plan implementation using Form 2.2-Annual Review during 2014-2016.\n3. §192.616 Public Awareness\n(c) The operator must follow the general program recommendations, including\nbaseline and supplemental requirements of API RP 1162, unless the operator\nprovides justification in its program or procedural manual as to why compliance\nwith all or certain provisions of the recommended practice is not practicable and\nnot necessary for safety.\nThe City failed to follow the general program recommendations, including baseline and\nsupplemental requirements of American Petroleum Institute's (API) Recommended Practice (RP)\n1162. Specifically, the City failed to measure program effectiveness for excavating companies,\nlocal government, and local first responder agencies in accordance with API RP 1162, Public\nAwareness Programs for Pipeline Operators, 1st edition, December 2003 (RP 1162), Section 8.4.\nRP 1162 stated in part:\n“8.4 Measuring Program Effectiveness\nOperators should assess progress on the following measures to assess whether the actions\nundertaken in implementation of this RP are achieving the intended goals and objectives:\no Whether the information is reaching the intended stakeholder audiences\no If the recipient audiences are understanding the messages delivered\no Whether the recipients are motivated to respond appropriately in alignment with\nthe information provided\no …\n120190013W_Warning Letter_09132019_text Page 3 of 5\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2019-0013W\nThe following four measures describe how the operator should evaluate for effectiveness:\n8.4.1 Measure 1 – Outreach: Percentage of Each Intended Audience Reached with Desired\nMessages\nThis is a basic measurement indicting whether the operator’s public awareness messages\nare getting to the intended stakeholders… excavating companies, local government, and\nlocal first responder agencies.\n…\n8.4.2 Measure 2 – Understanding of the Content of the Message\nThis measure would assess the percentage of the intended stakeholder audience that\nunderstood and retained the key information in the message received.\n…\n8.4.3 Measure 3 – Desired Behaviors by the Intended Stakeholder Audience\nThis measure is aimed at determining whether appropriate prevention behaviors have been\nlearned and is taking place when needed and whether appropriate response or mitigation\nbehaviors would occur and have taken place…”\nDuring the inspection, VASCC inspector reviewed the City’s Public Awareness Plan, Revision\nDecember 2013 (PAP). The PAP stated in part:\n“The City of Danville hereby adopts the APGA GOAL Program to evaluate their Public\nAwareness Program for the Affected Public.”\nThe American Public Gas Association (APGA) Gas Overall Awareness Level (GOAL), included\nin the PAP, stated in part:\n“Effectiveness assessments must also be done for excavators, public officials and\nemergency responders - the three other target audiences listed in RP 1162. These are not\nincluded in APGA GOAL.”\nThe VA SCC inspector reviewed records of the City’s program evaluation which consisted of\nmeeting roster sheets and questionnaires. The City was unable to provide suitable records to\ndemonstrate that the City had evaluated the measures found in sections 8.4.1-8.4.3 of API RP 1162\nfor excavating companies, local government and local first responder agencies.\nOn September 1, 2017, the VA SCC issued a Notice of Investigation (NOI) to the City. The City’s\nSeptember 20, 2017 response to the NOI stated in part:\n“The City has evaluated its programs effectiveness and understandability of its messages\nthat have been sent out to all stakeholder groups and have attempted to evaluate the\neffectiveness through APGA phone surveys, direct mailings with feedback questionnaires,\ndamage prevention meetings (quarterly) and meetings with Local Emergency Planning\nCommissions (six times a year). We have not received the desired responses nor\nconfirmation of the desired behavior changes. The City is reassessing its methods for\nconfirming message delivery effectiveness concerning public safety and knowledge of\nnatural gas so that they are thoroughly understood by all of its stakeholders.”\n120190013W_Warning Letter_09132019_text Page 4 of 5\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2019-0013W\nIn an additional response to the NOI on November 2, 2017, the City provided outreach statistics\nfrom November 2014. However, statistics for excavator companies were not provided.\nTherefore, the City failed to follow the general program recommendations, including baseline and\nsupplemental requirements of API RP 1162.\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 CFR § 190.223, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed\n$213,268 per violation per day the violation persists, up to a maximum of $2,132,679 for a related\nseries of violations. For violation occurring on or after November 2, 2015 and before November\n27, 2018, the maximum penalty may not exceed $209,002 per violation per day, with a maximum\npenalty not to exceed $2,090,022. For violations occurring prior to November 2, 2015, the\nmaximum penalty may not exceed $200,000 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not to\nexceed $2,000,000 for a related series of violations. We have reviewed the circumstances and\nsupporting documents involved in this case, and have decided not to conduct additional\nenforcement action or penalty assessment proceedings at this time. We advise you to correct the\nitem(s) identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in the City of Danville being subject to\nadditional enforcement action.\nBe advised 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 must\nprovide 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).\nNo reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, please submit all correspondence in this\nmatter to Robert Burrough, Director, PHMSA Eastern Region, 840 Bear Tavern Road, Suite 300,\nWest Trenton, NJ 08628. Please refer to CPF 1-2019-0013W 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 USB flash drive accompanied by the\noriginal paper copy to the Eastern Region Office.\nSincerely,\nRobert Burrough\nDirector, Eastern Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n120190013W_Warning Letter_09132019_text Page 5 of 5","truncated":false,"body_characters":11909}