{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 320115011","title":"ERGON TERMINALING, INC. — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2011-08-31","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.505(b), 195.505(h), 195.589(c).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320115011.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320115011.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320115011","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/320115011","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving ERGON TERMINALING, INC.. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.505(b),  195.505(h),  195.589(c). The case was opened on 2011-08-31 and is reported as closed as of 2013-02-04. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n320115011_Closure_02042013.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320115011/320115011_Closure_02042013.pdf\n\n320115011_Closure_02042013_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320115011/320115011_Closure_02042013_text.pdf\n\n320115011_FinalOrder_04162012.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320115011/320115011_FinalOrder_04162012.pdf\n\n320115011_FinalOrder_04162012_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320115011/320115011_FinalOrder_04162012_text.pdf\n\n320115011_NOPV PCO_08312011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320115011/320115011_NOPV%20PCO_08312011.pdf\n\n320115011_NOPV PCO_08312011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320115011/320115011_NOPV%20PCO_08312011_text.pdf\n\n320115011_Operator Response to Notice_10172011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320115011/320115011_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_10172011.pdf\n\n320115011_FinalOrder_04162012_text.pdf\n\nAPR 16 2012\nMr. Robert Lampton\nPresident\nErgon Trucking, Inc.\n2829 Lakeland Drive\nP.O. Box 1639\nJackson, MS 39232-7611\nRe: CPF No. 3-2011-5011\nDear Mr. Lampton:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation and specifies actions that need to be taken by Ergon Trucking, Inc., to comply with\nthe pipeline safety regulations. When the terms of the compliance order have been completed,\nas determined by the Director, Central Region, this enforcement action will be closed.\nService of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as\notherwise 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. Jake Neihaus, Senior Environmental Scientist, Ergon Trucking, Inc.\nMr. David Barrett, Director, Central Region, OPS\nMr. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, OPS\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [71791000164203505146]\n\n\n\nU.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION\nPIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION\nOFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY\nWASHINGTON, D.C. 20590\n____________________________________\n)\nIn the Matter of )\n)\nErgon Trucking, Inc., ) CPF No. 3-2011-5011\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nOn May 10-14, 2010, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS),\nconducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of Ergon Trucking,\nInc. (Ergon or Respondent), in Magnolia, Ohio. Ergon operates a 38.75-mile, 8-inch pipeline\nthat transports crude oil from Magnolia, Ohio, to a refinery in Newell, West Virginia.1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Central Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated August 31, 2011, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Compliance Order\n(Notice), which also included a warning pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205. In accordance with\n49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that Ergon violated 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.505 and\n195.589 and proposed ordering Respondent to take certain measures to correct the alleged\nviolations. The warning item required no further action, but advised the operator to take\nappropriate corrective action or be subject to future potential enforcement action.\nErgon responded to the Notice by letter dated October 17, 2011 (Response). Respondent did not\ncontest the Notice and indicated forthcoming amendments to its Operator Qualification (OQ)\nprogram.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Ergon did not contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R. Part\n195, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.505(b), which states:\n§ 195.505 Qualification program.\nEach operator shall have and follow a written qualification program.\nThe program shall include provisions to:\n1 Pipeline Safety Violation Report (August 31, 2011) (Violation Report) at 2.\n\n\n\n2\n(a) . . .\n(b) Ensure through evaluation that individuals performing covered\ntasks are qualified;….2\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.505(b) by failing to ensure through\nevaluation that individuals performing covered tasks were qualified. Specifically, the Notice\nalleged that Ergon personnel removed internal inspection devices, generally known as “pigs,”\nfrom the pig trap at the Newell refinery. Upon the request of a PHMSA inspector, Respondent\ncould provide no documentation either that refinery personnel had been qualified or that\nqualified personnel had directed and observed the performance of covered task “E2 - Launching\nand Receiving Pigs,” as required by Ergon’s own OQ program. The company’s operations\nsupervisor acknowledged that unqualified refinery employees regularly unloaded pigs when\nErgon employees were unavailable.\n3\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. § 195.505(b) by failing to ensure\nthrough evaluation that personnel performing covered tasks were qualified.\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.505, as quoted above, by\nfailing to ensure through evaluation that individuals performing covered tasks were qualified.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that Ergon was unable to demonstrate that personnel performing\nthe covered task “Monitoring Pipeline Pressure” had been properly evaluated and were able to\nrecognize and react to abnormal operating conditions (AOCs). A PHMSA inspector noted that\nRespondent’s OQ program had no procedures, guidance, or training for the identification of\nseveral AOCs associated with pressure monitoring, volume determination, shutdown situations\nand leak detection.\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. § 195.505(b) by failing to ensure\nthrough evaluation that Ergon personnel performing the covered task “Monitoring Pipeline\nPressure” were qualified.\nItem 3: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.505(h), which states:\n§ 195.505 Qualification program.\nEach operator shall have and follow a written qualification program.\nThe program shall include provisions to:\n(a) . . .\n(h) After December 16, 2004, provide training, as appropriate, to\nensure that individuals performing covered tasks have the necessary\nknowledge and skills to perform the tasks in a manner that ensures the safe\noperation of pipeline facilities;….\n2 Under 49 C.F.R. § 195.503, “Qualified means that an individual has been evaluated and can: (a) Perform assigned\ncovered tasks and (b) Recognize and react to abnormal operating conditions.”\n3 Violation Report at 2.\n\n\n\n3\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.505(h) by failing to have and\nfollow, after December 16, 2004, a written qualification program with provisions to provide\ntraining, as appropriate, to ensure that individuals performing covered tasks had the necessary\nknowledge and skills to perform covered tasks in a manner ensuring the safe operation of the\npipeline. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Ergon had failed to provide training for any of the\n23 covered tasks in its OQ program. While Respondent’s written OQ plan provided for\nappropriate training, employees were not trained in such covered tasks as startup, shutdown,\noperation, or monitoring of the pipeline.\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. § 195.505(h) by failing to provide\ntraining to ensure that individuals performing covered tasks had the necessary knowledge and\nskills to perform covered tasks in a manner ensuring the safe operation of the pipeline.\nItem 5: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.589(c), which states:\n§ 195.589 What corrosion control information do I have to maintain?\n(a) . . .\n(c) You must maintain a record of each analysis, check, demonstration,\nexamination, inspection, investigation, review, survey, and test required\nby this subpart in sufficient detail to demonstrate the adequacy of\ncorrosion control measures or that corrosion requiring control measures\ndoes not exist. You must retain these records for at least 5 years, except\nthat records related to §§ 195.569, 195.573(a) and (b), and 195.579(b)(3)\nand (c) must be retained for as long as the pipeline remains in service.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.589(c) by failing to maintain a\nrecord of each analysis, check, demonstration, examination, inspection, investigation, review,\nsurvey, and test required by [Subpart H – Corrosion Control] in sufficient detail to demonstrate\nthe adequacy of corrosion control measures or that corrosion requiring control measures did not\nexist. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Ergon failed to document atmospheric corrosion\ninspections for its above-ground piping in the 39 months prior to PHMSA’s May 14, 2010\ninspection.\n4\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. § 195.589(c) by failing to maintain\ndocumentation of atmospheric corrosion inspections for the 39-month period preceding\nPHMSA’s inspection.\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Items 1,2, 3 and 5 in the Notice for\nviolations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.505 and 195.589. Under 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who\nengages in the transportation of hazardous liquids or who owns or operates a pipeline facility is\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\n4 Above-ground piping exists at the pump station, Mohawk Lake Main Line Block Valve, and the termination of the\npipeline in Newell, West Virginia. No atmospheric corrosion inspection report was available for any of these\nlocations.\n\n\n\n4\nrequired to comply with the applicable safety standards established under chapter 601. Pursuant\nto the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217, Respondent is ordered to take\nthe following actions to ensure compliance with the pipeline safety regulations applicable to its\noperations:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 195.505(b) (Item 1), Respondent must ensure\nthat qualified refinery personnel conduct the covered task “E2- Launching and\nReceiving Pigs (E2)” or ensure that refinery personnel are directed and observed by a\nqualified individual. Ergon must either: (1) complete and maintain documentation for\nthe qualification of refinery personnel performing this task; or (2) develop a\nprocedure addressing the use of qualified personnel to perform, direct, and observe\nrefinery personnel performing covered Task E2. Respondent must either submit the\nqualification records of all refinery personnel qualified to perform Task E2 or the\nprocedure addressing the proposed management of Task E2 within 30 days of receipt\nof the Final Order, to the Director.\n2. With respect to the violation of § 195.505(b) (Item 2), Respondent must develop a\nlist of potential AOCs for the Ergon pipeline and corresponding action items,\nfollowing identification of such conditions. Respondent must evaluate and qualify all\noperating personnel monitoring the Ergon pipeline and submit this documentation to\nthe Director within 60 days of receipt of the Final Order.\n3. With respect to the violation of § 195.505(h) (Item 3), Respondent must provide\ntraining to ensure that individuals conducting startup, shutdown, operation, and\nmonitoring of the pipeline understand the actions required once AOCs or abnormal\noperational data are discovered. Respondent must submit a proposed training\nprogram for individuals performing startup, shutdown, operation, and monitoring of\nthe pipeline for approval of the Director within 30 days of the receipt of the Final\nOrder.\nWithin 30 days of receiving the Director’s approval, the Respondent must complete\nall training and submit supporting documentation to the Director. Respondent must\nalso review its OQ program and list of covered tasks to determine the additional\ntraining required to ensure that individuals performing covered tasks possess the\nrequisite training for safe operation of Ergon’s pipeline facilities. A proposed\ntraining program must be submitted for the Director’s approval within 30 days of\nreceipt of the Final Order. Within 60 days of receiving the Director’s approval, all\ncompany personnel must be trained and supporting documentation submitted to the\nDirector.\n4. With respect to the violation of § 195.589(c) (Item 5), Respondent must provide\ndocumentation that it has inspected all above-ground piping, including at the pump\nstation, the Mohawk Lake Main Line Block Valve and the termination of the pipeline.\nDocumentation of the completed atmospheric corrosions inspections must be\nsubmitted to the Director within 30 days of the receipt of the Final Order.\n5. It is requested that Ergon maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs\nassociated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to the Director.\n\n\n\n5\nCosts shall be reported in two categories: 1) total costs associated with\npreparation/revision of plans, procedures, studies and analyses; and 2) total cost\nassociated with replacements, additions and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.\nThe Director may grant an extension of time to comply with any of the required items, upon a\nwritten request timely submitted by the Respondent and demonstrating good cause for an\nextension.\nFailure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties\nnot to exceed $100,000 for each violation for each day the violation continues or in referral to the\nAttorney General for appropriate relief in a district court of the United States.\nWARNING ITEM\nWith respect to Item 4, the Notice alleged a probable violation of Part 195 but did not propose a\ncivil penalty or compliance order for this item. Therefore, this is considered a warning item.\nThe warning was for:\n49 C.F.R. § 195.589 (Item 4) - Respondent’s alleged failure to maintain records\nrequired to demonstrate the adequacy of corrosion control measures or that\ncorrosion requiring control measures do not exist.\nIf OPS finds a violation of this provision in a subsequent inspection, Respondent may be subject\nto future enforcement action.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.215, Respondent has a right to submit a Petition for Reconsideration of\nthis Final Order. The petition must be sent to: Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline\nSafety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC\n20590, with a copy sent to the Office of Chief Counsel, PHMSA, at the same address. PHMSA\nwill accept petitions received no later than 20 days after receipt of service of this Final Order by\nthe Respondent, provided they contain a brief statement of the issue(s) and meet all other\nrequirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.215. Unless the Associate Administrator, upon request, grants a\nstay, the terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with\n49 C.F.R. § 190.5.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n320115011_Closure_02042013_text.pdf\n\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nFebruary 4, 2013\nMr. Russ Maroney\nVice President Operations\nErgon Trucking, Inc.\n2829 Lakeland Drive\nP.O. Box 1639\nJackson, MS 39232-7611\nCPF 3-2011-5011\nDear Mr. Maroney:\nOn April 16, 2012, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\nissued to Ergon Trucking, Inc. a Final Order in the above-referenced case. This Order included a\nCompliance Order. Based on our review of the documentation you provided, it has been\ndetermined that you have complied with the terms of this Order.\nAccordingly, this case is now closed and no further action is contemplated with respect to the\nmatters involved in this case. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nDavid Barrett\nDirector, Central Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","truncated":false,"body_characters":16686}