{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 12021013NOPV","title":"TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPE LINE COMPANY — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2021-06-17","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 193.2521, 193.2605(b).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-12021013nopv.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-12021013nopv.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-12021013nopv","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/12021013NOPV","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPE LINE COMPANY. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 193.2521,  193.2605(b). The case was opened on 2021-06-17 and is reported as closed as of 2021-12-15. Proposed civil penalty: $93,900. Assessed civil penalty: $41,000. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n12021013NOPV_Final Order_12012021_(20-172062).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/12021013NOPV/12021013NOPV_Final%20Order_12012021_(20-172062).pdf\n\n12021013NOPV_Final Order_12012021_(20-172062)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/12021013NOPV/12021013NOPV_Final%20Order_12012021_(20-172062)_text.pdf\n\n12021013NOPV_Operator Response to Notice_09302021_(20-172062).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/12021013NOPV/12021013NOPV_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_09302021_(20-172062).pdf\n\n12021013NOPV_PCP_06172021_(20-172062).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/12021013NOPV/12021013NOPV_PCP_06172021_(20-172062).pdf\n\n12021013NOPV_PCP_06172021_(20-172062)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/12021013NOPV/12021013NOPV_PCP_06172021_(20-172062)_text.pdf\n\n12021013NOPV_Final Order_12012021_(20-172062)_text.pdf\n\nDecember 1, 2021\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: mark.cluff@williams.com\nMr. Mark Cluff\nVice President, Safety & Operational Discipline\nTranscontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC\nOne Williams Center\nP.O. Box 645\nTulsa, Oklahoma 74172\nRe: CPF No. 1-2021-013-NOPV\nDear Mr. Cluff:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $41,000. 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 e-mail is effective upon the date of transmission as provided under 49 C.F.R.\n§ 190.5.\nThank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nAlan K. Mayberry\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\nEnclosures\ncc: Mr. Robert Burrough, Director, Eastern Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA\nMr. Alan Armstrong, President and Chief Executive Officer, Williams Partners, LP,\nalan.armstrong@williams.com\nMr. Tyson Green, Manager Pipeline Safety, Williams Partners, LP,\ntyson.green@williams.com\nCONFIRMATION OF 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)\nTranscontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC, a subsidiary of Williams Partners, LP, )\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________________)\n) CPF No. 1-2021-013-NOPV\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom October 19, 2020 through November 4, 2020, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a\nrepresentative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office\nof Pipeline Safety (OPS), conducted an inspection of the procedures and records of\nTranscontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC’s (Transco or Respondent) Station 240 LNG\nplant in Carlstadt, New Jersey. Transco, a subsidiary of Williams Partners, LP (Williams),\noperates a 10,000-mile interstate transmission pipeline system from south Texas to New York\nCity.1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Eastern Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated June 17, 2021, 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 Transco had\nviolated 49 C.F.R. § 193. 2605 and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $93,900 for the alleged\nviolation. The Notice also included an additional warning item pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205,\nwhich required no further action, but warned the operator to correct the probable violation or\nface possible future enforcement action.\nOn June 25, 2021, Williams, on behalf of Transco, requested the Pipeline Safety Violation\nReport and the Proposed Civil Penalty Worksheet, which PHMSA provided on July 1, 2021. On\nJuly 16, 2021, Williams requested an extension of time to respond to the Notice, which PHMSA\ngranted on July 22, 2021. On August 19, 2021, Williams and OPS Eastern Region (collectively,\nthe Parties) met telephonically to discuss a possible resolution of the case. During the informal\nconference and subsequent follow-up discussions, the Parties offered additional information\nregarding the allegation of violation, and an agreement was reached that resolved all of the issues\nin the Notice.\n1 Williams website, Operations, available at https://www.williams.com/pipeline/transco/ (last accessed November\n10, 2021).\n\n\n\nCPF No. 1-2021-013-NOPV\nPage 2\nOn September 14, 2021, Williams requested a 30-day time extension to respond to the Notice\nand responded to the Notice by letter dated September 30, 2021 (Response). The company did\nnot contest the allegation of violation but provided additional information and requested that the\nproposed civil penalty be reduced. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has\nwaived its right to one.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Transco did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 193, as follows:\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 193.2605, which states:\n§ 193.2605 Maintenance procedures.\n(a) …\n(b) Each operator shall follow one or more manuals of written\nprocedures for the maintenance of each component, including any required\ncorrosion control…\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 193.2605 by failing to follow its\nmanual of written procedures for the inspection of support systems. Specifically, the Notice\nalleged that Transco failed to follow its 53.00.08 - Inspect Structural Support Systems\n(Procedure) for conducting the 5-Year visual inspection of structural supports and foundations at\nthe LNG Plant.\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. § 193.2605 by failing to follow its\nmanual of written procedures for the inspection of support systems.\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.2\nIn determining the amount of a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 C.F.R. § 190.225, I\nmust consider the following criteria: the nature, circumstances, and gravity of the violation,\nincluding adverse impact on the environment; the degree of Respondent’s culpability; the history\nof Respondent’s prior offenses; any effect that the penalty may have on its ability to continue\n2 These amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. See 49 C.F.R. § 190.223.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 1-2021-013-NOPV\nPage 3\ndoing business; the good faith of Respondent in attempting to comply with the pipeline safety\nregulations; and self-disclosure or actions to correct a violation prior to discovery by PHMSA.\nIn addition, I may consider the economic benefit gained from the violation without any reduction\nbecause of subsequent damages, and such other matters as justice may require. The Notice\nproposed a total civil penalty of $93,900 for the violation cited above.\nItem 2: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $93,900 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 193.2605, for failing to follow its manual of written procedures for the inspection of support\nsystems. Williams provided a written explanation for an adjusted civil penalty amount in its\nResponse. Specifically, the company noted that during the informal settlement meeting, OPS\nagreed that the civil penalty assessment factor for the gravity of the violation should be adjusted\nfrom “the violation is against 49 C.F.R. Part 193” to “pipeline safety was minimally affected.”\nAlthough Item 2 was a Part 193 violation, pipeline safety was minimally affected.3 In 2018, the\ncompany completed a visual inspection of the structural supports and foundations of its LNG\nPlant. The subsequent report titled “Year 2018 Station 240 Concrete Support Inspection Report,\ndated 12/18/18” (Report) indicated that the concrete supports were found to need minor repairs\nbut were otherwise structurally sound and presented no immediate safety or operational issues.\nHowever, the Report mistakenly omitted the prioritization of the conditions, as required by the\nProcedure. This omission minimally impacted pipeline safety. Based upon the foregoing, I\nassess Respondent a reduced civil penalty of $41,000 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 193.2605.\nPayment of the civil penalty must be made within 20 days of service. Federal regulations (49\nC.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, 6500 S MacArthur Blvd, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 79169.\nThe Financial Operations Division telephone number is (405) 954-8845.\nFailure to pay the $41,000 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.\nWARNING ITEM\nWith respect to Item 1, the Notice alleged probable violation of Part 193, but identified it as a\nwarning item pursuant to § 190.205. The warning was for:\n3 See Pipeline Safety Violation Report (Violation Report), June 17, 2021 (on file with PHMSA) at 9 (instructing OPS\nto “[s]elect the most severe category that applies to any of the instances of the violation - except select Category 5\nregardless of the location if pipeline safety was minimally affected by all instances of the violation.”).\n\n\n\nCPF No. 1-2021-013-NOPV\nPage 4\n49 C.F.R. § 193.2521 (Item 1) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to maintain records\nthat personnel responded to indications of abnormal operations.\nIf OPS finds a violation of this provision in a subsequent inspection, Respondent may be subject\nto future enforcement action.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.243, Respondent may submit a Petition for Reconsideration of this Final\nOrder to the Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey\nAvenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20590, with a copy sent to the Office of\nChief Counsel, PHMSA, at the same address, no later than 20 days after receipt of service of the\nFinal Order by Respondent. Any petition submitted must contain a brief statement of the issue(s)\nand meet all other requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.243. The filing of a petition automatically\nstays the payment of any civil penalty assessed. The other terms of the order, including any\ncorrective action, remain in effect unless the Associate Administrator, upon request, grants a\nstay. If Respondent submits payment of the civil penalty, the Final Order becomes the final\nadministrative decision and the right to petition for reconsideration is waived.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\nDecember 1, 2021\n___________________________________ __________________________\nAlan K. Mayberry Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety","truncated":false,"body_characters":12033}