{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 32021029WL","title":"FLINT HILLS RESOURCES, LC — Warning Letter","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2021-04-19","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED warning letter citing 195.505(b).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-32021029wl.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-32021029wl.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-32021029wl","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/32021029WL","body":"Warning Letter involving FLINT HILLS RESOURCES, LC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 195.505(b). The case was opened on 2021-04-19 and is reported as closed as of 2021-04-19. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n32021029WL_Warning Letter_04192021_(21-210185).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32021029WL/32021029WL_Warning%20Letter_04192021_(21-210185).pdf\n\n32021029WL_Warning Letter_04192021_(21-210185)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32021029WL/32021029WL_Warning%20Letter_04192021_(21-210185)_text.pdf\n\n32021029WL_Warning Letter_04192021_(21-210185)_text.pdf\n\nWARNING LETTER\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: jeff.ramsey@fhr.com randy.lenz@fhr.com\nkeith.walton@fhr.com and kim.gerold@fhr.com\nApril 19, 2021\nJeff Ramsey\nPresident and CEO\nFlint Hills Resources, LLC\n4111 East 37th Street North\nWichita, Kansas 67220\nCPF 3-2021-029-WL\nDear Mr. Ramsey:\nFrom February 12, 2018 through April 3, 2020, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) Central Region,\npursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code (U.S.C.) inspected your Koch Pipeline\nCompany L.P. (KPL), now Flint Hills Resources, LLC (FHR) Operator Qualification program\nand records in Wichita, Kansas and Kansas City, Missouri.\nAs a result of the inspection, it is alleged that you have committed probable violations of the\nPipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The item inspected\nand the probable violation is:\n\n\n\n1. §195.505 Qualification program.\nEach operator shall have and follow a written qualification program. The program\nshall include provisions to:\n(a) . . .\n(b) Ensure through evaluation that individuals performing covered tasks are\nqualified;\nKPL, now FHR, failed to ensure through evaluation that individuals were qualified to\nperform covered tasks. Specifically, individuals and the qualifiers were found to have\nperformed an inordinate number of qualifications in a single day.\nPHMSA reviewed records provided by the operator associated with operator qualification\nthat included Energy WorldNet (EWN) performance verification records, EWN exam\nrecords, NCCER exam records, operator performance verification records, and operator\ncorrespondence.\nIndividual employees receiving Operator Qualification Training:\nOperator Qualification (OQ) records provided by the operator indicated an inordinate\nnumber of performance verification tasks and written/computer-based exams were\ncompleted by individual employees in a single day. For example, records indicated:\n On June 27, 2016, records indicated that 17 performance verification tasks were\ncompleted by an employee (Employee 01) in a single day. Further, an additional 6\nwritten/computer-based exams were completed by this employee on the same day.\nTherefore, 23 performance verification tasks and written/computer-based exams\nwere completed by this employee on June 27, 2016.\n On April 11, 2016, records indicated that 50 performance verification tasks were\ncompleted by an employee (Employee 02) in a single day. Further, an additional 19\nwritten/computer-based exams were completed by this employee on the same day.\nTherefore, 69 performance verification tasks and written/computer-based exams\nwere completed by this employee on April 11, 2016.\n On February 16, 2016, records indicated that 19 performance verification tasks were\ncompleted by an employee (Employee 03) in a single day. Further, an additional\nwritten/computer-based exam was completed by this employee on the same day.\nTherefore, 20 performance verification tasks and written/computer-based exams\nwere completed by this employee on February 16, 2016.\n On January 12, 2016, records indicated that 17 performance verification tasks were\ncompleted by an employee (Employee 04) in a single day. Further, an additional 6\nwritten/computer-based exams were completed by this employee on the same day.\nTherefore, 23 performance verification tasks and written/computer-based exams\nwere completed by this employee on January 12, 2016.\n2\n\n\n\nEmployee Evaluators and Proctors reviewing Operator Qualification training:\nOperator OQ records provided by the operator indicated an inordinate number of\nperformance verification evaluations and written/computer-based exam proctors were\ncompleted by individual employees in a single day. For instance, records indicated:\n On June 27, 2016, 17 performance verification tasks were evaluated by an employee\n(Employee 04) in a single day. Further, an additional 6 written/computer-based\nexams were proctored by this employee on the same day. Therefore, 23 performance\nverification tasks and written/computer-based exams were evaluated and proctored\nby this employee on June 27, 2016.\n On April 11, 2016, 47 performance verification tasks were evaluated by an employee\n(Employee 04) on a single day. Further, an additional 19 written/computer-based\nexams were proctored by this employee on the same day. Therefore, 66 performance\nverification tasks and written/computer-based exams were evaluated and proctored\nby this employee on April 11, 2016.\n On February 16, 2016, 18 performance verification tasks were evaluated by an\nemployee (Employee 04) on a single day. Further, an additional written exam was\nproctored by this employee on the same day. Therefore, 19 performance verification\ntasks and written/computer-based exams were evaluated and proctored by this\nemployee on February 16, 2016.\n On January 12, 2016, 17 performance verification tasks were evaluated by an\nemployee (Employee 08) on a single day.\nFlint Hills Resources has submitted a formal Operator Qualification Plan to correct these\nidentified issues and will be implementing these measure across all their DOT jurisdictional\nsystems. OPS Central Region will conduct inspects to verify compliance.\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 CFR § 190.223, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed\n$222,504 per violation per day the violation persists, up to a maximum of $2,225,034 for a\nrelated series of violations. For violation occurring on or after July 31, 2019 and before January\n11, 2021, the maximum penalty may not exceed $218,647 per violation per day the violation\npersists, up to a maximum of $2,186,465 for a related series of violations. For violation\noccurring on or after November 27, 2018 and before July 31, 2019, the maximum penalty may\nnot exceed $213,268 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not to exceed\n$2,132,679. For violation occurring on or after November 2, 2015 and before November 27,\n2018, the maximum penalty may not exceed $209,002 per violation per day, with a maximum\npenalty not to exceed $2,090,022.\nWe have reviewed the circumstances and supporting documents involved in this case, and have\ndecided not to conduct additional enforcement action or penalty assessment proceedings at this\ntime. We advise you to correct the item(s) identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in\nFlint Hills Resoures, LLC being subject to additional enforcement action.\n3\n\n\n\nNo reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer to\nCPF 3-2021-029-WL. Be advised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement\naction is subject to being made publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your\nresponsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the\ncomplete original document you must provide a second copy of the document with the portions\nyou believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe\nthe redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b).\nSincerely,\nGregory A. Ochs\nDirector, Central Region, OPS\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\ncc: Randy Lenz, Senior VP Operations, Flint Hills Resources, LLC, 13775 Clark Road\nRosemount, MN 55068 randy.lenz@fhr.com\nKim Gerold, Manager Pipeline Safety, Flint Hills Resources, LLC, 3120 117th St. E, Inver Grove\nHeights, MN 55077 kim.gerold@fhr.com\nKeith Walton, Sr. Pipeline Safety Program Manager, Flint Hills Resources, LLC, 4111 East 37th\nStreet North, Wichita, KS 67220 keith.walton@fhr.com\n4","truncated":false,"body_characters":8329}