{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 320206003M","title":"USG WHEATLAND PIPELINE, LLC — Notice of Amendment","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2020-11-12","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of amendment citing 195.230, 195.402(c)(3), 195.402(d)(3), 195.563(c), 195.573(d), 195.573(e), 195.585, 195.587.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320206003m.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320206003m.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-320206003m","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/320206003M","body":"Notice of Amendment involving USG WHEATLAND PIPELINE, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.230,  195.402(c)(3),  195.402(d)(3),  195.563(c),  195.573(d),  195.573(e),  195.585,  195.587. The case was opened on 2020-11-12 and is reported as closed as of 2021-10-07. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n320206003M_Closure Letter_10072021_(18-163067S).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320206003M/320206003M_Closure%20Letter_10072021_(18-163067S).pdf\n\n320206003M_Closure Letter_10072021_(18-163067S)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320206003M/320206003M_Closure%20Letter_10072021_(18-163067S)_text.pdf\n\n320206003M_Notice of Amendment_11122020.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320206003M/320206003M_Notice%20of%20Amendment_11122020.pdf\n\n320206003M_Notice of Amendment_11122020_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320206003M/320206003M_Notice%20of%20Amendment_11122020_text.pdf\n\n320206003M_Operator Response to Notice_12082020_(18-163067S).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/320206003M/320206003M_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_12082020_(18-163067S).pdf\n\n320206003M_Notice of Amendment_11122020_text.pdf\n\nNOTICE OF AMENDMENT\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: TJ.Tuscai@nexteraenergy.com\nLarry.Wall@nexteraenergy.com and William.Meyer@nexteraenergy.com\nNovember 12, 2020\nTJ Tuscai\nPresident, Gas Infrastructure\nUSG Wheatland Pipeline, LLC\n601 Travis Street,\nHouston, TX 77002\nCPF 3-2020-6003M\nDear Mr. Tuscai:\nFrom June 10 through July 12, 2019, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code, inspected\n(Wheatland) procedures for construction, operations and maintenance, operator qualification,\npublic awareness, damage prevention, facilities and storage, time dependent threats, and\nemergency response in Williston, North Dakota.\nOn the basis of the inspection, PHMSA has identified the apparent inadequacies found within\nWheatland’s plans or procedures, as described below:\n1. §195.230 Welds: Repair or removal of defects.\n(a) Each weld that is unacceptable under §195.228 must be removed or repaired.\nExcept for welds on an offshore pipeline being installed from a pipe lay vessel, a weld\nmust be removed if it has a crack that is more than 8 percent of the weld length.\n\n\n\n(b) Each weld that is repaired must have the defect removed down to sound metal\nand the segment to be repaired must be preheated if conditions exist which would\nadversely affect the quality of the weld repair. After repair, the segment of the weld\nthat was repaired must be inspected to ensure its acceptability.\n(c) Repair of a crack, or of any defect in a previously repaired area must be in\naccordance with written weld repair procedures that have been qualified under\n§195.214. Repair procedures must provide that the minimum mechanical properties\nspecified for the welding procedure used to make the original weld are met upon\ncompletion of the final weld repair.\nWheatland’s operation and maintenance (O&M) manual was inadequate because it did not have a\nprocedure specifying repair or removal of weld defects as part of its construction procedures.\nFollowing the inspection, Wheatland developed and submitted procedure O&M Section 5.3.2.10\non September 5, 2019 that satisfactorily addressed this item. No further action is required.\n2. §195.402 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n(d) Abnormal operation. The manual required by paragraph (a) of this section must\ninclude procedures for the following to provide safety when operating design limits\nhave been exceeded:\n(3) Correcting variations from normal operation of pressure and flow equipment and\ncontrols.\nWheatland’s O&M manual was inadequate because it did not have a procedure for correcting\nvariations from normal operations of pressure flow equipment and controls. Wheatland must\namend its O&M plan to include such a procedure as required by §195.402(d)(3).\n3. §195.402(c)(3) Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n(c) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by paragraph (a) of\nthis section must include procedures for the following to provide safety during\nmaintenance and normal operations:\n(3) Operating, maintaining, and repairing the pipeline system in accordance with\neach of the requirements of this subpart and subpart H of this part.\n§195.563 Which pipelines must have cathodic protection?\n(c) All other buried or submerged pipelines that have an effective external coating\nmust have cathodic protection. (see Note below) Except as provided by paragraph (d)\nof this section, this requirement does not apply to breakout tanks and does not apply\n2\n\n\n\nto buried piping in breakout tank areas and pumping stations until December 29,\n2003\nWheatland’s O&M manual was inadequate because it incorrectly required operator personnel to\nfollow §195.565 and incorporated API 651 to determine whether cathodic protection is needed on\nbreakout tanks instead of §195.563. Section 195.563 requires cathodic protection on all breakout\ntanks built after December 29, 2003. Wheatland must amend its O&M manual to include a\nprocedure for determining whether cathodic protection is needed on breakout tanks in accordance\nwith §195.563.\n4. §195.402(c)(3) Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n(c) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by paragraph (a) of\nthis section must include procedures for the following to provide safety during\nmaintenance and normal operations:\n(3) Operating, maintaining, and repairing the pipeline system in accordance with\neach of the requirements of this subpart and subpart H of this part.\n§195.573 What must I do to monitor external corrosion control?\n(d) Breakout tanks. You must inspect each cathodic protection system used to control\ncorrosion on the bottom of an aboveground breakout tank to ensure that operation\nand maintenance of the system are in accordance with API RP 651 (incorporated by\nreference, see § 195.3). However, this inspection is not required if you note in the\ncorrosion control procedures established under §195.402(c)(3) why complying with\nall or certain operation and maintenance provisions of API RP 651 is not necessary\nfor the safety of the tank.\nWheatland’s O&M manual was inadequate because it did not have a procedure for inspecting\ncorrosion control on breakout tanks in accordance with §195.573. Wheatland must amend its\nO&M manual to include a procedure that addresses the requirements of §195.573.\n5. §195.402(c)(3) Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n(c) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by paragraph (a) of\nthis section must include procedures for the following to provide safety during\nmaintenance and normal operations:\n(3) Operating, maintaining, and repairing the pipeline system in accordance with\neach of the requirements of this subpart and subpart H of this part.\n§195.573 What must I do to monitor external corrosion control?\n3\n\n\n\n(e) Corrective action. You must correct any identified deficiency in corrosion control\nas required by § 195.401(b). However, if the deficiency involves a pipeline in an\nintegrity management program under § 195.452, you must correct the deficiency as\nrequired by § 195.452(h).\nWheatland’s O&M manual was inadequate because it did not have a procedure specifying repair\ntiming of corrosion control deficiencies. Following the inspection, Wheatland developed and\nsubmitted procedure O&M Section 5.3.1 on July 18, 2019, that satisfactorily addressed this item.\nNo further action is required.\n6. §195.402(c)(3) Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n(c) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by paragraph (a) of\nthis section must include procedures for the following to provide safety during\nmaintenance and normal operations:\n(3) Operating, maintaining, and repairing the pipeline system in accordance with\neach of the requirements of this subpart and subpart H of this part.\n§195.585 What must I do to correct corroded pipe?\n(a) General corrosion. If you find pipe so generally corroded that the remaining wall\nthickness is less than that required for the maximum operating pressure of the\npipeline, you must replace the pipe. However, you need not replace the pipe if you--\n(1) Reduce the maximum operating pressure commensurate with the strength of the\npipe needed for serviceability based on actual remaining wall thickness; or\n(2) Repair the pipe by a method that reliable engineering tests and analyses show can\npermanently restore the serviceability of the pipe.\n(b) Localized corrosion pitting. If you find pipe that has localized corrosion pitting to\na degree that leakage might result, you must replace or repair the pipe, unless you\nreduce the maximum operating pressure commensurate with the strength of the pipe\nbased on actual remaining wall thickness in the pits.\nWheatland’s O&M manual was inadequate because it did not have a procedure for repairing or\nreplacing corroded pipe. Following the inspection, Wheatland developed and submitted procedure\nO&M Section 5.3.2.10 on September 5, 2019, that satisfactorily addressed this item. No further\naction is required.\n4\n\n\n\n7. §195.402(c)(3) Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n(c) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by paragraph (a) of\nthis section must include procedures for the following to provide safety during\nmaintenance and normal operations:\n(3) Operating, maintaining, and repairing the pipeline system in accordance with\neach of the requirements of this subpart and subpart H of this part.\n§195.587 What methods are available to determine the strength of corroded pipe?\nUnder §195.585, you may use the procedure in ASME/ANSI B31G (incorporated by\nreference, see §195.3) or in PRCI PR-3-805 (R-STRENG) (incorporated by reference,\nsee §195.3) to determine the strength of corroded pipe based on actual remaining wall\nthickness. These procedures apply to corroded regions that do not penetrate the pipe\nwall, subject to the limitations set out in the respective procedures.\nWheatland’s O&M manual was inadequate because it did not have a procedure for determining\nthe strength of corroded pipe in accordance with §195.587. Wheatland developed and submitted\nprocedure O&M Section 5.3.2.2 on September 5, 2019 that satisfactorily addressed this item. No\nfurther action is required.\nResponse to this Notice\nThis Notice is provided pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60108(a) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.206. Enclosed as\npart of this Notice is a document entitled Response Options for Pipeline Operators in Enforcement\nProceedings. Please refer to this document and note the response options. Be advised that all\nmaterial you submit in response to this enforcement action is subject to being made publicly\navailable. If you believe that any portion of your responsive material qualifies for confidential\ntreatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document you must provide a\nsecond copy of the document with the portions you believe qualify for confidential treatment\nredacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted information qualifies for confidential\ntreatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b).\nFollowing the receipt of this Notice, you have 30 days to submit written comments, revised\nprocedures, or a request for a hearing under §190.211. If you do not respond within 30 days of\nreceipt of this Notice, this constitutes a waiver of your right to contest the allegations in this Notice\nand authorizes the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as alleged in this Notice\nwithout further notice to you and to issue an Order Directing Amendment. If your plans or\nprocedures are found inadequate as alleged in this Notice, you may be ordered to amend your plans\nor procedures to correct the inadequacies (49 C.F.R. § 190.206). If you are not contesting this\nNotice, we propose that you submit your amended procedures to my office within 60 days of\nreceipt of this Notice. This period may be extended by written request for good cause. Once the\ninadequacies identified herein have been addressed in your amended procedures, this enforcement\naction will be closed.\n5\n\n\n\nIt is requested (not mandated) that USG Wheatland Pipeline, LLC maintain documentation of the\nsafety improvement costs associated with fulfilling this Notice of Amendment\n(preparation/revision of plans, procedures) and submit the total to Greg Ochs, Director, Central\nRegion, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. In correspondence concerning\nthis matter, please refer to CPF 3-2020-6003M and, for each document you submit, please provide\na copy in electronic format whenever possible.\nSincerely,\nGregory A. Ochs\nDirector, Central Region, OPS\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nEnclosure: Response Options for Pipeline Operators in Enforcement Proceedings\nCc: Larry Wall, Chief Commercial Officer, USG Wheatland Pipeline, LLC, 601 Travis Street,\nHouston, TX 77002, Larry.Wall@nexteraenergy.com\nWilliam (Bill) Meyer, Director, Asset Integrity and Regulatory Affair, NextEra™ Energy Pipeline\nServices, 601 Travis, Suite 1900, Houston, TX 77002,\nWilliam.Meyer@nexteraenergy.com\n6\n\n320206003M_Closure Letter_10072021_(18-163067S)_text.pdf\n\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: TJ.Tuscai@nexteraenergy.com\nLarry.Wall@nexteraenergy.com and William.Meyer@nexteraenergy.com\nOctober 7, 2021\nTJ Tuscai, President, Gas Infrastructure\nUSG Wheatland Pipeline, LLC\n601 Travis Street,\nHouston, TX 77002\nRe: CPF 3-2020-6003M\nDear Mr. Tuscai:\nFrom June 10 through July 12, 2019, a representative from the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials\nSafety Administration (PHMSA), pursuant to chapter 601 of 49 United States Code, conducted an\non-site pipeline safety inspection of USG Wheatland Pipeline, LLC procedures in Williston, North\nDakota. As a result of the inspection, USG Wheatland Pipeline, LLC was issued a Notice of\nAmendment on November 12, 2020, which proposed amendments of your procedures.\nUSG Wheatland Pipeline, LLC submitted its amended procedures on October 6, 2021. My staff\nreviewed the amended procedures and it appears that the inadequacies outlined in this Notice of\nAmendment have been corrected.\nThis letter is to inform you no further action is necessary and this case is now closed. Thank you\nfor your cooperation.\nSincerely,\nGregory A. Ochs\nDirector, Central Region, OPS\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\ncc: Larry Wall, Chief Commercial Officer, USG Wheatland Pipeline, LLC, 601 Travis Street,\nHouston, TX 77002, Larry.Wall@nexteraenergy.com\nWilliam (Bill) Meyer, Director, Asset Integrity and Regulatory Affair, NextEra™ Energy Pipeline\nServices, 601 Travis, Suite 1900, Houston, TX 77002, William.Meyer@nexteraenergy.com","truncated":false,"body_characters":15027}