{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 320181002","title":"SOUTHERN STAR CENTRAL GAS PIPELINE, INC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2018-10-16","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.201(a)(2)(i).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320181002.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320181002.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320181002","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/320181002","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving SOUTHERN STAR CENTRAL GAS PIPELINE, INC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 192.201(a)(2)(i). The case was opened on 2018-10-16 and is reported as closed as of 2019-05-14. Proposed civil penalty: $29,300. Assessed civil penalty: $29,300. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n320181002_Final Order_05032019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320181002/320181002_Final%20Order_05032019.pdf\n\n320181002_Final Order_05032019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320181002/320181002_Final%20Order_05032019_text.pdf\n\n320181002_NOPV PCP_10162018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320181002/320181002_NOPV%20PCP_10162018.pdf\n\n320181002_NOPV PCP_10162018_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320181002/320181002_NOPV%20PCP_10162018_text.pdf\n\n320181002_Operator Response to Notice_10302018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320181002/320181002_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_10302018.pdf\n\n320181002_Final Order_05032019_text.pdf\n\nMay 3, 2019\nMr. Jimmy D. Staton\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer\nSouthern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc.\n4700 Highway 56\nOwensboro, KY 42301\nRe: CPF No. 3-2018-1002\nDear Mr. Staton:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $29,300. The penalty payment terms are set forth in the\nFinal Order. This enforcement action closes automatically upon receipt of payment. Service of\nthe Final Order by certified mail is effective upon the date of mailing, as provided under 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\nThank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nAlan K. Mayberry\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\nEnclosure\ncc: Mr. Allan C. Beshore, Director, Central Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA\nMr. Shawn Patterson, Vice President and Chief Operations Officer, Southern Star Central\nGas Pipeline, Inc.\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____________________________________\nIn the Matter of )\nSouthern Star Central Gas Pipeline, Inc., ) CPF No. 3-2018-1002\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom May 23 through May 26, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, representatives of the\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety\n(OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of Southern\nStar Central Gas Pipeline, Inc. (SSCGP or Respondent), near Tonganoxie, Kansas. SSCGP owns\nand operates approximately 5,800 miles of natural gas transmission pipeline facilities in\nMissouri, Kansas, Oklahoma, Wyoming, Colorado, Nebraska, and Texas.1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Central Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,\nby letter dated October 16, 2018, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty\n(Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that SSCGP had\nviolated 49 C.F.R. § 192.201(a)(2)(i) and assessing a civil penalty of $29,300 for the alleged\nviolation.\nSSCGP responded to the Notice by letter dated October 30, 2018 (Response). The company did\nnot contest the allegation of violation, but provided an explanation of its actions and requested\nthat the proposed civil penalty be eliminated. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore\nhas waived its right to one.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, SSCGP did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R. Part\n192, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.201(a)(2)(i), which states:\n§ 192.201 Required capacity of pressure relieving and limiting stations.\n1 SSCGP website, available at https://www.sscgp.com/about-southern-star/ (last accessed January 29, 2019).\n\n\n\nCPF No. 3-2018-1002\nPage 2\n(a) Each pressure relief station or pressure limiting station or group of\nthose stations installed to protect a pipeline must have enough capacity, and\nmust be set to operate, to insure the following:\n(1) . . . .\n(2) In pipelines other than a low pressure distribution system:\n(i) If the maximum allowable operating pressure is 60 p.s.i. (414 kPa)\ngage or more, the pressure may not exceed the maximum allowable\noperating pressure plus 10 percent, or the pressure that produces a hoop\nstress of 75 percent of SMYS, whichever is lower; . . . .\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.201(a)(2)(i) by failing to set a\npressure limiting device at a pressure that would not exceed the maximum allowable operating\npressure (MAOP) plus 10 percent.2 Specifically, the Notice alleged that a relief valve at\nSSCGP’s Tonganoxie, Kansas compressor station was set to a pressure 21 percent higher than\nthe MAOP of the downstream pipeline that the relief valve was intended to protect. The pipeline\nhad an MAOP of 500 p.s.i.g., while the relief valve was set to operate at 605 p.s.i.g.\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. § 192.201(a)(2)(i) by failing to set a\npressure limiting device at a pressure that would not exceed the MAOP plus 10 percent.\nThis finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action\ntaken against Respondent.\nASSESSMENT OF PENALTY\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122, Respondent is subject to an administrative civil penalty not to exceed\n$200,000 per violation for each day of the violation, up to a maximum of $2,000,000 for any\nrelated series of violations.3 In determining the amount of a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60122 and 49 C.F.R. § 190.225, I must consider the following criteria: the nature,\ncircumstances, and gravity of the violation, including adverse impact on the environment; the\ndegree of Respondent’s culpability; the history of Respondent’s prior offenses; any effect that\nthe penalty may have on its ability to continue doing business; and the good faith of Respondent\nin attempting to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. In addition, I may consider the\neconomic benefit gained from the violation without any reduction because of subsequent\ndamages, and such other matters as justice may require. The Notice proposed a total civil\npenalty of $29,300 for the violation cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $29,300 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.\n2 The regulation provides an alternative maximum pipeline pressure, namely, “a hoop stress of 75 percent of SMYS\n[i.e., specified minimum yield strength], whichever is lower.” The Notice, however, did not include this alternative\nstandard nor did SSCGP contest the allegation of violation.\n3 These amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. See 49 C.F.R. § 190.223; Revisions to Civil Penalty Amounts,\n83 Fed. Reg. 60732, 60744 (Nov. 27, 2018).\n\n\n\nCPF No. 3-2018-1002\nPage 3\n§ 192.201(a)(2)(i), for failing to set a pressure limiting device at a pressure that would not exceed\nthe MAOP plus 10 percent. SSCGP requested elimination of the proposed civil penalty based on\nthe company’s 2018 installation of overpressure-protection devices at its Tonganoxie facility that\npurportedly comply with 49 C.F.R. Part 192. While the company’s corrective actions taken\nsubsequent to the PHMSA inspection are commendable, they do not warrant a reduction or\nelimination of a proposed penalty under the agency’s penalty-assessment criteria. Further,\nRespondent has not shown any other circumstance that would justify reduction or elimination of\nthe proposed penalty.\nAccordingly, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I assess\nRespondent a civil penalty of $29,300 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.201(a)(2)(i).\nPayment of the civil penalty must be made within 20 days of service. Federal regulations (49\nC.F.R. § 89.21(b)(3)) require such payment to be made by wire transfer through the Federal\nReserve Communications System (Fedwire), to the account of the U.S. Treasury. Detailed\ninstructions are contained in the enclosure. Questions concerning wire transfers should be\ndirected to: Financial Operations Division (AMK-325), Federal Aviation Administration, Mike\nMonroney Aeronautical Center, 6500 S MacArthur Blvd, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 79169.\nThe Financial Operations Division telephone number is (405) 954-8845.\nFailure to pay the $29,300 civil penalty will result in accrual of interest at the current annual rate\nin accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 3717, 31 C.F.R. § 901.9 and 49 C.F.R. § 89.23. Pursuant to\nthose same authorities, a late penalty charge of six percent (6%) per annum will be charged if\npayment is not made within 110 days of service. Furthermore, failure to pay the civil penalty\nmay result in referral of the matter to the Attorney General for appropriate action in a district\ncourt of the United States.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.243, Respondent may submit a Petition for Reconsideration of this Final\nOrder to the Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey\nAvenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20590, with a copy sent to the Office of\nChief Counsel, PHMSA, at the same address, no later than 20 days after receipt of service of the\nFinal Order by Respondent. Any petition submitted must contain a brief statement of the issue(s)\nand meet all other requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.243. The filing of a petition automatically\nstays the payment of any civil penalty assessed. The other terms of the order, including any\ncorrective action, remain in effect unless the Associate Administrator, upon request, grants a\nstay. If Respondent submits payment of the civil penalty, the Final Order becomes the final\nadministrative decision and the right to petition for reconsideration is waived.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\nMay 3, 2019\n___________________________________ __________________________\nAlan K. Mayberry Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety","truncated":false,"body_characters":10346}