{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 220111001","title":"TEXAS GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2011-01-19","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.465(a), 192.709(c), 192.745(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220111001.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220111001.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220111001","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/220111001","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving TEXAS GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.465(a),  192.709(c),  192.745(a). The case was opened on 2011-01-19 and is reported as closed as of 2011-06-09. Proposed civil penalty: $19,600. Assessed civil penalty: $19,600. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n220111001_Final Order_06092011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220111001/220111001_Final%20Order_06092011.pdf\n\n220111001_Final Order_06092011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220111001/220111001_Final%20Order_06092011_text.pdf\n\n220111001_NOPV-PCP_01192011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220111001/220111001_NOPV-PCP_01192011.pdf\n\n220111001_NOPV-PCP_01192011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220111001/220111001_NOPV-PCP_01192011_text.pdf\n\n220111001_Operator Response_NOPV_PCP_02252011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220111001/220111001_Operator%20Response_NOPV_PCP_02252011.pdf\n\n220111001_Final Order_06092011_text.pdf\n\nJUN 9 2011\nMr. David Goodwin\nVice President Compliance and Operations Services\nTexas Gas Transmission, LLC\n9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2800\nHouston, TX 77046\nMr. Rolf A. Gafvert\nChief Executive Officer, President and Director\nBoardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP\n9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2800\nHouston, TX 77046\nRe: CPF No. 2-2011-1001\nDear Mr. Goodwin and Mr. Gafvert:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $19,600. This is to acknowledge receipt of payment of\nthe full penalty amount, by wire transfer, dated February 28, 2011. This enforcement action is\nnow closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of\nmailing, 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 T. Lemoi, Director, Southern Region, PHMSA\nMr. Walter Bennett, Senior Vice President Operations, Texas Gas Transmission, LLC\nMr. Jack Adams, Director, DOT Compliance and Security, Texas Gas Transmission, LLC\nMr. Jeffrey McMaine, Director, Pipeline Assessments, Texas Gas Transmission, LLC\nP.O Box 20008, 3800 Frederica Street, Owensboro, KY 42304-0008\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [7005 1160 0001 0075 9350]\n\n\n\nU.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION\nPIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION\nOFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY\nWASHINGTON, D.C. 20590\n____________________________________\nIn the Matter of )\nTexas Gas Transmission, LLC, ) CPF No. 2-2011-1001\na subsidiary of Boardwalk Pipeline )\nPartners, LP, )\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n___________________________________ )\nFINAL ORDER\nOn October 5, 2009, through November 20, 2009, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a\nrepresentative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office\nof Pipeline Safety (OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and\nrecords of Texas Gas Transmission, LLC (Texas Gas or Respondent) in Kentucky and\nMississippi. Texas Gas is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP, which\noperates a 6,110-mile natural gas pipeline system that spans from Gulf Coast and Fayetteville\nShale supply areas to markets in the Midwest and Northeast via interconnections with third-party\npipelines.\n1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southern Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated January 19, 2011, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil\nPenalty (Notice).2 Texas Gas had violated 49 C.F.R. §§ 192.709(c) and proposed assessing a civil penalty of\n$19,600 for the alleged violations.\nIn accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that\n1 Texas Gas Transmission LLC website, http://www.txgt.com; see also Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP website,\nhttp://www.bwpmlp.com.\n2 Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP is a master limited partnership engaged through its subsidiaries, Gulf South\nPipeline Company LP, Texas Gas Transmission LLC, and Gulf Crossing Pipeline Company LLC, in the interstate\ntransportation and storage of natural gas. See Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP website, http://www.bwpmlp.com.\nWhile the Violation Report was addressed to ‘Texas Gas Transmission LLC c/o Boardwalk Pipeline Partners LP,’\nthe Notice was incorrectly addressed to one of the other wholly-owned subsidiaries of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners,\nLP, ‘Gulf South Pipeline Co. LP.’ The named individual on the Notice, Mr. David Goodwin, Vice President\nCompliance and Operations Services, responded on behalf of Texas Gas Transmission LLC. In this Final Order, we\nhave corrected the legal entity name to Texas Gas Transmission LLC, and included the parent entity, Boardwalk\nPipeline Partners LP, for clarification and consistency.\n\n\n\n2\nTexas Gas responded to the Notice by letter dated February 25, 2011 (Response). The company\ndid not contest the allegations of violation and paid the proposed civil penalty of $19,600, as\nprovided in 49 C.F.R. § 190.227. Payment of the penalty serves to close the case with prejudice\nto Respondent.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Texas Gas did not contest the allegations 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. § 192.709(c), which states:\n§ 192.709 Transmission lines: Record keeping.\n(a) . . . .\n(c) A record of each patrol, survey, inspection, and test required by subparts L and M\nof this part must be retained for at least 5 years or until the next patrol, survey, inspection,\nor test is completed, whichever is longer.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.709(c) by failing to maintain\nrecords of the relief valve capacity determinations required by subparts L and M of Part 192 for\nat least 5 years or until the next capacity determination is completed, whichever is longer.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that Texas Gas failed to maintain the records for its relief valve\ncapacity determinations for the West Greenville District for the 2008 calendar year.\nSection 192.743 requires that the capacity of relief devices be determined at intervals not\nexceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year. That determination must be made by\neither testing the devices in place, or by review and calculations. Section 192.709(c) further\nrequires that these records of these tests be retained for at least 5 years or until the next patrol,\nsurvey, inspection, or test is completed, whichever is longer.\nTexas Gas makes and keeps a record of its regulator valve, monitor, and relief valve inspections,\nincluding capacity reviews, on a Regulatory Inventory Inspection Records with Capacity Review\nsheet in its Condensed Inventory Report. The Condensed Inventory Report reviewed by PHMSA\nduring the inspection contained relief valve capacity determination reviews for the 2006 and\n2007 calendar years, as well as multiple capacity determination reviews for the 2009 calendar\nyear. The Condensed Inventory Report, however, did not contain capacity determination reviews\nfor a number of relief valves in its West Greenville District for the 2008 calendar year.3\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. § 192.709(c) by failing to maintain\nrecords of relief valve capacity determinations required by subparts L and M of Part 192 for at\nleast 5 years or until the next capacity determination is completed, whichever is longer.\n3 Pipeline Safety Violation Report, at 2.\n\n\n\n3\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.709(c), which states:\n§ 192.709 Transmission lines: Record keeping.\n(a) . . . .\n(c) A record of each patrol, survey, inspection, and test required by\nsubparts L and M of this part must be retained for at least 5 years or until\nthe next patrol, survey, inspection, or test is completed, whichever is\nlonger.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.709(c) by failing to maintain\nrecords of each inspection required by subparts L and M of this part for at least 5 years or until\nthe inspection is completed, whichever is longer. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Texas Gas\ndid not have mainline valve inspection records for the 2008 calendar year.\nSection 192.745 requires that “[e]ach transmission line valve that might be required during any\nemergency . . . be inspected and partially operated at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at\nleast once each calendar year.” Section 192.709(c) further requires that records of these\ninspections be retained for at least 5 years or until the next inspection is completed, whichever is\nlonger.\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. § 192.709(c) by failing to maintain\nrecords of each mainline valve inspection required by subparts L and M of Part 192 for at least 5\nyears or until the next inspection is completed, whichever is longer.\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":9655}