# WTG-HUGOTON, LP — Notice of Probable Violation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** CPF 32022030NOPV
- **title:** WTG-HUGOTON, LP — Notice of Probable Violation
- **source type:** enforcement
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** historical
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2022-01-24
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.227(a), 192.605(a), 192.605(b)(2).
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- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-32022030nopv
- **source url:** https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/32022030NOPV
**body:**

Notice of Probable Violation involving WTG-HUGOTON, LP. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.227(a),  192.605(a),  192.605(b)(2). The case was opened on 2022-01-24 and is reported as closed as of 2022-10-14. Proposed civil penalty: $41,400. Assessed civil penalty: $20,700. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.

Official case documents:

32022030NOPV_Closure Letter_10142022_(21-207936).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32022030NOPV/32022030NOPV_Closure%20Letter_10142022_(21-207936).pdf

32022030NOPV_Closure Letter_10142022_(21-207936)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32022030NOPV/32022030NOPV_Closure%20Letter_10142022_(21-207936)_text.pdf

32022030NOPV_Final Order_09192022_(21-207936).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32022030NOPV/32022030NOPV_Final%20Order_09192022_(21-207936).pdf

32022030NOPV_Final Order_09192022_(21-207936)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32022030NOPV/32022030NOPV_Final%20Order_09192022_(21-207936)_text.pdf

32022030NOPV_Operator Response to Notice_01312022_(21-207936).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32022030NOPV/32022030NOPV_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_01312022_(21-207936).pdf

32022030NOPV_PCP_01242022_(21-207936).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32022030NOPV/32022030NOPV_PCP_01242022_(21-207936).pdf

32022030NOPV_PCP_01242022_(21-207936)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32022030NOPV/32022030NOPV_PCP_01242022_(21-207936)_text.pdf

32022030NOPV_Final Order_09192022_(21-207936)_text.pdf

September 19, 2022
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: rhatchett@westtexasgas.com
Mr. Richard Hatchett
President
WTG Hugoton, LP
211 North Colorado
Midland, Texas 79701
Re: CPF No. 3-2022-030-NOPV
Dear Mr. Hatchett:
Enclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of
violation and assesses a reduced civil penalty of $20,700. The penalty payment terms are set
forth in the Final Order. This enforcement action closes automatically upon receipt of payment.
Service of the Final Order by e-mail is effective upon the date of transmission and
acknowledgement of receipt as provided under 49 C.F.R. § 190.5.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
Alan K. Mayberry
Associate Administrator
for Pipeline Safety
Enclosure
cc: Mr. Gregory Ochs, Director, Central Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA
Mr. Ray Reed, Director of Integrity Management, West Texas Gas, Inc.,
rreed@westtexasgas.com
Mr. Bart Bean, Manager of Gas Operations, West Texas Gas, Inc.,
bbean@westtexasgas.com
CONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT REQUESTED



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
OFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590
____________________________________
In the Matter of )
WTG Hugoton, LP, ) CPF No. 3-2022-030-NOPV
)
)
)
Respondent. )
____________________________________)
FINAL ORDER
From June 29, 2021 to July 14, 2021, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety
(OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the natural gas pipeline facilities and
records of WTG Hugoton, LP (WTG or Respondent) in Kansas. WTG operates 152 miles of gas
transmission lines.
As a result of the inspection, the Director, Central Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent,
by letter dated January 24, 2022, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty
(Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that WTG had
violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(b)(2) and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $41,400 for the
alleged violation. The Notice also included one warning item pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205,
which warned the operator to correct the probable violation or face possible future enforcement
action.
WTG responded to the Notice by letter dated January 31, 2022 (Response). The company did
not contest the allegations of violation but provided an explanation of its actions and requested
that the proposed civil penalty be reduced. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore
has waived its right to one.
FINDING OF VIOLATION
The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. Part 192, as follows:
Item 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(b)(2), which states:
§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.
(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline,
a manual of written procedures for conducting operations and maintenance



activities and for emergency response . . . .
(b) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by
paragraph (a) of this section must include procedures for the following, if
applicable, to provide safety during maintenance and operations.
(1) . . . .
(2) Controlling corrosion in accordance with the operations and
maintenance requirements of subpart I of this part.
The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(b)(2) by failing to follow its
written procedural manual regarding controlling corrosion. Specifically, the Notice alleged that
WTG failed to perform analyses of the readings, report the deficiencies, or take any corrective
action with respect to six test points that did not meet the cathodic protection (CP) criteria in Part
192, Appendix D as required by its procedures.
In its Response, WTG did not contest this item, but provided additional information relevant to
the proposed civil penalty. Specifically, WTG stated that it did follow its procedures, but failed
to document the action taken in response to the low CP test readings identified in the Notice.
WTG argued that the results of its CP tests at five of the six test points in the following years did
meet the Appendix D criteria and thus indicate that sufficient remedial action was taken.
Respondent requests that this information be considered in evaluating the civil penalty associated
with this item, and this is addressed below.
Accordingly, after considering all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R.
§ 192.605(b)(2) by failing to follow its written procedural manual regarding controlling
corrosion.
This finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action
taken against Respondent.
ASSESSMENT OF PENALTY
Under 49 U.S.C. § 60122, Respondent is subject to an administrative civil penalty not to exceed
$200,000 per violation for each day of the violation, up to a maximum of $2,000,000 for any
related series of violations.1
In determining the amount of a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 C.F.R. § 190.225, I
must consider the following criteria: the nature, circumstances, and gravity of the violation,
including adverse impact on the environment; the degree of Respondent’s culpability; the history
of Respondent’s prior offenses; any effect that the penalty may have on its ability to continue
doing business; the good faith of Respondent in attempting to comply with the pipeline safety
regulations; and self-disclosure or actions to correct a violation prior to discovery by PHMSA.
In addition, I may consider the economic benefit gained from the violation without any reduction
because of subsequent damages, and such other matters as justice may require. The Notice
proposed a total civil penalty of $41,400 for the violation cited above.
1 These amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. See 49 C.F.R. § 190.223 for adjusted amounts.



Item 2: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $41,400 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.
§ 192.605(b)(2), for failing to follow its written procedural manual regarding controlling
corrosion. WTG provided additional information to suggest that it did address the low CP
readings, but admitted that the corrective actions were not documented. Specifically, for the first
four listed test stations (Drip #5, Rmillo Farm Tap, SV Wilson F#3, and TL & Sec Ln Road),
WTG stated it remediated these test stations after receiving the low March 2019 CP readings.
WTG provided a table, and corresponding surveys, with the 2020 and 2021 CP readings for these
four test stations. The 2020 and 2021 CP readings indicate the remediations were effective.
For the SV TO KB608 – BV TO KNE test station, WTG stated that this CP system is “erratic”
and that it is developing a plan to improve CP on this pipeline. For the TL at N/S Fence on East
ROW Lakin Ln test station, WTG stated that the pipeline did not completely depolarize. On a
second attempt to depolarize, this test station met the CP reading. However, the second attempt
at depolarization was not documented. WTG provided a table, and corresponding survey,
indicating that the 2020 and 2021 CP readings met the Appendix D criteria for the TL at N/S
Fence on East ROW Lakin Ln test station.
The information submitted by Respondent is relevant to the “gravity of the violation,” under
which PHMSA considers the severity of the violation and its impacts to pipeline safety. The
Violation Report noted the violation potentially impacted the pipeline’s susceptibility to external
corrosion. Having considered the additional information submitted, I find that with respect to
gravity, WTG corrected the low CP readings on five of the six test stations identified in the
Notice prior to the PHMSA inspection and has plans to address the remaining low CP reading.
Therefore, I find that a reduction in the civil penalty is warranted because pipeline safety was
minimally affected.
Based on the foregoing, I assess Respondent a reduced civil penalty of $20,700 for violation of
49 C.F.R. §192.605(b)(2).
Payment of the civil penalty must be made within 20 days after receipt of this Final Order.
Federal regulations (49 C.F.R. § 89.21(b)(3)) require such payment to be made by wire transfer
through the Federal Reserve Communications System (Fedwire), to the account of the U.S.
Treasury. Detailed instructions are contained in the enclosure. Questions concerning wire
transfers should be directed to: Financial Operations Division (AMK-325), Federal Aviation
Administration, Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, 6500 S MacArthur Blvd, Oklahoma City,
Oklahoma 79169. The Financial Operations Division telephone number is (405) 954-8845.
Failure to pay the $20,700 civil penalty will result in accrual of interest at the current annual rate
in accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 3717, 31 C.F.R. § 901.9 and 49 C.F.R. § 89.23. Pursuant to
those same authorities, a late penalty charge of six percent (6%) per annum will be charged if
payment is not made within 110 days of service. Furthermore, failure to pay the civil penalty
may result in referral of the matter to the Attorney General for appropriate action in a district
court of the United States.
WARNING ITEM



With respect to Item 1, the Notice alleged a probable violation of Part 192, but identified it as a
warning item pursuant to § 190.205. The warning was for:
49 C.F.R. § 192.227(a) (Item 1) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to properly
qualify a welder that performed repairs to its KSG-390-01 pipeline in Finney
County, Kansas.
WTG presented information in its Response showing that it had taken certain actions to address
the cited item. If OPS finds a violation of this provision in a subsequent inspection, Respondent
may be subject to future enforcement action.
Under 49 C.F.R. § 190.243, Respondent may submit a Petition for Reconsideration of this Final
Order to the Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20590, with a copy sent to the Office of
Chief Counsel, PHMSA, at the same address. The written petition must be received no later than
20 days after receipt of the Final Order by Respondent. Any petition submitted must contain a
brief statement of the issue(s) and meet all other requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.243. The filing
of a petition automatically stays the payment of any civil penalty assessed. The other terms of
the order, including any corrective action, remain in effect unless the Associate Administrator,
upon request, grants a stay. If Respondent submits payment of the civil penalty, the Final Order
becomes the final administrative decision and the right to petition for reconsideration is waived.
The terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49
C.F.R. § 190.5.
September 19, 2022
___________________________________ __________________________
Alan K. Mayberry Date Issued
Associate Administrator
for Pipeline Safety

32022030NOPV_Closure Letter_10142022_(21-207936)_text.pdf

VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: rhatchett@westtexasgas.com; rreed@westtexasgas.com
October 14, 2022
Richard Hatchett
President
WTG-Hugoton, LP
211 North Colorado
Midland, TX 79701
Re: CPF 3-2022-030-NOPV
Dear Mr. Hatchett:
On September 19, 2022, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
issued to WTG-Hugoton, LP a Final Order in the above-referenced case. This Order included a
Civil Penalty assessment. Based on our confirmation of payment of the civil penalty, it has been
determined that you have complied with the terms of this Final Order.
Accordingly, this case is now closed and no further action is contemplated with respect to the
matters involved in this case. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
Gregory A. Ochs
Director, Central Region Region, Office of Pipeline Safety
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
cc: Ray Reed, Director of Pipeline Compliance rreed@westtexasgas.com
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