NOVA CHEMICALS CORPORATION — Notice of Probable Violation

case documentOfficial PDF320085015_NOPV PCP_12222008.pdf#

case documentOfficial PDF320085015_nopv pcp_12222008_text.pdf#

party submissionOfficial PDF320085015_Operator Response_01192009.pdf#

320085015_Final Order_08042010_text.pdf, page 1Official PDFAUG 04 2010 Mr. Bill Greene Senior Vice President, Operations NOVA Chemicals, Inc. 1555 Coraopolis Heights Road Moon Township, PA 15108 Re: CPF No. 3-2008-5015 Dear Mr. Greene: Enclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of violation and assesses a civil penalty of $5,000. This is to acknowledge receipt of payment of the full penalty amount, by wire transfer, dated January 15, 2009. This enforcement action is now closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise provided under 49 C.F.R. § 190.5. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter. Sincerely, Jeffrey D. Wiese Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety Enclosure cc: Mr. David Barrett, Director, Central Region, PHMSA CERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [7005 1160 0001 0039 0621]#

320085015_Final Order_08042010_text.pdf, page 2U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION OFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590 ____________________________________ ) In the Matter of ) ) NOVA Chemicals, Inc., ) CPF No. 3-2008-5015 ) Respondent. ) ____________________________________) FINAL ORDER On April 29-30, 2008, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of NOVA Chemicals, Inc. (NOVA or Respondent), in Marysville, Michigan. NOVA, a subsidiary of NOVA Chemicals (Canada) Ltd., is a large chemicals and plastics manufacturer and operates three parallel 3.6-mile pipelines that carry highly volatile refined liquids from Marysville, Michigan, to the NOVA petrochemical complex in Corunna, Ontario. As a result of the inspection, the Director, Central Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent, by letter dated December 22, 2008, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that NOVA had violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.509(a) and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $5,000 for the alleged violation. NOVA responded to the Notice by letter dated January 19, 2009 (Response). The company did not contest the allegation of violation and paid the proposed civil penalty of $5,000, as provided in 49 C.F.R. § 190.227. Payment of the penalty serves to close the case with prejudice to Respondent. FINDING OF VIOLATION In its Response, NOVA did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R. Part 195, as follows: Item 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.509(a), which state in relevant part:#

320085015_Final Order_08042010_text.pdf, page 32 § 195.509 General. (a) Operators must have a written qualification program by April 27, 2001. . . . The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.509(a) by failing to have a written operator qualification program by April 27, 2001. Although NOVA has been operating the pipeline facility at Marysville, Michigan, since 1987, it did not have a written qualification program until November 2006. Respondent did not contest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.509(a) by failing to have a written qualification program by April 27, 2001. Having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I assess Respondent a civil penalty of $5,000, which amount has already been paid by Respondent. The terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.5. ___________________________________ __________________________ Jeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety#