{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 220081010W","title":"RATON GAS TRANSMISSION CO — Warning Letter","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2008-12-16","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED warning letter citing 192.225, 192.241(b), 192.243(b)(1), 192.243(b)(2), 192.465(a), 192.615(b)(2), 192.615(b)(3), 192.807, 192.809, 192.907(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220081010w.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220081010w.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220081010w","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/220081010W","body":"Warning Letter involving RATON GAS TRANSMISSION CO. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.225,  192.241(b),  192.243(b)(1),  192.243(b)(2),  192.465(a),  192.615(b)(2),  192.615(b)(3),  192.807,  192.809,  192.907(a). The case was opened on 2008-12-16 and is reported as closed as of 2008-12-16. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n220081010W_warning letter_12162008.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220081010W/220081010W_warning%20letter_12162008.pdf\n\n220081010w_warning letter_12162008_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220081010W/220081010w_warning%20letter_12162008_text.pdf\n\n220081010w_warning letter_12162008_text.pdf\n\nU. S. Department\nof Transportation\nPipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration\n233 Peachtree Street Ste. 600\nAtlanta, GA 30303\nWARNING LETTER\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT RE UESTED\nDecember 16, 2008\nMr. David N. Link\nVice President\nRaton Gas Transmission\n223 N. Guadalupe ¹274\nSanta Fe, New Mexico 87501-1850\nCPF 2-2008-1010W\nDear Mr. Link:\nOn July 22 — 24 and August 5 — 6, 2008, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration (PHMSA) pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code\ninspected your records in Raton, New Mexico and facilities in Colorado and New Mexico.\nAs a result of the inspection, it appears that you have committed probable violations of the\nPipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected and\nthe probable violation(s) are:\nI1192. 615 Emergency plans.\n(b) Each operator shall:\n(3) Review employee activities to determine whether the procedures were\neffectively followed in each emergency.\ntt192. 605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline, a manual of\nwritten procedures for conducting operations and maintenance activities and for\nemergency response. For transmission lines, the manual must also include\nprocedures for handling abnormal operations. This manual must be reviewed and\nupdated by the operator at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once\neach calendar year. This manual must be prepared before operations of a pipeline\nsystem commence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations\nwhere operations and maintenance activities are conducted.\n\n\n\nRaton Gas Transmission (Raton) does not have records of the review of employee\nactions for %e September 15, 2004 incident that occurred in Las Animas County,\nColorado. Per Raton personnel, the review was conducted on September 17, 2004 with\nengineers from the PHMSA Western Region but there is no documentation of the\nreview. The results of the review are to be documented and retained per Raton's O&M\nProcedure 180 — Emergency Plan.\nRaton had no documentation of the post-accident review following the September 15,\n2004 incident.\n$192. 225 Welding procedures.\n(a) Welding must be performed by a qualified welder in accordance with welding\nprocedures qualified under section 5 of API 1104 (incorporated by reference, see\n11192. 7) or section IX of the ASME Boiler and Pressure Vessel Code \" Welding and\nBrazing Qualifications\" (incorporated by reference, see 11192. 7) to produce welds\nmeeting the requirements of this subpart. The quality of the test welds used to\nqualify welding procedures shall be determined by destructive testing in\naccordance with the applicable welding standard(s).\n(b) Each welding procedure must be recorded in detail, including the results of the\nqualifying tests. This record must be retained and followed whenever the\nprocedure is used.\nRaton did not have a copy of the welding procedure used to repair the pipeline\nfollowing the September 15, 2004 incident. Raton provided copies of welding\nprocedures that were used during the qualification of the welder during prior years, but\nnot the procedure used for the repair.\nRaton was unable to provide an approved welding procedure for the pipe replacement\nrepair following the September 14, 2004 incident. The welder qualification record\nprovided is not marked as a procedure qualification.\n$192. 241 Inspection and test of welds.\n(b) The welds on a pipeline to be operated at a pressure that produces a hoop\nstress of 20 percent or more of SMYS must be nondestructively tested in\naccordance with 1'1192. 243, except that welds that are visually inspected and\napproved by a qualified welding inspector need not be nondestructively tested if:\n(1) The pipe has a nominal diameter of less than 6 inches (152 millimeters); or\n(2) The pipeline is to be operated at a pressure that produces a hoop stress of less\nthan 40 percent of SMYS and the welds are so limited in number that\nnondestructive testing is impracticaL\n$192. 243 Nondestructive testing.\n\n\n\n(d) When nondestructive testing is required under tj192241(b), the following\npercentages of each day's field butt welds, selected at random by the operator,\nmust be nondestructively tested over their entire circumference;\n(4) At pipeline tie-ins, including tie-ins of replacement sections, 100 percent.\n(f) When nondestructive testing is required under (j192. 241(b), each operator must\nretain, for the life of the pipeline, a record showing by milepost, engineering\nstation, or by geographic feature, the number of girth welds made, the number\nnondestructively tested, the number rejected, and the disposition of the rejects.\nRaton does not have records of the nondestructive testing of the tie-in welds for the\nrepair made to the pipeline subsequent to the September 14, 2004 incident. Per Raton\npersonnel, the welds were examined by radiography and the films provided to PHMSA\nWestern Region engineers after the post-accident review.\nRaton does not have the records of the nondestructive testing performed on the tie-in\nwelds for the pipeline repairs made subsequent to the September 14, 2004 incident.\n4. $192. 243 Nondestructive testmg.\n(b) Nondestructive testing of welds must be performed:\n(1) In accordance with written procedures\nRaton does not have written copies of the nondestructive testing procedures used for the\nradiographic examination of the tie-in welds for the repair made to the pipeline\nsubsequent to the September 14, 2004 incident.\nRaton does not have the records of the nondestructive testing procedures used to\nexamine the tie-in welds for the pipeline repairs made subsequent to the\nSeptember 14, 2004 incident.\ntj192. 243 Nondestructive testing.\n(b) Nondestructive testing of welds must be performed:\n(2) By persons who have been trained and qualified in the established procedures\nand with the equipment employed in testing.\nRaton does not have the training and qualification records for the personnel who\nperformed the nondestructive testing of the tie-in welds for the repair made to the\npipeline subsequent to the September 14, 2004 incident,\n(j192. 807 Recordkeeping.\nEach operator shall maintain records that demonstrate compliance with this\nsubpart.\n(a) Qualification records shall include:\n(1) Identification of qualified individual(s);\n\n\n\n(2) Identification of the covered tasks the individual is qualified to perform;\n(3) Date(s) of current qualification; and\n(4) Qualification method(s).\n(b) Records supporting an individual's current qualification shall be maintained\nwhile he individual is performing the covered task. Records of prior qualification\nand records of individuals no longer performing covered tasks shall be retained for\na period of five years.\nRaton does not have the Operator Qualification (OQ) records for the welder and\nnondestructive testing personnel who performed the welding and radiographic\nexamination covered tasks of the tie-in welds for the pipeline repairs made subsequent\nto the September 14, 2004 incident.\nRaton does not have the OQ qualification records for contractor personnel who\nperformed covered tasks on the pipeline subsequent to the September 14, 2004 incident.\n$192. 615 Emergency plans.\n(b) Each operator shall:\n(2) Train the appropriate operating personnel to assure that they are\nknowledgeable of the emergency procedures and verify that the training is\neffective.\n$192. 605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline, a manual of\nwritten procedures for conducting operations and maintenance activities and for\nemergency response. For transmission lines, the manual must also include\nprocedures for handling abnormal operations. This manual must be reviewed and\nupdated by the operator at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once\neach calendar year. This manual must be prepared before operations of a pipeline\nsystem commence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations\nwhere operations and maintenance activities are conducted.\nRaton does not have documentation for emergency training conducted in 2005, 2006,\nand 2007. Per Raton personnel the emergency response training is conducted with\nRaton's annual OQ refresher training — the OQ refresher training documentation does\nnot address the emergency response training. Annual emergency training is required by\nRaton's O&M Procedure 180 — Emergency Plan.\nRaton could not provide training records for the 2005, 2006, and 2007 emergency\nresponse training.\n$192. 465 External corrosion control: Monitoring.\n(a) Each pipeline that is under cathodic protection must be tested at least once\neach calendar year, but with intervals not exceeding 15 months, to determine\n\n\n\nwhether the cathodic protection meets the requirements of (1192. 463. However, if\ntests at those intervals are impractical for separately protected short sections of\nmains or transmission lines, not in excess of 100 feet (30 meters), or separately\nprotected service lines, these pipelines may be surveyed on a sampling basis. At\nleast 10 percent of these protected structures, distributed over the entire system\nmust be surveyed each calendar year, with a different 10 percent checked each\nsubsequent year, so that the entire system is tested in each 10-year period.\nRaton exceeded the 15 month interval between the 2006 and 2007 readings for the\nannual cathodic protection survey at County Road 72-2 and Raton' s Trinidad Station.\nThe readings at the test stations were taken in April 2006 and December 2007. The\nrecords do not show the date the readings were taken, therefore the readings exceeded\n15 months by at least four (4) months.\nRaton's Form 2100 for 2006 and 2007 show the test stations at Trinidad Station and\nCounty Road 73-2 were checked for cathodic protection readings in April 2006 and\nDecember 2007.\nC1192. 907 What must an operator do to implement this subpart?\n(a) General. No later than December 17, 2004, an operator of a covered pipeline\nsegment must develop and follow a written integrity management program that\ncontains all the elements described in t'1192. 911 and that addresses the risks on\neach covered transmission pipeline segment. The initial integrity management\nprogram must consist, at a minimum, of a framework that describes the process\nfor implementing each program element, how relevant decisions will be made and\nby whom, a time line for completing the work to implement the program element,\nand how information gained from experience will be continuously incorporated\ninto the program. The framework will evolve into a more detailed and\ncomprehensive program. An operator must make continual improvements to the\nprogram.\n11192. 905 How does an operator identify a high consequence area?\n(a) General. To determine which segments of an operator's transmission pipeline\nsystem are covered by this subpart, an operator must identify the high\nconsequence areas. An operator must use method (1) or (2) from the definition in\ntI192. 903 to identify a high consequence area. An operator may apply one method\nto its entire pipeline system, or an operator may apply one method to individual\nportions of the pipeline system. An operator must describe in its integrity\nmanagement program which method it is applying to each portion of the\noperator's pipeline system. The description must include the potential impact\nradius when utilized to establish a high consequence area. (See appendix EL for\nguidance on identifying high consequence areas. )\n(b)(1) Identified sires. An operator must identify an identified site, for purposes of\nthis subpart, from information the operator has obtained from routine operation\n\n\n\nand maintenance activities and from public officials with safety or emergency\nresponse or planning responsibilities who indicate to the operator that they know\nof locations that meet the identified site criteria. These public officials could\ninclude officials on a local emergency planning commission or relevant Native\nAmerican tribal officials.\nRaton's Pipeline Integrity Management Plan states that Raton uses method l to\ndetermine high consequence areas and none were identified on the pipeline. Raton\npersonnel stated that this check was accomplished during the 2004 patrol of the pipeline\nbut the 2004 Form 1100 Pipeline Patrolling Record does not state the check made for\nidentified sites. Raton's Pipeline Integrity Management Plan Revised August 1, 2008\nstates that no identified sites were found in a physical walk of the pipeline by Raton's\nvice president and a senior technician and in contacts with local officials.\n10. tt192. 907 What must an operator do to implement this subpart?\n(a) General. No later than December 17, 2004, an operator of a covered pipeline\nsegment must develop and follow a written integrity management program that\ncontains all the elements described in (t192. 911 and that addresses the risks on\neach covered transmission pipeline segment. The initial integrity management\nprogram must consist, at a minimum, of a framework that describes the process\nfor implementing each program element, how relevant decisions will be made and\nby whom, a time line for completing the work to implement the program element,\nand how information gained from experience will be continuously incorporated\ninto the program. The framework will evolve into a more detailed and\ncomprehensive program. An operator must make continual improvements to the\nprogram.\ntt192. 905 How does an operator identify a high consequence area?\n(c) Newly identified areas. When an operator has information that the area around\na pipeline segment not previously identified as a high consequence area could\nsatisfy any of the definitions in t)192. 903, the operator must complete the\nevaluation using method (1) or (2). If the seginent is determined to meet the\ndefinition as a high consequence area, it must be incorporated into the operator's\nbaseline assessment plan as a high consequence area within one year from the date\nthe area is identified;\nRaton's 2005 and 2006 Form 1100 Pipeline Patrolling Record does not state the\npipeline was checked for identified sites. The 2006, 2007, and 2008 Form 1100\nPipeline Patrolling Record do document the check of the pipeline for identified sites.\n11. (t192. 809 General.\n(a) Operators must have a written qualification program by April 27, 2001. The\nprogram must be available for review by the Administrator or by a state agency\n\n\n\nparticipating under 49 U. S. C. Chapter 601 if the program is under the authority of\nthat state agency.\n(b) Operators must complete the qualification of individuals performing covered\ntasks by October 28, 2002.\nI'1192. 805 Qualification program.\nEach operator shall have and follow a written qualification program. The program\nshall include provisions to:\n(a) Identify covered tasks;\n(b) Ensure through evaluation that individuals performing covered tasks are\nqualified;\n(c) Allow individuals that are not qualified pursuant to this subpart to perform a\ncovered task if directed and observed by an individual that is qualified;\ntt192. 807 Recordkeeping.\nEach operator shall maintain records that demonstrate compliance with this\nsubpart.\n(a) Qualification records shall include:\n(1) Identification of qualified individual(s);\n(2) Identification of the covered tasks the individual is qualified to perform;\n(3) Date(s) of current qualification; and\n(4) Qualification method(s).\n(b) Records supporting an individual's current qualification shall be maintained\nwhile he individual is performing the covered task. Records of prior qualification\nand records of individuals no longer performing covered tasks shall be retained for\na period of five years.\nRaton cannot provide the OQ qualification records for the welder who performed the\nrepair work on the pipeline subsequent to the September 15, 2004 incident in Las\nAnimas County, Colorado. Per Raton's Operator Qualification Plan the covered task of\nwelding cannot be observed a person not OQ qualified for the covered task if observed\nby another OQ qualified individual.\nUnder 49 United States Code, tj 60122, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed\n$100, 000 for each violation for each day the violation persists up to a maximum of $1, 000, 000\nfor any 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 item(s) identified\nin this letter. Failure to do so will result in Raton Gas Transmission being subject to additional\nenforcement action.\nNo reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer to\nCPF 2-2008-1010W. 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\n\n\n\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\nthe redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U. S. C. 552(b).\nSincerely,\nLinda Daugherty\nDirector, Southern Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","truncated":false,"body_characters":18296}