{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 32024033WL","title":"TALLGRASS INTERSTATE GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC — Warning Letter","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2024-04-12","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED warning letter citing 192.5(a)(1), 192.5(b)(3)(ii), 192.624(a)(2)(i).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-32024033wl.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-32024033wl.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-32024033wl","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/32024033WL","body":"Warning Letter involving TALLGRASS INTERSTATE GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.5(a)(1),  192.5(b)(3)(ii),  192.624(a)(2)(i). The case was opened on 2024-04-12 and is reported as closed as of 2024-04-12. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n32024033WL_Operator Response to Notice_05092024_(23-270170).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32024033WL/32024033WL_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_05092024_(23-270170).pdf\n\n32024033WL_Warning Letter_04122024_(23-270170).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32024033WL/32024033WL_Warning%20Letter_04122024_(23-270170).pdf\n\n32024033WL_Warning Letter_04122024_(23-270170)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/32024033WL/32024033WL_Warning%20Letter_04122024_(23-270170)_text.pdf\n\n32024033WL_Warning Letter_04122024_(23-270170)_text.pdf\n\nWARNING LETTER\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: matt@tallgrass.com ;\ncrystal.heter@tallgrassenergylp.com; danielle.stephens@tallgrass.com\nApril 12, 2024\nMr. Matt Sheehy\nChief Executive Officer\nTallgrass Energy\n4200 W. 115th St., Suite 350\nLeawood, KS 66211\nCPF 3-2024-033-WL\nDear Mr. Sheehy:\nFrom May 22 to June 8, 2023, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United\nStates Code (U.S.C.), inspected Tallgrass Energy’s records and procedures for the new gas\nintegrity rule1 in Lakewood, Colorado.\nAs a result of the inspection, it is alleged that Tallgrass Energy has committed probable violations\nof the Pipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The items\ninspected and the probable violations are:\n1. § 192.5 Class locations.\n(a) This section classifies pipeline locations for purposes of this part. The following\ncriteria apply to classifications under this section.\n(1) A “class location unit” is an onshore area that extends 220 yards (200 meters) on\neither side of the centerline of any continuous 1- mile (1.6 kilometers) length of\npipeline.\nTallgrass Energy (Tallgrass) was not meeting the continuous 1-mile length for\ndetermining class locations when the analysis encountered an above-ground facility, such\n1Docket No. PHMSA–2011–0023; Amdt. Nos. 191–26; 192–125 Pipeline Safety: Safety of Gas Transmission\nPipelines: MAOP Reconfirmation, Expansion of Assessment Requirements, and Other Related Amendments\n\n\n\nas compressor stations, meter stations, valve sites, and pig trap sites. Tallgrass’ algorithm\nto determine class location via the sliding mile is based on route by route pipeline\nsegment identifications (IDs). Each route ID appeared to stop at an above-ground\nlocation, then a new route ID starts when leaving that facility. As such, the house count\nfor class location ends at that location and a new one begins. This potentially allowed\nsome of the pipe associated with the facility and the inlet or outlet to be under-classed.\nDuring the inspection PHMSA personnel noted several examples where the route ID\nstopped at an above ground location and a different route ID was designated so the house\ncount for the class location started back at zero, which resulted in a lower class location\nthan what it should have been if the continuous sliding mile was applied through that\nfacility. The examples noted were at the following locations:\n• REX System – Hamilton Compressor Station, Bypass is classed a Class 1.\n• TIGT System – Scraper Trap location – Route ID 6598 is Class 2. However, Route ID\n6599 leaving the facility is Class 1.\n• TIGT System – Meter Station – Route ID 5362 is Class 2 going into the station;\nhowever, Route 38589 is Class 1 leaving the station.\n• TIGT System – Meter Station - Route ID 5365 is Class 2 going into the station;\nhowever, Route ID 5340 is Class 1 leaving the facility.\n2. § 192.5 Class locations.\n(a) ….\n(b) Except as provided in paragraph (c) of this section, pipeline locations are\nclassified as follows:\n(1) ….\n(3) A Class 3 location is:\n(i) ….\n(ii) An area where the pipeline lies within 100 yards (91 meters) of either a building\nor a small, well defined outside area (such as a playground, recreation area, outdoor\ntheater, or other place of public assembly) that is occupied by 20 or more persons on\nat least 5 days a week for 10 weeks in any 12-month period. (The days and weeks\nneed not be consecutive.)\nTallgrass did not identify several locations that met the criteria for Class 3 locations.\nDuring the inspection, PHMSA personnel found the following locations as Class 3\nidentified sites; however, Tallgrass had missed these locations and were still treating\nthem as a Class 1 or Class 2 area.\n• Colby, KS – Missed Soccer field.\n• Stockton, KS – Structure was an HCA, but not classified as a Class 3 structure.\n• Grand Island, NE – Gleeson Construction Lateral – Building went up in 2020.\n• Phillips, NE – A structure was identified by Tallgrass in 2022; but the structure\nwas present there since 2010.\n\n\n\nAs a result of a previous enforcement on the REX Pipeline,2 Tallgrass was in the process\nof identifying these Class 3 locations throughout all their assets, not just REX. At the\ntime of PHMSA’s 2023 inspection, Tallgrass was still evaluating all of their other assets,\nincluding the Tallgrass Interstate Gas Transmission system where these examples were\nfound.\n3. § 192.624 Maximum allowable operating pressure reconfirmation: Onshore steel\ntransmission pipelines.\n(a) ….\n(c) Maximum allowable operating pressure determination. Operators of a pipeline\nsegment meeting a condition in paragraph (a) of this section must reconfirm its\nMAOP using one of the following methods:\n(1)….\n(2) Method 2: Pressure Reduction. Reduce pressure, as necessary, and limit MAOP\nto no greater than the highest actual operating pressure sustained by the pipeline\nduring the 5 years preceding October 1, 2019, divided by the greater of 1.25 or the\napplicable class location factor in § 192.619(a)(2)(ii). The highest actual sustained\npressure must have been reached for a minimum cumulative duration of 8 hours\nduring a continuous 30-day period. The value used as the highest actual sustained\noperating pressure must account for differences between upstream and downstream\npressure on the pipeline by use of either the lowest maximum pressure value for the\nentire pipeline segment or using the operating pressure gradient along the entire\npipeline segment (i.e., the location-specific operating pressure at each location).\n(i) Where the pipeline segment has had a class location change in accordance with §\n192.611, and records documenting diameter, wall thickness, seam type, grade\n(minimum yield strength and ultimate tensile strength), and pressure tests are not\ndocumented in traceable, verifiable, and complete records, the operator must\nreduce the pipeline segment MAOP as follows:\n(A) For pipeline segments where a class location changed from Class 1 to Class 2,\nfrom Class 2 to Class 3, or from Class 3 to Class 4, reduce the pipeline MAOP to no\ngreater than the highest actual operating pressure sustained by the pipeline during\nthe 5 years preceding October 1, 2019, divided by 1.39 for Class 1 to Class 2, 1.67 for\nClass 2 to Class 3, and 2.00 for Class 3 to Class 4.\nOn the Hastings North Lateral MAOP reconfirmation, Tallgrass utilized Method 2 to\nreconfirm the MAOP. However, Tallgrass did not use the correct de-rating factor as\nrequired by § 192.624(a)(2)(i). The derating factor used by Tallgrass was for no class\nlocation change. Upon further review by PHMSA inspectors, it was found that there was\na class location change on this lateral, which meant Tallgrass should have used a larger\nde-rating factor. However, in this instance, Tallgrass made a previous business decision\nto reduce the pressure to below what was required, which also happened to be lower than\nthe derate factor that should have been used.\n2 See In re Tallgrass Energy, L.P., CPF 3-2022-060-NOPV, Consent Order (July 14, 2023).\n\n\n\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 CFR § 190.223, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed\n$266,015 per violation per day the violation persists, up to a maximum of $2,660,135 for a\nrelated series of violations. For violation occurring on or after January 6, 2023 and before\nDecember 28, 2023, the maximum penalty may not exceed $257,664 per violation per day the\nviolation persists, up to a maximum of $2,576,627 for a related series of violations. For violation\noccurring on or after March 21, 2022 and before January 6, 2023, the maximum penalty may not\nexceed $239,142 per violation per day the violation persists, up to a maximum of $2,391,142 for\na related series of violations. For violation occurring on or after May 3, 2021 and before March\n21, 2022, the maximum penalty may not exceed $225,134 per violation per day the violation\npersists, up to a maximum of $2,251,334 for a related series of violations. For violation\noccurring on or after January 11, 2021 and before May 3, 2021, the maximum penalty may not\nexceed $222,504 per violation per day the violation persists, up to a maximum of $2,225,034 for\na related series of violations. For violation occurring on or after July 31, 2019 and before\nJanuary 11, 2021, the maximum penalty may not exceed $218,647 per violation per day the\nviolation persists, 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 $2,132,679.\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 items identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in\nTallgrass Energy being subject to additional enforcement action.\nNo reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer to\nCPF 3-2024-033-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, Office of Pipeline Safety\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\ncc: Danielle Stephens , DOT Compliance Primary, Tallgrass Energy, L.P.,\nDanielle.Stephens@tallgrass.com;\nCrystal Heter, Chief Operating Officer, Tallgrass Energy, L.P.,\ncrystal.heter@tallgrassenergylp.com","truncated":false,"body_characters":11000}