{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 220150004W","title":"CALKINS LP GAS CO (22735) — Warning Letter","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2015-06-26","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED warning letter citing 192.1015(a), 192.11(b), 192.285(d), 192.605(b)(8), 192.614(b), 192.616(j), 192.625(f), 192.707(a)(1), 192.721(b)(1), 192.809(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220150004w.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220150004w.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-220150004w","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/220150004W","body":"Warning Letter involving CALKINS LP GAS CO (22735). PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.1015(a),  192.11(b),  192.285(d),  192.605(b)(8),  192.614(b),  192.616(j),  192.625(f),  192.707(a)(1),  192.721(b)(1),  192.809(a). The case was opened on 2015-06-26 and is reported as closed as of 2015-06-26. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n220150004W_warning letter_06262015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220150004W/220150004W_warning%20letter_06262015.pdf\n\n220150004W_warning letter_06262015_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/220150004W/220150004W_warning%20letter_06262015_text.pdf\n\n220150004W_warning letter_06262015_text.pdf\n\nWARNING LETTER\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJune 26, 2015\nMr. Keith Calkins\nPresident\nCalkins LP Gas Co.\n2920 Avenue of the Americas\nEnglewood, FL 34224\nCPF 2-2015-0004W\nDear Mr Calkins:\nOn November 18-20, 2014, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), Southern Region, Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) inspected the\nCalkins LP Gas Co. (Calkins Gas) liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) pipeline procedures and\nrecords in its Englewood, Florida office and pipeline facilities located in Sarasota county,\nFlorida, pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code.\nAs a result of the inspection, it appears that Calkins Gas has committed probable violations of\nthe Pipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected\nand the probable violations are as follows:\n1. § 192.11 Petroleum gas systems.\n... (b) Each pipeline system subject to this part that transports only petroleum gas or\npetroleum gas/air mixtures must meet the requirements of this part and of\nANSI/NFPA 58 and 59.\n– Calkins Gas did not meet the requirements for \"Pipe for Regulator Venting\" in\nNFPA 58 (2004), Section 5.7.5.1 which states that \"Pipe or tubing used to vent\nregulators shall be one of the following: (1) Metal pipe and tubing in accordance with\n5.8.3, (2) PVC meeting the requirements of UL 651, Schedule 40 or 80 Rigid PVC\nConduit.\"\nThe OPS inspector observed white PVC water pipe, that was not Schedule 40 or 80\nRigid PVC Conduit, used to vent regulators at 11 St. Johns Blvd. in Cayman Isles.\nThis pipe did not meet the requirements of Section 5.7.5.1.\n\n\n\n2. 3. – Calkins Gas did not meet the requirements for \"Regulator Installation\" in\nNFPA 58 (2004), Section 6.7.4.5, which states that \"[t]he point of discharge from the\nrequired pressure relief device on regulating equipment installed outside of buildings\nin fixed piping systems shall be located not less than 3 ft. (1 m) horizontally away from\nany building opening below the level of such discharge, and not beneath any building\nunless this space is well ventilated to the outside and is not enclosed for more than 50\npercent of its perimeter.\"\nThe OPS inspector observed a pressure relief device at the Laundry Building in\nHometown Lake Village with its point of discharge less than 3 feet from a building\nopening that was below the point of discharge.\n– Calkins Gas did not meet the requirements for \"Regulator Installation\" in NFPA 58\n(2004), Section 6.7.4.6, which states that \"The point of discharge [of a regulator] shall\nalso be located not less than 5 ft. (1.5 m) in any direction away from any source of\nignition, openings into direct-vent (sealed combustion system) appliances, or\nmechanical ventilation air intakes.\"\nThe OPS inspector observed a pressure relief device at 9 St. Johns Blvd. in\nCayman Isles with its point of discharge less than 5 feet from a source of ignition.\n§ 192.285 Plastic pipe: Qualifying persons to make joints.\n... (d) Each operator shall establish a method to determine that each person making\njoints in plastic pipelines in the operator's system is qualified in accordance with this\nsection.\nCalkins Gas did not establish a method to determine that each person making joints in\nplastic pipelines in its systems was qualified in accordance with this section\n(i.e. §192.285). Calkins Gas allowed a person to make plastic pipe joints on its systems\non August 15, 2012; however, Calkins Gas did not have records to demonstrate that the\nperson had been qualified to make joints in plastic pipe in accordance with Subpart F\nrequirements.\n§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies\n... (b) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by paragraph (a)\nof this section must include procedures for the following, if applicable, to provide\nsafety during maintenance and operations.\n... (8) Periodically reviewing the work done by operator personnel to determine the\neffectiveness and adequacy of the procedures used in normal operation and\nmaintenance and modifying the procedure when deficiencies are found.\nCalkins Gas did not provide records or any other documentation to the OPS inspector to\nshow it had conducted periodic reviews of work done by operator personnel to determine\nthe effectiveness and adequacy of the procedures used in normal operations and\nmaintenance.\n4. § 192.614 Damage prevention program.\n... (b) An operator may comply with any of the requirements of paragraph (c) of this\n2\n\n\n\nsection through participation in a public service program, such as a one-call system,\nbut such participation does not relieve the operator of responsibility for compliance\nwith this section. However, an operator must perform the duties of paragraph (c)(3)\nof this section through participation in a one-call system, if that one-call system is a\nqualified one-call system. In areas that are covered by more than one qualified one-\ncall system, an operator need only join one of the qualified one-call systems if there is\na central telephone number for excavators to call for excavation activities, or if the\none-call systems in those areas communicate with one another. An operator's\npipeline system must be covered by a qualified one-call system where there is one in\nplace. For the purpose of this section, a one-call system is considered a “qualified\none-call system” if it meets the requirements of section (b)(1) or (b)(2) of this section.\nCalkins Gas did not perform the duties of §192.614(c)(3) through participation in a\nqualified one-call system. Section 192.614(b) requires an operator's pipeline system to be\ncovered by a qualified one-call system where there is one in place. Florida's Sunshine 811\nis a qualified one-call system. At the time of the inspection, Calkins Gas had not\nregistered and activated its Sarasota County, Florida LPG distribution systems with\nSunshine 811. Therefore, Calkins Gas had not provided a means of receiving and\nrecording notification of planned excavation activities in accordance with §192.614(c)(3).\nCalkins Gas activated its membership with Sunshine 811 on March 19, 2015.\n5. § 192.616 Public awareness.\n... (j) Unless the operator transports gas as a primary activity, the operator of a\nmaster meter or petroleum gas system is not required to develop a public awareness\nprogram as prescribed in paragraphs (a) through (g) of this section. Instead the\noperator must develop and implement a written procedure to provide its customers\npublic awareness messages twice annually. If the master meter or petroleum gas\nsystem is located on property the operator does not control, the operator must\nprovide similar messages twice annually to persons controlling the property. The\npublic awareness message must include:\n(1) A description of the purpose and reliability of the pipeline;\n(2) An overview of the hazards of the pipeline and prevention measures used;\n(3) Information about damage prevention;\n(4) How to recognize and respond to a leak; and\n(5) How to get additional information.\nCalkins Gas did not provide its customers public awareness messages twice annually.\nCalkins Gas provided records demonstrating that it delivered its public awareness\nmessages only once each calendar year for 2012, 2013, and 2014.\n6. § 192.625 Odorization of gas.\n... (f) To assure the proper concentration of odorant in accordance with this section,\neach operator must conduct periodic sampling of combustible gases using an\ninstrument capable of determining the percentage of gas in air at which the odor\nbecomes readily detectable. Operators of master meter systems may comply with this\nrequirement by:\n3\n\n\n\n(1) Receiving written verification from their gas source that the gas has the proper\nconcentration of odorant; and\n(2) Conducting periodic \"sniff\" tests at the extremities of the system to confirm that\nthe gas contains odorant.\nCalkins Gas did not assure the proper concentration of odorant by conducting periodic\nsampling of combustible gases using an instrument capable of determining the percentage\nof gas in air at which the odor becomes readily detectable. Calkins Gas provided\ndocumentation showing the LPG was odorized prior to delivery and records showing that\nthe operator conducted periodic “sniff” tests to confirm the gas contained odorant.\nHowever, Calkins Gas was not operating master meter systems, so it cannot solely rely on\nsniff tests to comply with the regulation. The only acceptable method of complying was to\nuse an instrument capable of determining the percentage of gas in air at which the odor\nbecomes readily detectable.\n7. § 192.707 Line markers for mains and transmission lines.\n(a) Buried pipelines. Except as provided in paragraph (b) of this section, a line\nmarker must be placed and maintained as close as practical over each buried main\nand transmission line:\n(1) At each crossing of a public road and railroad; and\nCalkins did not place and maintain line markers as close as practical over each buried\nmain at each crossing of a public road. During the field inspection, the OPS inspector\nidentified several locations without line markers where mains crossed public roads at\nFlorida Pines, Hometown Lake Village, and Venice Ranch.\n8. §192.721 Distribution systems: Patrolling.\n... (b) Mains in places or on structures where anticipated physical movement or\nexternal loading could cause failure or leakage must be patrolled—\n(1) In business districts, at intervals not exceeding 4½ months, but at least four times\neach calendar year; […]\nCalkins Gas did not patrol its LPG distribution systems in business districts at intervals\nnot exceeding 4½ months, but at least four times each calendar year. Calkins Gas records\nshowed that it did not patrol the business districts of Venice Ranch and Hometown Lake\nVillage 4 times per year in calendar years 2012-2014.\n9. §192.809 General.\n(a) Operators must have a written qualification program by April 27, 2001. The\nprogram must be available for review by the Administrator or by a state agency\nparticipating under 49 U.S.C. Chapter 601 if the program is under the authority of\nthat state agency.\n4\n\n\n\nCalkins Gas did not have a written qualification program in place prior to commencing\noperation of its LPG distribution pipeline systems, which it acquired in the first quarter of\ncalendar year 2007. At the time of the inspection, Calkins Gas still did not have a written\nqualification program in place. After being alerted to the requirement for a written\nqualification plan, Calkins Gas put its written qualification plan into place. Calkins Gas\nprovided the plan to the OPS inspector on March 31, 2015.\n10. §192.1015 What must a master meter or small liquefied petroleum gas (LPG)\noperator do to implement this subpart?\n(a) General. No later than August 2, 2011 the operator of a master meter system or a\nsmall LPG operator must develop and implement an IM program that includes a\nwritten IM plan as specified in paragraph (b) of this section. The IM program for\nthese pipelines should reflect the relative simplicity of these types of pipelines.\nCalkins Gas did not develop and implement an integrity management (IM) program that\nincluded a written IM plan by August 2, 2011. At the time of the inspection, Calkins Gas\ndid not have a written IM plan. After being alerted to the requirement for a written IM\nplan, Calkins Gas developed written plans for its LPG distribution systems. Calkins Gas\nprovided the plan to the OPS inspector on January 23, 2015.\nUnder 49 United States Code, § 60122, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed\n$200,000 per violation per day the violation persists up to a maximum of $2,000,000 for a\nrelated series of violations. For violations occurring prior to January 4, 2012, the maximum\npenalty may not exceed $100,000 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not to\nexceed $1,000,000 for a related series of violations. We have reviewed the circumstances and\nsupporting documents involved in this case, and have decided not to conduct additional\nenforcement action or penalty assessment proceedings at this time. We advise you to correct\nthe items identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in Calkins Gas being subject to\nadditional enforcement action.\nNo reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer\nto CPF 2-2015-0004W. Be advised that all material you submit in response to this\nenforcement action is subject to being made publicly available. If you believe that any\nportion of your responsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b),\nalong with the complete original document you must provide a second copy of the document\nwith the portions you believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of\nwhy you believe the redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C.\n552(b).\nSincerely,\nWayne T. Lemoi\nDirector, Office of Pipeline Safety\nPHMSA Southern Region\n5","truncated":false,"body_characters":13751}