# ECOELECTRICA L.P. — Warning Letter

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** CPF 220120006W
- **title:** ECOELECTRICA L.P. — Warning Letter
- **source type:** enforcement
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** historical
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2012-10-18
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** CLOSED warning letter citing 192.605(a), 192.605(b)(8), 192.614(a), 192.619(a)(1), 192.631(a)(1), 192.807(a), 192.807(b).
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- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220120006w
- **source url:** https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/220120006W
**body:**

Warning Letter involving ECOELECTRICA L.P.. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.605(a),  192.605(b)(8),  192.614(a),  192.619(a)(1),  192.631(a)(1),  192.807(a),  192.807(b). The case was opened on 2012-10-18 and is reported as closed as of 2012-10-18. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.

Official case documents:

220120006W_warning letter_10182012.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220120006W/220120006W_warning%20letter_10182012.pdf

220120006W_warning letter_10182012_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220120006W/220120006W_warning%20letter_10182012_text.pdf

220120006W_warning letter_10182012_text.pdf

WARNING LETTER
CERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
October 18, 2012
Mr. Carlos Reyes
Co-President & General Manager Operations
EcoElectrica L.P.
Street 337, KM 3.7 Bo Tallaboa Poniente
Penuelas, PR 00624
Dear Mr. Reyes: CPF 2-2012-0006W
Between April 23 and 27, 2012, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA), Southern Region, Office of Pipeline Safety inspected the
EcoElectrica, L.P. (EcoElectrica) Costa Sur Pipeline in Penuelas, Puerto Rico, pursuant to
Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code.
As a result of the inspection, it appears that EcoElectrica has committed probable violations of
the Pipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected
and the probable violations are as follows:
1. §192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.
(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline, a manual of
written procedures for conducting operations and maintenance activities and for
emergency response. For transmission lines, the manual must also include
procedures for handling abnormal operations. This manual must be reviewed and
updated by the operator at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each
calendar year. This manual must be prepared before operations of a pipeline system
commence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations where
operations and maintenance activities are conducted.
EcoElectrica’s operations, maintenance, and emergency response (OMER) manual
Procedure LNGT-060 Transmission Pipeline Operator Qualification (OQ) Program
Revision #0 dated March 13, 2012 (Procedure LNGT-060) did not require reviews and
updates of the OQ program to be made at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least
once each calendar year.



2. §192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.
. . . (b) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by paragraph (a)
of this section must include procedures for the following, if applicable, to provide
safety during maintenance and operations.
. . . (8) Periodically reviewing the work done by operator personnel to determine the
effectiveness and adequacy of the procedures used in normal operation and
maintenance and modifying the procedure when deficiencies are found.
EcoElectrica’s OMER Procedure LNGT-060 did not require the periodic review of the
work done by operator personnel to determine the effectiveness and adequacy of its OQ
program. Moreover, it did not require modifying the program procedures when
deficiencies are found.
Examples of items that EcoElectrica needs to review to determine the effectiveness of its
OQ program include, but are not limited to:
− The adequacy of training for specific covered tasks,
− The adequacy of evaluations to determine if an individual has the required
knowledge, skills, and abilities to perform a covered task,
− The adequacy of individual to recognize an abnormal operating condition (AOC);
and,
− The adequacy of an individual to take appropriate action(s) after an AOC.
3. §192.614 Damage prevention program.
(a) Except as provided in paragraphs (d) and (e) of this section, each operator of a
buried pipeline shall carry out, in accordance with this section, a written program to
prevent damage to that pipeline from excavation activities. For the purpose of this
section, the term "excavation activities" includes excavation, blasting, boring,
tunneling, backfilling, the removal of aboveground structures by either explosive or
mechanical means, and other earth moving operations . . . .
EcoElectrica did not have a written program to prevent damage to the Costa Sur pipeline
from excavation activities.
EcoElectrica operates the 1.7-mile Costa Sur pipeline, which is buried for a total of
approximately 382 feet in six short segments, five of which are encased in concrete and
one which is inside of a concrete pipe. The pipeline is located in its entirety on four
industrial properties that are restricted from public access by security fencing and manned
security gates.
4. §192.619 What is the maximum allowable operating pressure for steel or plastic
pipelines?
(a) No person may operate a segment of steel or plastic pipeline at a pressure that
exceeds a maximum allowable operating pressure determined under paragraph (c)
or (d) of this section, or the lowest of the following:
(1) The design pressure of the weakest element in the segment, determined in
accordance with Subparts C and D of this part. ….
2



EcoElectrica did not correctly determine the maximum allowable operating pressure of a
segment of the Costa Sur pipeline because it did not use the design pressure of the
weakest element.
EcoElectrica’s operations, maintenance, and emergency response (OMER) manual of
written procedures Section III (d) Maximum Allowable Operating Pressure (MAOP) (pp.
11-14) indicated that the MAOP of the Costa Sur pipeline was 1090 psig. The procedure
did not include MAOP determination of the recently installed meter station, a component
of the Costa Sur Pipeline located at the beginning of the line.
Although construction records indicated the station was designed to 1,000 psig per ASME
B31.3, the MAOP determination process must follow Part 192 requirements. Based on the
meter station design and test information provided to the inspector, the meter station
MAOP is limited to the design pressure of the weakest element in the station: 1001 psig,
determined in accordance with Subpart C of Part 192: 192.105(a) and 192.111(d)(1) for
24” x 0.687” w.t., ASTM A106 Grade B seamless pipe. The pipeline normally operates at
approximately 650 psig, with the pipeline overpressure control valve set to control/close at
700 psig.
5. § 192.631 Control room management.
(a) General.
(1) This section applies to each operator of a pipeline facility with a controller
working in a control room who monitors and controls all or part of a pipeline facility
through a SCADA system. Each operator must have and follow written control room
management procedures that implement the requirements of this section, except that
for each control room where an operator's activities are limited to either or both of:
(i) Distribution with less than 250,000 services, or
(ii) Transmission without a compressor station, the operator must have and follow
written procedures that implement only paragraphs (d) (regarding fatigue), (i)
(regarding compliance validation), and (j) (regarding compliance and deviations) of
this section.
EcoElectrica did not have written control room management procedures that would
comply with the applicable requirements of §192.631. EcoElectrica is the operator of the
1.7-mile Costa Sur Pipeline, a transmission pipeline without a compressor station, but
with a controller working in a control room who monitors and controls the pipeline
through a SCADA system. Section 192.631(a)(2) required these procedures to have been
developed no later than August 1, 2011.
6. §192.807 Recordkeeping.
Each operator shall maintain records that demonstrate compliance with this
subpart.
(a) Qualification records shall include:
(1) Identification of qualified individual(s);
(2) Identification of the covered tasks the individual is qualified to perform;
(3) Date(s) of current qualification; and
(4) Qualification method(s).
3



EcoElectrica did not maintain records that demonstrated compliance with Part 192,
Subpart N-Qualification of Pipeline Personnel because records did not include the items
required by §192.807(a).
When asked by the inspector for such records for certain tasks for Individual #1 and
(contracted) Individual #2, EcoElectrica provided inadequate records, as follows:
- The records applicable to specific tasks did not include the (1) Identification of
qualified individual(s);
- The records did not include the (2) Identification of the covered tasks the individual is
qualified to perform;
- The records did not include the (3) Date(s) of current qualification; and,
- The records did not include the (4) Qualification method(s).
Individual #1: Task 5.1-Line Operation (specifically to inspect and test the pipeline OPP
Valve PCV-SGA-23). The record provided was a Tecnologia de Instrumentacion
(Instrument Technician) diploma dated May 27, 1998, issued by the Institute Tecnologia
de Puerto Rico.
Individual #2: Tasks 5.4-Cathodic Protection Testing, and 5.5-Corrosion Control. The
records provided were Ingeniero Licenciado (Engineering License) dated
August 23, 2010, issued by the Secretaria Auxiliar de Juntos Examinadoras Puerto Rico
Deprtamento de Estado, and a professional engineering license card.
7. §192.807 Recordkeeping.
. . . (b) Records supporting an individual’s current qualification shall be maintained
while the individual is performing the covered task. Records of prior qualification
and records of individuals no longer performing covered tasks shall be retained for a
period of five years.
EcoElectrica did not maintain records supporting an individual’s current qualification
“while the individual is performing the covered task” nor did EcoElectrica maintain prior
qualification records.
When asked by the inspector for such records for the contracted individual who performed
cathodic protection and corrosion prevention tasks on the Costa Sur pipeline, EcoElectrica
provided only an engineering license certificate for the individual. The certificate did not
provide evidence that the individual was, or had previously been, qualified to perform task
5.4-Cathodic Protection Testing, and task 5.5-Corrosion Control that are listed in
Procedure LNGT-060. The individual had performed cathodic protection and corrosion
prevention tasks on the Costa Sur pipeline.
Under 49 United States Code, § 60122, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed
$200,000 per violation per day the violation persists up to a maximum of $2,000,000 for a
related series of violations. For violations occurring prior to January 3, 2012, the maximum
penalty may not exceed $100,000 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not to
exceed $1,000,000 for a 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 correct4



these items identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in EcoElectrica L.P. 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 2-2012-0006W. 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
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