{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 220091001","title":"GULF SOUTH PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2009-01-15","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.751.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220091001.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220091001.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220091001","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/220091001","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving GULF SOUTH PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 192.751. The case was opened on 2009-01-15 and is reported as closed as of 2011-10-04. Proposed civil penalty: $100,000. Assessed civil penalty: $100,000. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n220091001_closure letter_10042011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220091001/220091001_closure%20letter_10042011.pdf\n\n220091001_closure letter_10042011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220091001/220091001_closure%20letter_10042011_text.pdf\n\n220091001_Final Order_07292011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220091001/220091001_Final%20Order_07292011.pdf\n\n220091001_Final Order_07292011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220091001/220091001_Final%20Order_07292011_text.pdf\n\n220091001_nopv notice_01152009.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220091001/220091001_nopv%20notice_01152009.pdf\n\n220091001_nopv notice_01152009_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220091001/220091001_nopv%20notice_01152009_text.pdf\n\n220091001_Operator_Response_Request_Hearing_03202009.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220091001/220091001_Operator_Response_Request_Hearing_03202009.pdf\n\n220091001_closure letter_10042011_text.pdf\n\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nOctober 4, 2011\nMr. David Goodwin\nVice president, Compliance & Operations Services\nGulf South Pipeline Company, L.P.\n9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2800\nHouston, TX 77046\nCPF 2-2009-1001\nDear Mr. Goodwin:\nOn July 29, 2011, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. §60118(b) and 49 CFR §190.213, the Associate\nAdministrator for Pipeline Safety, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n(PHMSA) issued a Final Order to Gulf South Pipeline Company, L.P (Gulf South).\nThe Final Order found that Gulf South had committed a violation of the federal pipeline\nsafety regulations and included a Compliance Order (CO), which required Gulf South to take\ncertain actions to protect the public and the environment.\nThe PHMSA Southern Region has reviewed your letter of September 28, 2011, in response to\nthe final order and CO. This case is now closed.\nPlease be advised that this letter refers only to CPF 2-2009-1001 and not to any other PHMSA\npending cases. Also be advised that nothing herein states or implies that the Gulf South\npipeline system meets the requirements of the federal pipeline safety laws or regulations. The\npipeline system remains subject to inspection by PHMSA.\nSincerely,\nWayne T. Lemoi\nDirector, Office of Pipeline Safety\nPHMSA Southern Region\n\n220091001_Final Order_07292011_text.pdf\n\nJUL 29 2011\nMr. David Goodwin\nVice President, Compliance and Operations Services\nGulf South Pipeline Co., L.P.\n9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2800\nHouston, TX 77046\nRe: CPF No. 2-2009-1001\nDear Mr. Goodwin:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation, assesses a civil penalty of $100,000, and specifies actions that need to be taken by Gulf\nSouth Pipeline Co., L.P. to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. The penalty payment\nterms are set forth in the Final Order. When the civil penalty has been paid and the terms of the\ncompliance order have been completed, as determined by the Director, Southern Region, this\nenforcement action will be closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed\neffective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise provided 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: Mr. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, Pipeline Safety\nMr. Wayne Lemoi, Director, Southern Region, PHMSA\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [7005 1160 0001 0075 9695]\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)\nGulf South Pipeline Co., L.P., ) CPF No. 2-2009-1001\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nOn August 4, 2008, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), initiated\nan investigation of an incident involving the pipeline system of Gulf South Pipeline Co., L.P.\n(Gulf South or Respondent). Gulf South is an interstate natural gas pipeline system that operates\napproximately 7,700 miles of pipeline in Texas, Louisiana, Mississippi, Alabama, and Florida.1\nThe investigation arose out of an incident that occurred at a compressor station near Harrisville,\nMississippi (Harrisville Compressor Station) on August 2, 2008. During repair of a faulty limit\nswitch, a flash fire resulted from the ignition of natural gas from a fuel gas blow down. As a\nresult of the incident, a Gulf South employee sustained burns to his arm, neck, and mouth area\nand was hospitalized.\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southern Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated January 15, 2009, a Notice of Probable Violation, Proposed Civil\nPenalty, and Proposed Compliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the\nNotice proposed finding that Gulf South violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.751 and proposed assessing a\ncivil penalty of $100,000 for the alleged violation. The Notice also proposed ordering\nRespondent to take certain measures to correct the alleged violation.\nhearing on the proposed civil penalty and compliance order. A hearing was subsequently held\nvia telephone conference on June 3, 2009, with an attorney presiding from the Office of Chief\nGulf South responded to the Notice by letter dated March 20, 2009 (Response)2 and requested a\nCounsel, PHMSA. At the hearing, Respondent was represented by in-house counsel.\n1 See http://www.gulfsouthpl.com/AboutUsGS.aspx, last accessed June 24, 2011.\n2 Gulf South also submitted a Pre-hearing Letter (May 23, 2009), in which it set forth three issues it planned to\naddress in the hearing.\n\n\n\n2\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nAt the hearing, Gulf South did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 192, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.751, which states:\n§ 192.751 Prevention of accidental ignition.\nEach operator shall take steps to minimize the danger of accidental\nignition of gas in any structure or area where the presence of gas\nconstitutes a hazard of fire or explosion, including the following:\n(a) When a hazardous amount of gas is being vented into open air,\neach potential source of ignition must be removed from the area and a fire\nextinguisher must be provided.\n(b) Gas or electric welding or cutting may not be performed on pipe\nor on pipe components that contain a combustible mixture of gas and air in\nthe area of work\n(c) Post warning signs, where appropriate.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.751 by failing to minimize the\ndanger of accidental ignition of gas in any structure or area where the presence of gas constitutes\na hazard of fire or explosion. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Gulf South’s Operating and\nMaintenance (O & M) procedures required that “all necessary precautions [shall] be taken to\nprevent electrical arcing and static electricity charges in structures and restricted areas where\nthere is a potential presence of gas.”3 The Notice further alleged that Respondent failed to\nexhaust gas from the fuel gas blow down to an area where the gas could be safely discharged and\ninstalled a non-insulated electrical component in the valve operator electrical pull box. As a\nresult, when Gulf South’s employee attempted to repair a faulty limit switch, a flash fire resulted\nfrom the interaction of gas escaping from a faulty fuel gas block valve and the improperly\nhospitalization.\ninsulated electrical component.4 Gulf South’s employee sustained minor burns that required\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. § 192.751 by failing to minimize the\ndanger of accidental ignition of gas in any structure or area where the presence of gas constitutes\na hazard of fire or explosion.\n3 Section 3, Accidental Ignition Prevention, 3.2 Prevention, at 32.\n4 Respondent’s Root Cause Investigation Report identified “the probably [sic] root cause of the flash fire [as] the\nvent line that exhaust[s] gas from the fuel gas blow down on Engine #3 did not extend to a location where gas may\nbe discharged without hazard. Contributing factors were 1) electrical wiring installed that did not conform to the\nNational Electrical Code, ANSI/NFPA 70, so far as that code is applicable, 2) faulty valve closure(s), and 3) non-\nconformance to existing procedures and job plan.”\n\n\n\n3\nASSESSMENT OF PENALTY\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122, Respondent is subject to an administrative civil penalty not to exceed\n$100,000 per violation for each day of the violation, up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any\nrelated series of violations. In determining the amount of a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60122 and 49 C.F.R. § 190.225, I must consider the following criteria: the nature,\ncircumstances, and gravity of the violation, including adverse impact on the environment; the\ndegree of Respondent’s culpability; the history of Respondent’s prior offenses; the Respondent’s\nability to pay the penalty and any effect that the penalty may have on its ability to continue doing\nbusiness; and the good faith of Respondent in attempting to comply with the pipeline safety\nregulations. In addition, I may consider the economic benefit gained from the violation without\nany reduction because of subsequent damages, and such other matters as justice may require.\nThe Notice proposed a total civil penalty of $100,000 for the violations cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $100,000 for Respondent’s violation of 49\nC.F.R. § 192.751, for failing to minimize the danger of accidental ignition of gas in any structure\nor area where the presence of gas constitutes a hazard of fire or explosion. In its response, Gulf\nSouth argues that the proposed penalty is excessive and warrants a reduction.\nFirst, Respondent argues that PHMSA did not appropriately assess the criteria outlined in 49\nC.F.R. § 190.225(a). Gulf South argues that the incident occurred “only due to the confluence of\nfour separate causes [and that] redundant safety procedures . . . minimize[d] the risk of such an\noccurrence.”5 However, the evidence shows that at least some of the causal factors that led to\nthis incident were replicated in at least one other compressor station under Respondent’s\ncontrol.\nposes a threat to Gulf South’s pipeline system. The faulty wiring that provided the ignition\nsource for the flash fire are also within Respondent’s control and pose a systemic risk, if repeated\nelsewhere. I find Respondent’s characterization of this incident as isolated to be misleading and\nconclude that the nature, circumstances, and gravity of this violation are sufficient to support the\npenalty, as assessed.\n6 The vent lines exhausting fuel gas are one example of a systemic design flaw that\nSecond, Gulf South asserts that its safety history is devoid of incidents of this type and that its\nsafety record favors a penalty reduction. In particular, Gulf South notes that it has never\nexperienced a similar incident or “prior offense[s] of this nature.\noperator’s entire safety record for five years preceding issuance of the NOPV.\n” 7 PHMSA weighs an\nLastly, Gulf South reiterated the preventative and corrective actions undertaken since the\nincident to ensure system-wide safety. According to the Respondent, such actions “are and\nshould be deemed good faith attempts to achieve complete compliance, both before and after the\nAugust 2, 2008 incident.”8\nHowever, PHMSA considers only those efforts made prior to the\n5 See July 6, 2009 Post-hearing Brief (Brief), at 2-3.\n6 Gulf South indicates that remedial measures have been taken.\n7 Brief, at 3.\n8 Brief, at 3.\n\n\n\n4\ndiscovery of an offense as a good faith measure. While Gulf South has undertaken a number of\ncostly remedial measures, operators are charged with the lawful and safe operation of their\nsystems. Where, as here, an injury occurred due to a violation of the pipeline safety regulations,\noperators are not charged with good faith for ex post facto actions.\nAccordingly, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I assess\nRespondent a civil penalty of $100,000 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.751.\nPayment of the civil penalty must be made within 20 days of service. Federal regulations\n(49 C.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 (AMZ-341), Federal Aviation Administration, Mike\nMonroney Aeronautical Center, P.O. Box 269039, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125. The\nFinancial Operations Division telephone number is (405) 954-8893.\nFailure to pay the $100,000 civil penalty will result in accrual of interest at the current annual\nrate in 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.\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Item 1 in the Notice for violation of 49\nC.F.R. § 192.751. At the hearing, Respondent argued that the proposed compliance order was\noverly broad, as it required a system-wide review of all operational pull boxes and vent lines.\nGulf South reasoned that the system-wide review should be limited to stations constructed in the\nRespondent proposed to review a representative sampling. The Director, Southern Region, has\nlast five years, as the faulty designs is limited to those facilities.9 As for its older stations,\ndetermined that a system-wide review must be conducted for all stations constructed in the last\nfive years; for all other stations, a representative sampling will suffice.\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation of gas or who owns\nor operates a pipeline facility is required to comply with the applicable safety standards\nestablished under chapter 601. Pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R.\n§ 190.217, Respondent is ordered to take the following actions to ensure compliance with the\npipeline safety regulations applicable to its operations. Respondent shall:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 192.751 (Item 1), Respondent must review the\nvents and electric boxes at all compressor stations built within five years from the\ndate of this order, including those stations built by Respondent’s affiliates (Gulf\n9 Gulf South conducted a “high level review of its system-wide facilities and determined that these two design\nconditions do not exist within Gulf South’s vintage compressor stations.” March 20, 2009 Letter, at 2.\n\n\n\n5\nCrossing Pipeline Company and Texas Gas Transmission). In addition,\nRespondent must conduct a representative sampling of all Gulf South’s\ncompressor stations that were built more than five years ago.\n2. Gulf South Pipeline Company has 60 days after the receipt of the Final Order to\ncomplete the above item.\n3. It is requested that Gulf South Pipeline Company maintain documentation of the\nsafety improvement costs associated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and\nsubmit the total to Wayne Lemoi, Director, Southern Region, Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration. It is further requested that costs be\nreported in two categories: 1) total cost associated with preparation/revision of\nplans, procedures, studies and analyses; and 2) total costs associated with\nreplacements, additions, and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.\nThe Director may grant an extension of time to comply with any of the required items upon a\nwritten request timely submitted by the Respondent and demonstrating good cause for an\nextension.\nFailure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties\nnot to exceed $100,000 for each violation for each day the violation continues or in referral to the\nAttorney General for appropriate relief in a district court of the United States.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.215, Respondent has a right to submit a Petition for Reconsideration of\nthis Final Order. The petition must be sent to: Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline\nSafety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC\n20590, with a copy sent to the Office of Chief Counsel, PHMSA, at the same address. PHMSA\nwill accept petitions received no later than 20 days after receipt of service of this Final Order by\nthe Respondent, provided they contain a brief statement of the issue(s) and meet all other\nrequirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.215. The filing of a petition automatically stays the payment of\nany civil penalty assessed. Unless the Associate Administrator, upon request, grants a stay, all\nother terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n220091001_nopv notice_01152009_text.pdf\n\nNOTICE OF PROBABLE VIOLATION\nPROPOSED CIVIL PENALTY\nand\nPROPOSED COMPLIANCE ORDER\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJanuary 15, 2009\nMr. David Goodwin\nVice President Compliance & Operations\nGulf South Pipeline Company, LP\n9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2800\nHouston, Texas 77046\nCPF No. 2-2009-1001\nDear Mr. Goodwin:\nOn August 4, 2008, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code, conducted an\ninvestigation of the incident (NRC#879372) at the Gulf South Pipeline (GSP) compressor\nstation in Harrisville, Mississippi. The incident occurred on August 2, 2008 in which an\nemployee received minor burns and was hospitalized overnight.\nAs a result of the investigation, it appears that you have committed probable violations as noted\nbelow of pipeline safety regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations, Part 192. The item\nreviewed and the probable violation is:\n§192.751 Prevention of accidental ignition.\nEach operator shall take steps to minimize the danger of accidental ignition of gas\nin any structure or area where the presence of gas constitutes a hazard of fire or\nexplosion.\nThe Gulf South Procedures, (OM, Section 3 Accidental Ignition Prevention, 3.2\nPrevention Requirements), requires the following:\n• All necessary precautions shall be taken to prevent electrical arcing and static\nelectricity charges in structures and restricted areas where there is a potential\npresence of gas.\nGulf South Pipeline Company did not prevent the accidental ignition of gas by\ninstalling a non-insulated electrical component in the pull box. The company’s root\n\n\n\ncause investigation also determined that the vent line that exhaust gas from the fuel gas\nblow down on Engine #3 did not extend to a location where the gas could be discharged\nwithout hazard.\nProposed Civil Penalty\nUnder 49 United States Code, § 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. The Compliance Officer has reviewed the circumstances\nand supporting documentation involved in the above probable violation and has recommended\nthat you be preliminarily assessed a civil penalty of $100,000.\nProposed Compliance Order\nWith respect to the above item pursuant to 49 United States Code § 60118, the Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration proposes to issue a Compliance Order to Gulf\nSouth Pipeline Company, LP. Please refer to the Proposed Compliance Order, which is\nenclosed and made a part of this Notice.\nResponse to this Notice\nEnclosed as part of this Notice is a document entitled Response Options for Pipeline Operators\nin Compliance Proceedings. Please refer to this document and note the response options. Be\nadvised 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\nfor confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document\nyou must provide a second copy of the document with the portions you believe qualify for\nconfidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted information\nqualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b). If you do not respond within 30\ndays of receipt of this Notice, this constitutes a waiver of your right to contest the allegations in\nthis Notice and authorizes the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as\nalleged in this Notice without further notice to you and to issue a Final Order.\nIn your correspondence on this matter, please refer to CPF 2-2009-1001 and for each document\nyou submit, please provide a copy in electronic format whenever possible.\nSincerely,\nLinda Daugherty\nDirector, Southern\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nEnclosures: Proposed Compliance Order\nResponse Options for Pipeline Operators in Compliance Proceedings\n2\n\n\n\nPROPOSED COMPLIANCE ORDER\nPursuant to 49 United States Code § 60118, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA) proposes to issue Gulf South Pipeline Company a Compliance Order\nincorporating the following remedial requirements to ensure the compliance of Gulf South\nPipeline Company with the pipeline safety regulations:\n1. In regard to the item in the Notice pertaining to prevention of accidental ignition\nrequired by §192.751, perform a system-wide review of pull boxes in operation, and\nidentify any improperly insulated electrical component. For a vent line that exhaust gas\nfrom the fuel gas blow down, perform a system-wide review and identify locations\nwhere the discharge of gas may be a potential hazard. Develop a written plan and a\nschedule to remedy these deficiencies. Provide the plan to the PHMSA Southern\nRegion office as indicated in Item 3 below.\n2. Gulf South Pipeline Company has 60 days after the receipt of the Final Order to\ncomplete the above item.\n3. Gulf South Pipeline Company shall maintain documentation of the safety improvement\ncosts associated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to Linda\nDaugherty, Director, Southern Region, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration. Costs shall be reported in two categories: 1) total cost associated with\npreparation/revision of plans, procedures, studies and analyses, and 2) total cost\nassociated with replacements, additions and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.\n3","truncated":false,"body_characters":23606}