CPF 220111004W
CPF 220111004W
220111004W_warning letter_01212011_text.pdf, page 1Official PDFWARNING LETTER CERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED January 21, 2011 Mr. Vern Meier Vice President, Field Operations ANR Pipeline Company TransCanada US Pipeline 717 Texas Street, Suite 2400 Houston, TX 77002-2661 CPF 2-2011-1004W Dear Mr. Meier: On August 2-6, 23-27, and October 4-8, 2010, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) inspected your records in Greenville and Sardis, Mississippi, Brownsville and Cottage Grove, Tennessee, and Madisonville, Kentucky; and, your pipelines and facilities in Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Tennessee, and Kentucky, pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code. As a result of the inspection, it appears you have committed a probable violation of the Pipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected and the probable violation(s) are: 1. § 192.705 Transmission lines: Patrolling. (a) Each operator shall have a patrol program to observe surface conditions on and adjacent to the transmission line right-of-way for indications of leaks, construction activity, and other factors affecting safety and operation. ANR Pipeline Company uses aerial patrolling to satisfy the patrol requirements, yet it failed to maintain its right-of-way (ROW) sufficiently to allow observation of surface conditions by aerial patrolling. Areas of dense vegetation, excessive canopy overhang, right-of-way creep, and obscured pipeline markers were identified during the inspection. The identified conditions were present along the ROW downstream of the Interstate 55 crossing, at the mile post 422 pipeline exposure, upstream of the Tennessee River crossing, at aerial patrol marker 563, and downstream of Hamilton Ferry Road.#
220111004W_warning letter_01212011_text.pdf, page 2Under 49 United States Code, § 60122, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000 for each violation for each day the violation persists up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any related series of violations. We have reviewed the circumstances and supporting documents involved in this case, and have decided not to conduct additional enforcement action or penalty assessment proceedings at this time. We advise you to correct the item identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in ANR Pipeline Company being subject to additional enforcement action. No reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer to CPF 2-2011-1004W. Be advised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement action is subject to being made publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your responsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document you must provide a second copy of the document with the portions you believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b). Sincerely, Wayne T. Lemoi Director, Office of Pipeline Safety PHMSA Southern Region 2#
This material provides agency context. It does not replace binding regulatory text, and its legal effect depends on the underlying authority and facts.