{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 320155004","title":"WHITING PETROLEUM CORP — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2015-05-29","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.404(a), 195.404(c), 195.428(a), 195.440(d), 195.563(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320155004.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320155004.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320155004","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/320155004","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving WHITING PETROLEUM CORP. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.404(a),  195.404(c),  195.428(a),  195.440(d),  195.563(a). The case was opened on 2015-05-29 and is reported as closed as of 2015-12-29. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n320155004_Final Order_12292015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320155004/320155004_Final%20Order_12292015.pdf\n\n320155004_Final Order_12292015_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320155004/320155004_Final%20Order_12292015_text.pdf\n\n320155004_NOPV PCO_05292015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320155004/320155004_NOPV%20PCO_05292015.pdf\n\n320155004_NOPV PCO_05292015_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320155004/320155004_NOPV%20PCO_05292015_text.pdf\n\n320155004_Operator Response to PCO_06232015.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320155004/320155004_Operator%20Response%20to%20PCO_06232015.pdf\n\n320155004_Final Order_12292015_text.pdf\n\nDecember 29, 2015\nMr. James J. Volker\nPresident and CEO\nWhiting Petroleum Corporation\n1700 Broadway, Suite 2300\nDenver, CO 80290-2300\nRe: CPF No. 3-2015-5004\nDear Mr. Volker:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes one finding\nof violation and finds that Whiting Petroleum Corporation has completed the actions specified in\nthe Notice to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. Therefore, this case is now 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. Allan C. Beshore, Director, Central Region, OPS\nMs. Kelli Graff, Pipeline Compliance Specialist, Whiting Petroleum Corporation\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\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)\nWhiting Petroleum Corporation, ) CPF No. 3-2015-5004\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nOn June 9-13, 2014, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, representatives 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 Whiting Petroleum\nCorporation (Whiting or Respondent) in Dickinson, North Dakota. Respondent’s system\nconsists of 7.3 miles of eight-inch crude-oil pipeline from Belfield Oil Terminal to Bridger’s\nSkunk Hill Oil Terminal.\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Central Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated May 29, 2015, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Compliance Order\n(Notice), which also included several warning items pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205. In\naccordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that Whiting had violated\n49 C.F.R. §§ 195.404(a) and (c), 195.428(a), 195.440(d), and 195.563(a). The Notice proposed\nordering Respondent to take certain measures to correct the alleged violation of\n49 C.F.R. § 195.563(a). The remaining violations in the Notice were listed as warning items,\nwhich required no further action but warned the operator to correct the probable violations or\nface possible enforcement action.\nWhiting replied to the Notice by letter dated June 23, 2015 (Response). Respondent did not\ncontest the allegations of violation or the proposed compliance order, but did provide additional\ninformation regarding the actions it had taken in response to the Notice. Respondent did not\nrequest a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Whiting did not contest the allegation that it violated 49 C.F.R. Part 195, as\nfollows:\n\n\n\nCPF No. 3-2015-5004\nPage 2\nItem 5: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.563(a), which states:\n§ 195.563 Which pipelines must have cathodic protection?\n(a) Each buried or submerged pipeline that is constructed, relocated,\nreplaced, or otherwise changed after the applicable date in § 195.401(c)\nmust have cathodic protection. The cathodic protection must be in\noperation not later than 1 year after the pipeline is constructed, relocated,\nreplaced, or otherwise changed, as applicable.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.563(a) by failing to have cathodic\nprotection for the company’s breakout tanks.1 Specifically, the Notice alleged that Whiting\nfailed to apply cathodic protection to the breakout tanks at the Skunk Hill station.\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. § 195.563(a) by failing to apply\ncathodic protection to its breakout tanks at the Skunk Hill station.\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Item 5 in the Notice for violation of\n49 C.F.R. § 195.563(a). Under 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the\ntransportation of hazardous liquids or who owns or operates a pipeline facility is required to\ncomply with the applicable safety standards established under chapter 601. The Director\nindicates that Respondent has taken the following actions specified in the proposed compliance\norder:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 195.563(a) (Item 5), Respondent has installed\ncathodic protection on all eight tanks. All the tanks now meet the applicable cathodic\nprotection criteria.\nAccordingly, I find that compliance has been achieved with respect to this violation. Therefore,\nthe compliance terms proposed in the Notice are not included in this Order.\nWARNING ITEMS\nWith respect to Items 1 through 4, the Notice alleged probable violations of Part 195 but did not\npropose a civil penalty or compliance order for these items. Therefore, these are considered to\nbe warning items. The warnings were for:\n49 C.F.R. § 195.404(a) (Item 1) – Respondent’s alleged failure to maintain current maps\nof its pipeline system, by not showing a foreign line installed across its pipeline;\n1 Breakout tanks are considered part of the term “pipeline or pipeline system” under 49 C.F.R. § 195.2.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 3-2015-5004\nPage 3\n49 C.F.R. § 195.404(c) (Item 2) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to maintain\nrecords for the monthly inspections and annual overfill-protection inspections for\nthe tanks at its Skunk Hill facility in 2013, and the alleged failure to maintain\nrecords for the inspection of the shutdowns at Belfield Station for 2013;\n49 C.F.R. § 195.428(a) (Item 3) – Respondent’s alleged failure to annually inspect flow\ncontrollers, which are pressure-limiting devices that must be inspected at intervals not\nexceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year; and\n49 C.F.R. § 195.440(d) (Item 4) – Respondent’s alleged failure to inform the public of all\nthe different types of hazardous liquids it was transporting by pipeline, in its 2013 public\neducation brochures.\nIf OPS finds a violation of any of these items in a subsequent inspection, Respondent may be\nsubject to future enforcement action.\nThe 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","truncated":false,"body_characters":7645}