{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 12021053WL","title":"ADELPHIA GATEWAY, LLC — Warning Letter","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2021-07-09","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED warning letter citing 192.225(a), 192.305.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-12021053wl.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-12021053wl.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-12021053wl","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/12021053WL","body":"Warning Letter involving ADELPHIA GATEWAY, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.225(a),  192.305. The case was opened on 2021-07-09 and is reported as closed as of 2021-07-09. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n12021053WL_Warning Letter_07092021_(20-187757).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/12021053WL/12021053WL_Warning%20Letter_07092021_(20-187757).pdf\n\n12021053WL_Warning Letter_07092021_(20-187757)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/12021053WL/12021053WL_Warning%20Letter_07092021_(20-187757)_text.pdf\n\n12021053WL_Warning Letter_07092021_(20-187757)_text.pdf\n\nWARNING LETTER\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: grichman@njresources.com\nJuly 9, 2021\nMs. Ginger Richman\nPresident\nAdelphia Gateway, LLC\n1415 Wyckoff Road\nPO Box 1464\nWall, NJ 07719\nCPF 1-2021-053-WL\nDear Ms. Richman:\nFrom January 26 to March 17, 2021, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration (PHMSA) pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code (U.S.C.)\ninspected Adelphia Gateway, LLC’s (Adelphia) pipeline project in Collegeville, Quakertown, and\nLinwood, PA.\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. § 192.225 Welding procedures.\n(a) Welding must be performed by a qualified welder or welding\noperator in accordance with welding procedures qualified under\nsection 5, section 12, Appendix A or Appendix B of API Std 1104\n(incorporated by reference, see § 192.7), or section IX of the ASME\nBoiler and Pressure Vessel Code (ASME BPVC) (incorporated by\nreference, see § 192.7) to produce welds meeting the requirements of\nthis subpart. The quality of the test welds used to qualify welding\nprocedures must be determined by destructive testing in accordance\nwith the applicable welding standard(s).\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2021-053-WL\nAdelphia failed to perform welding in accordance with a procedure qualified under API 1104 to\nproduce a weld meeting the requirements of 49 CFR 192 Subpart E. Specifically, mainline valve\nweld ID #ATI-003 welded on 12/08/20 at the Baltimore Pike mainline valve (MLV) site was\nproduced in the absence of a qualified welding procedure specification (WPS) meeting the material\ngrade grouping requirements of the 20th Edition of API 1104 Section 5.4.2.2 (b). The specific\nWPS covering the proper grouping of material grades for weld ID #ATI-003, which involved the\njoining of grade X52 pipe material to existing with the title of NJR-X60-V-G1&2, was not\nproduced and qualified for use on the Adelphia Gateway Project (AGP) until December 30, 2020,\nthus rendering weld ATI-003 completed on December 8, 2020 in violation of § 192.225(a).\nDuring inspections in January and March 2021, the PHMSA inspector reviewed main line valves\n(MLV) already installed, along with associated welding records. The review included a welding\nprocedure entitled BW-3 which was developed by J.F. Kiely Construction, a contractor for the\nAGP. BW-3 covered a single material grouping for Grade X65 pipe material. Existing mainline\npiping was comprised of Grade X52 material. The MLV sets installed to date were pre-fabricated,\nand were made up of short 18” diameter pipe pups welded to the MLV.\nOn February 3, 2021, the PHMSA inspector requested the complete project data package for the\nprefabricated MLV. This data was requested to verify material grade of the pipe pups, as that\ninformation was noted to be completely obscured by FBE coating applied by 3rd party vendor Big\nElk Energy Systems. The PHMSA inspector noted that AGP involves the installation of nine\nMLVs, two of which were already installed as of February 8, 2021. The Baltimore Pike MLV\nhad been installed and backfilled prior to the March 2021 inspection, and Perkiomen MLV was\ninstalled and being prepared for backfill.\nBased on review of documents received on February 8, 2021, the material grade of the MLV pipe\npups were noted to be X52. Prior to the March 2021 inspection, the PHMSA inspector requested\na copy of a qualified WPS that covered all newly installed MLV welds completed on the AGP,\nspecifically a WPS that covered material grades less than X65. Adelphia responded to the WPS\nrequest via email on March 15, 2021, then further requested a phone call to discuss the NJR-X60-\nV-G1&2 WPS which was attached, and covered API 5L pipe grade material greater and/or equal\nto X42 up to and including X60. However, as noted above, NJR-X60-V-G1&2 had not been\nproduced and qualified for use on the AGP until December 30, 2020.\nOn March 16, 2021, while on-site at the Perkiomen MLV, the PHMSA inspector received a call\nfrom the regulatory liaison on the AGP. During the call, Adelphia conveyed that based on review\nof records that the PHMSA inspector requested, one 18-inch mainline weld produced as part of\nthe Baltimore Pike MLV installation, and later identified as weld ID #ATI-003, was not performed\nin accordance with a qualified welding procedure as required by § 192.225(a). Weld ID #ATI-\n003 was produced on December 8, 2020, 22 days prior to the production and qualification of WPS\nNJR-X60-V-G1&2. Adelphia understood that by fabricating the weld prior to the development of\na pertinent qualified WPS, that weld could not be determined to possess suitable mechanical\nproperties and soundness as required by § 192.225(a). Thus, Adelphia decided to cutout and\nreplace weld ID #ATI-003. The replacement was completed on March 30, 2021.\n12021053WL_Warning Letter_07092021_(20-187757)_text Page 2 of 4\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2021-053-WL\nTherefore, Adelphia failed to perform welding in accordance with § 192.225(a) as it pertains to\nAPI 1104, Section 5.\n2. § 192.305 Inspection: General.\nEach transmission line or main must be inspected to ensure that it\nis constructed in accordance with this part.\nAdelphia failed to inspect installation of the Perkiomen MLV set as it pertains to § 192.225(a).\nSpecifically, Adelphia failed to record the weld procedure specification (WPS) that was utilized\nfor two welds, #ATI-001P and #ATI-002, carried out as part of the 18-inch diameter Perkiomen\nMLV installation on January 21, 2021, on its inspection reports.\nSection 192.225(a) states in part:\nWelding must be performed by a qualified welder or welding operator in accordance with\nwelding procedures qualified under section 5, section 12, Appendix A or Appendix B of API\nStd 1104 (incorporated by reference, see § 192.7), or section IX of the ASME Boiler and\nPressure Vessel Code (ASME BPVC) (incorporated by reference, see § 192.7) to produce\nwelds meeting the requirements of this subpart…\nFollowing inspections conducted March 16-17, 2021, the PHMSA inspector requested a copy of\nthe Welding Inspector’s Daily Report (WIDR) to ascertain the WPS that was utilized during the\ninstallation of the Perkiomen MLV set on January 21, 2021. Review of said record revealed\ndiscrepancies that appear to reference a § 192.225(a) non-compliant WPS, and comments within\nthe WIDR depict use of a project contractor’s (Kiely) WPS which was identified as BW-3.\nPreceding the request and review of the WIDR, the PHMSA inspector contacted the certified\nwelding inspector (CWI) who produced the report, and questioned what procedure was utilized for\nthe Perkiomen MLV installation. The CWI’s response stated that to his recollection, the New\nJersey Resources NJR-X60-V-G1&2 WPS (NJR-X60-V-G1&2) was utilized. Note, NJR-X60-V-\nG1&2 was previously deemed compliant by the PHMSA inspector. An explanation of the apparent\ndiscrepancies in the record was requested of Adelphia. Adelphia in-turn produced the CWI’s\npersonal notebook entry for January 21, 2021, an unofficial record, that referenced NJR-X60-V-\nG1&2.\nFollowing review of all pertinent documentation, the PHMSA inspector requested Adelphia\ncorrect discrepancies in the WIDR for January 21, 2021, and the responsible CWI’s signature be\naffixed as necessary. Also, to be consistent with reports provided for other sections of the project,\nthe PHMSA inspector requested that the WIDR tie the qualified WPS being followed to the weld(s)\nproduced.\nTherefore, by not initially providing official documentation that indicate a qualified WPS was\nfollowed in the production of Perkiomen MLV welds #ATI-001P and #ATI-002, Adelphia failed\nto comply with § 192.305 as it pertains to § 192.225(a).\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 CFR § 190.223, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed\n$222,504 per violation per day the violation persists, up to a maximum of $2,225,034 for a related\n12021053WL_Warning Letter_07092021_(20-187757)_text Page 3 of 4\n\n\n\nCPF 1-2021-053-WL\nseries of violations. For violation occurring on or after July 31, 2019 and before January 11, 2021,\nthe maximum penalty may not exceed $218,647 per violation per day the violation persists, up to\na maximum of $2,186,465 for a related series of violations. For violation occurring on or after\nNovember 27, 2018 and before July 31, 2019, the maximum penalty may not exceed $213,268 per\nviolation per day, with a maximum penalty not to exceed $2,132,679. For violation occurring on\nor after November 2, 2015 and before November 27, 2018, the maximum penalty may not exceed\n$209,002 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not to exceed $2,090,022.\nWe have reviewed the circumstances and supporting documents involved in this case, and have\ndecided not to conduct additional enforcement action or penalty assessment proceedings at this\ntime. We advise you to correct the items identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in\nAdelphia Gateway, LLC being subject to additional enforcement action.\nNo reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer to\nCPF 1-2021-053-WL. Be advised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement\naction is subject to being made publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your\nresponsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the\ncomplete original document you must provide a second copy of the document with the portions\nyou believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the\nredacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b).\nSincerely,\nRobert Burrough\nDirector, Eastern Region, Office of Pipeline Safety\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n12021053WL_Warning Letter_07092021_(20-187757)_text Page 4 of 4","truncated":false,"body_characters":10652}