{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 220041004","title":"ANR PIPELINE CO — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2004-04-30","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.745(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220041004.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220041004.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220041004","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/220041004","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving ANR PIPELINE CO. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 192.745(a). The case was opened on 2004-04-30 and is reported as closed as of 2009-01-06. Proposed civil penalty: $5,000. Assessed civil penalty: $5,000. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n220041004_FinalOrder_01062009.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220041004/220041004_FinalOrder_01062009.pdf\n\n220041004_FinalOrder_01062009_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220041004/220041004_FinalOrder_01062009_text.pdf\n\n220041004_FinalOrder_01062009_text.pdf\n\nMr. Vern Meier\nVice President, Field Operations\nANR Pipeline Company\n717 Texas Avenue\nHouston, TX 77002\nRE: CPF No. 2-2004-1004\nDear Mr. Meier:\nEnclosed is the Final Order issued by Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nin the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of violation and assesses a civil penalty of\n$5,000. I acknowledge receipt of your payment of $5,000 and accept it as payment in full of\nthe penalty. This case is now closed. Your receipt of the Final Order constitutes service of\nthat document 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: Linda Daugherty, Director, Southern Region, PHMSA\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____________________________________\n)\nIn the Matter of )\n)\nANR PIPELINE COMPANY, ) CPF No. 2-2004-1004\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nBetween May and August 2003, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Research\nand Special Programs Administration, Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS),1 conducted an on-site\npipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of ANR Pipeline Company (ANR or\nRespondent) in its Alabama, Arkansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Mississippi, and Tennessee\noperating areas. Respondent is a wholly-owned subsidiary of TransCanada Corporation, which\nowns over 36,500 miles of natural gas pipelines throughout Canada, the United States, and\nMexico.² As a result of the inspection, the Director, Southern Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated April 30, 2004, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil\nPenalty (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. §190.207, the Notice proposed finding that\nRespondent had violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.745(a) and assessing a civil penalty of $5,000 for the\nalleged violation.\nANR responded to the Notice by letter dated June 4, 2004 (Response). Respondent did not\ncontest the allegation of violation but provided information concerning certain corrective actions\nit had taken. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\n1 Effective February 20, 2005, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) was created to ensure\nsafety in pipeline and hazardous materials transportation. See, Section 108 of the Norman Y. Mineta Research and Special\nPrograms Improvement Act (Public Law 108-426, 118 Stat. 2423-2429 (November 30, 2004)). See also, 70 Fed. Reg. 8299\n(February 18, 2005), redelegating the pipeline safety functions of the Research and Special Programs Administration to PHMSA.\n² At the time of the inspection, ANR was owned by El Paso Corporation, which subsequently transferred ownership to\nTransCanada Corporation in 2007.\nPursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 C.F.R. §§ 190.209(a)(1) and 190.213, I find that\nRespondent violated 49 C.F.R. Part 192, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.745(a), which states:\n\n\n\n2\n§ 192.745 Valve maintenance: Transmission lines.\n(a) Each transmission line valve that might be required during any\nemergency must be inspected and partially operated at intervals not\nexceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year….\nThe Notice alleged that during 2001 and 2002, ANR failed to inspect and partially operate,\nwithin the required interval, 18 line valves that might be used in emergencies. The valves and\ninspection dates were as follows:\nVALVE 2001 INSPECTION 2002 INSPECTION EXCEEDS 15 MONTHS BY:\n501-30-11 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-12 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-13 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-C 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-D 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-21 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-22 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-A 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-B 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-32 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-F 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30-17 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 6 days\n501-30A-3 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 5 days\n501-30A-A 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 5 days\n501-30A-B 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 5 days\n501-30-A-18 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 5 days\n501-30A-19 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 5 days\n501-30-E 08/21/2001 12/27/2002 1 month, 5 days.\nIn its Response, ANR did not contest the allegation but indicated that it had examined its\nmaintenance scheduling practices and would implement two processes to ensure that similar\nviolations would not occur in the future. The first would revise the company’s work orders to\nsize them more properly to reflect the actual work being performed. In the alternative, the\ncompany would implement other appropriate steps tailored to specific location conditions.\nValve inspections at the required time intervals are essential in order for operators to know that\ntheir pipeline equipment is functioning properly and its integrity is not compromised. After\nconsidering all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.745(a) by failing\nto inspect the valves listed above at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each\ncalendar year.\nThis finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action\ntaken against Respondent.\nASSESSMENT OF PENALTY\n\n\n\n3\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122, Respondent is subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000 per\nviolation for each day of violation, up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any related series of\nviolations.\n49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 C.F.R. § 190.225 require that, in determining the amount of the civil\npenalty, I consider the following criteria: nature, circumstances, and gravity of the violation,\nincluding adverse impact on the environment; degree of Respondent's culpability, the history of\nRespondent's prior offenses, Respondent's ability to pay the penalty, and any effect that the\npenalty may have on its ability to continue doing business; and the good faith of Respondent in\nattempting to comply with pipeline safety regulations. In addition, I may consider the economic\nbenefit gained from the violation without any reduction because of subsequent damages, and\nsuch other matters as justice may require.\nItem 1 of the Notice proposed a civil penalty of $5,000 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.745(a).\nAs noted above, Respondent failed to inspect and partially operate 18 of its line valves that\nmight be used in emergencies within the required intervals between August 2001 and December\n2002. ANR did not contest the allegation but provided certain information about corrective\nactions it had taken to prevent future violations.\nThe inspection requirements set forth in § 192.745(a) are designed to reduce the risk of accident\nand injury to human life, the environment, and property in the event of pipeline emergencies.\nInoperative or malfunctioning valves may delay appropriate emergency response, thereby\nexposing the public and the environment to greater risks of injury and damage. Accordingly,\nhaving reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I assess Respondent a civil\npenalty of $5,000, which Respondent has already remitted to PHMSA.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order shall be effective upon receipt.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety","truncated":false,"body_characters":8360}