{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 220095001","title":"COLONIAL PIPELINE CO — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2009-04-08","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.573(e).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220095001.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220095001.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220095001","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/220095001","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving COLONIAL PIPELINE CO. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 195.573(e). The case was opened on 2009-04-08 and is reported as closed as of 2010-12-01. Proposed civil penalty: $22,500. Assessed civil penalty: $22,500. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n220095001_FinalOrder_11052010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220095001/220095001_FinalOrder_11052010.pdf\n\n220095001_FinalOrder_11052010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220095001/220095001_FinalOrder_11052010_text.pdf\n\n220095001_nopv notice_04082009.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220095001/220095001_nopv%20notice_04082009.pdf\n\n220095001_nopv notice_04082009_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220095001/220095001_nopv%20notice_04082009_text.pdf\n\n220095001_operator_response_05112009.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220095001/220095001_operator_response_05112009.pdf\n\n220095001_nopv notice_04082009_text.pdf\n\nNOTICE OF PROBABLE VIOLATION\nand\nPROPOSED CIVIL PENALTY\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nApril 8, 2009\nTimothy Felt\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer\nColonial Pipeline Company\n1185 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 100\nAlpharetta, GA 30009\nCPF 2-2009-5001\nDear Mr. Felt:\nBetween November 17 and December 12, 2008, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration (PHMSA) pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code\nconducted an onsite pipeline safety inspection of your pipeline facilities and records in North\nCarolina, Mississippi, Alabama, and Georgia.\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, Part 195. The items\ninspected and the probable violations are:\n§195.573 What must I do to monitor external corrosion control?\n(e) Corrective action. You must correct any identified deficiency in corrosion control as\nrequired by Sec. 195.401(b). However, if the deficiency involves a pipeline in an integrity\nmanagement program under Sec. 195.452, you must correct the deficiency as required by\nSec.195.452(h).\n§195.401 General requirements.\n(b) Whenever an operator discovers any condition that could adversely affect the safe\noperation of its pipeline system, it shall correct it within a reasonable time. However, if\nthe condition is of such a nature that it presents an immediate hazard to persons or\nproperty, the operator may not operate the affected part of the system until it has\ncorrected the unsafe condition.\n\n\n\nDiscovered non-hazardous deficiencies as a result of corrosion control surveys, as required by\n§195.573(e). Colonial did not correct within a reasonable time. PHMSA generally considers a\n“reasonable time” to be the maximum time allowed between required annual cathodic\nprotection surveys (15 months maximum from discovery of a deficient survey reading).\nA. Line 401-01 (Alabama)\nMilepost 5161+79, Woods Rd.\n03/15/2006: -0.800v\n05/22/2007: -0.810v\n02/16/2008: -0.811v\n09/12/2008: -1.224v\nB . Line 402-01 ( Alabama)\nMilepost 5553+10, MBV @ Pelham Station.\n05/23/2006: -0.608v\n05/23/2007: -0.530v Remarks: Ground bed depleted, new ground bed installed in\nDecember 2007.\n02/11/2008: -0.920v\nC. Line 403-01 (Alabama)\nMilepost 10042+11, Co Rd 437.\n05/20/2006: -0.432v\n05/17/2007: -0.539v\n02/13/2008: -2.246v Remarks: Ground bed depleted, corrected in December 2007.\nMilepost 10061+54, Co Rd.\n05/20/2006: -0.832v\n05/17/2007: -0.685v\n02/13/2008: -1.517v Remarks: Ground bed depleted, corrected in December 2007.\nMilepost 10062+44, SNG XING 14”.\n05/20/2006: -0.520v\n05/17/2007: -0.486v\n2\n\n\n\n02/13/2008: -1.176v Remarks: Ground bed depleted, installed a new ground bed in\nDecember 2007.\nMilepost 10064+94, Span TS. Remarks: Ground bed depleted. New bed was installed at\nthe end of 2007.\n05/20/2006: -0.632v\n05/17/2007: -0.532v\n02/13/2008: -1.285v Remarks: Ground bed depleted, corrected in December 2007.\nD. Line 403-02 (Alabama)\nMilepost 10021+78, Co Rd 437, Remarks: Ground bed depleted, new ground bed was\ninstalled at the end of 2007.\n05/20/2006: -0.555v\n05/17/2007: -0.637v\n02/13/2008: -2.555v Remarks: Ground bed depleted, corrected in December 2007.\nMilepost 10041+56, SNG XING 12”. Remarks: Ground bed depleted. New bed was\ninstalled at the end of 2007.\n05/20/2006: -0.537v\n05/17/2007: -0.477v\n02/13/2008: -2.012v Remarks: Ground bed depleted, corrected in December 2007.\nMilepost 10042+12, SNG XING 14”. Remarks: Ground bed depleted. New bed was\ninstalled at the end of 2007.\n05/20/2006: -0.624v\n05/17/2007: -0.431v\n02/13/2008: -1.650v Remarks: Ground bed depleted, corrected in December 2007.\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 $22,500 as follows:\n3\n\n\n\nItem number\nPenalty\n1 $ 22,500\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 2-2009-5001 and for each document\nyou submit, please provide a copy in electronic format whenever possible.\nSincerely,\nLinda Daugherty\nDirector, Southern Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nEnclosure: Response Options for Pipeline Operators in Compliance Proceedings\n4\n\n220095001_FinalOrder_11052010_text.pdf\n\nNOV 5 2010\nMr. Timothy Felt\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer\nColonial Pipeline Company\n1185 Sanctuary Parkway, Suite 100\nAlpharetta, GA 30009\nRe: CPF 2-2009-5001\nDear Mr. Felt:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $22,500. The penalty payment terms are set forth in the\nFinal Order. This enforcement action closes automatically upon payment. Service of the Final\nOrder by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise provided\nunder 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. Doug Belden, Vice President and General Manager-Operations, Colonial Pipeline Co.\nMr. Wayne Lemoi, Director, Southern Region, PHMSA\nCERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [7005 1160 0001 0043 9436]\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)\nColonial Pipeline Company, ) CPF No. 2-2009-5001\n)\nRespondent. )\n_____________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nBetween November 17 and December 12, 2008, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative\nof the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline\nSafety (OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of\nColonial Pipeline Company (Colonial or Respondent) in North Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama,\nand Georgia. Based in Alpharetta, Georgia, Colonial Pipeline delivers gasoline, home heating\noil, aviation fuel and other refined petroleum products throughout the Southern and Eastern\nUnited States.\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southern Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated April 8, 2009, 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. §§ 195.573(e) and 195.401(b) and proposed assessing a civil\npenalty of $22,500 for the alleged violation.\nRespondent responded to the Notice by letter dated May 11, 2009 (Response). The company did\nnot contest the allegations of violation but provided an explanation of its actions. Respondent\ndid not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Colonial did not contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 195, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.573(e) and 195.401(b),\nwhich state:\n\n\n\n2\n§ 195.573 What must I do to monitor external corrosion control?\n(a) . . . .\n(e) Corrective action. You must correct any identified deficiency in\ncorrosion control as required by § 195.401(b). However, if the deficiency\ninvolves a pipeline in an integrity management program under § 195.452,\nyou must correct the deficiency as required by § 195.452(h).\n§ 195.401 General requirements.\n(a) . . . .\n(b) Whenever an operator discovers any condition that could\nadversely affect the safe operation of its pipeline system, it shall correct it\nwithin a reasonable time. However, if the condition is of such a nature that\nit presents an immediate hazard to persons or property, the operator may\nnot operate the affected part of the system until it has corrected the unsafe\ncondition.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.573(e) and 195.401(b) by failing\nto take actions within a reasonable time to correct identified deficiencies in corrosion control.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that Colonial failed to take corrective actions to resolve cathodic\nprotection (CP) deficiencies reflected in the company’s monitoring records for Alabama Lines\n401-01, Line 402-01, Line 403-01, and Line 403-02 for the 2006 to 2008 calendar years.\nIn its Response, Colonial did not contest the allegations of violation but explained that it had an\nongoing corrosion control program in place that addressed test readings of CP levels that did not\nmeet one or more of its criteria. Colonial contended that it adhered to the continuing use of\nsuccessfully applied criteria on its pipeline system, referenced in the National Association of\nCorrosion Engineers International Standard RP 0169.\nRespondent explained that following the identification of a large number of deficient areas in\nAlabama in 2006, it investigated, tested, prioritized and developed corrective actions to address\nthe risks to its pipeline in a timely manner. Respondent also explained that extensive CP\nupgrade and recoating projects were completed during 2007 and 2008 to address CP deficiencies\non its pipelines throughout Alabama, including at locations 401-01, 402-01, 403-01, and 403-02\ncited in the Notice. Respondent advised that re-surveys performed in February 2008, after the\nCP upgrade and recoating projects, confirmed that locations 401-01, 402-01, 403-01, and 403-02\nwere in fact remediated. Colonial also advised that remediation of location 401-01 was\ncompleted and met its criteria for CP by September 2008. Colonial contended that all the\nremediation work was completed prior to the inspection by PHMSA in November-December of\n2008.\nColonial stated that many sub-standard CP areas are addressed each year along Colonial’s\npipelines, but that the time required to determine if a cathodic protection deficiency exists\n(discovery of a deficiency) and make repairs varies, based on the conditions at each site and the\nnumber of deficiencies discovered in a particular year. Colonial advised that it had increased the\nnumber of employees assigned to evaluate CP systems and had realigned its corrosion control\nemployees with the maintenance employees and contractors responsible for making repairs.\n\n\n\n3\nRespondent did not contest the allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all\nof the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.573(e) and 195.401(b) by\nfailing to take corrective actions within a reasonable time to correct identified deficiencies in\ncorrosion control.\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$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 $22,500 for the violations cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $22,500 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§§ 195.573(e) and 195.401(b), for failing to take corrective actions within a reasonable time to\nremedy identified deficiencies in its corrosion control. Corrosion is one of the most threatening\nconditions to the integrity of pipelines, and, if left uncorrected, can result in pipeline failures. An\nadequate level of cathodic protection of buried pipelines is required to arrest corrosion and\nprevent rupture. Respondent did not contest this allegation of violation. While Colonial has\npresented information regarding the various steps it has taken to implement an effective CP\nprogram, it has not provided any basis for reducing the proposed penalty. Accordingly, having\nreviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I assess Respondent a total civil\npenalty of $22,500 for violations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.573(e) and 195.401(b).\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 this payment 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, OK 73125. The Financial\nOperations Division telephone number is (405) 954-8893.\nFailure to pay the $22,500 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 United\nStates District Court.\n\n\n\n4\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.215, Respondent has the 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 the 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 but does not stay any other provisions of the Final Order, including\nany required corrective actions. If Respondent submits payment of the civil penalty, the Final\nOrder becomes the final administrative decision and the right to petition for reconsideration is\nwaived.\nThe 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","truncated":false,"body_characters":17335}