{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420095011","title":"TE PRODUCTS PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2009-12-01","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.402(a), 195.402(c)(5).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420095011.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420095011.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420095011","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420095011","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving TE PRODUCTS PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.402(a),  195.402(c)(5). The case was opened on 2009-12-01 and is reported as closed as of 2010-04-22. Proposed civil penalty: $17,500. Assessed civil penalty: $17,500. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420095011_FinalOrder_04222010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420095011/420095011_FinalOrder_04222010.pdf\n\n420095011_FinalOrder_04222010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420095011/420095011_FinalOrder_04222010_text.pdf\n\n420095011_NOPV PCP PCO_12012009.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420095011/420095011_NOPV%20PCP%20PCO_12012009.pdf\n\n420095011_NOPV PCP PCO_12012009_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420095011/420095011_NOPV%20PCP%20PCO_12012009_text.pdf\n\n420095011_FinalOrder_04222010_text.pdf\n\nAPR 22 2010\nMr. Terry L. Hurlburt\nSenior Vice President, Operations\nTE Products Pipeline Company, LLC\nEnterprise Products Partners L.P.\n1100 Louisiana Street\nHouston, TX 77002\nRe: CPF No. 4-2009-5011\nDear Mr. Hurlburt:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $17,500. It further finds that TE Products Pipeline\nCompany, LLC has completed the actions specified in the Notice to comply with the pipeline\nsafety regulations and acknowledges receipt of your payment of the full penalty amount, by wire\ntransfer, dated February 17, 2010. This case is now closed. Service of the Final Order by\ncertified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise provided under 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\nThank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nJeffrey D. Wiese\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\nEnclosure\ncc: Mr. R. M. Seeley, Director, Southwest Region, PHMSA\nCERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [7005 1160 0001 0043 9320]\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 )\nTE Products Pipeline Company, LLC, ) CPF No. 4-2009-5011\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nPursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), conducted an investigation of a\npipeline accident that occurred on November 18, 2007, at TE Products Pipeline Company, LLC’s\n(TEPPCO or Respondent) Egypt Pump Station near Walnut Ridge, Arkansas. TEPPCO, a\nsubsidiary of Enterprise Products Partners L.P., operates approximately 4,500 miles of interstate\npipelines that transport refined petroleum products and highly volatile liquids in the South and\nMidwest.\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nTEPPCO, by letter dated December 1, 2009, a Notice of Probable Violation, Proposed Civil\nPenalty, and Proposed Compliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the\nNotice proposed finding that Respondent had committed two violations of 49 C.F.R. § 195.402\nand proposed assessing the company a civil penalty of $17,500 for one of those violations. The\nNotice also proposed ordering Respondent to take certain measures to correct the other alleged\nviolation.\nTEPPCO failed to respond within 30 days of receipt of service of the Notice. Such failure to\nrespond constitutes a waiver of Respondent’s right to contest the allegations in the Notice and\nauthorizes the entry of this Final Order.\n1 On February 17, 2010, Respondent submitted a wire\ntransfer in the amount of the proposed civil penalty ($17,500). Payment of the penalty serves to\nclose this case with prejudice to Respondent.2\n1 § 190.209(c).\n2 § 190.209(a)(1).\n\n\n\n2\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nTEPPCO has waived its right to contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 195, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.402(a), which states:\n§ 195.402 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline\nsystem a manual of written procedures for conducting normal operations\nand maintenance activities and handling abnormal operations and\nemergencies . . . .\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated § 195.402(a) by failing to have and follow written\nprocedures for maintaining the chain of custody for components suspected to be involved in a\npipeline accident or release. Following a pipeline accident on November 18, 2007, Respondent\nlost a valve suspected to be involved in an accident, and therefore was unable to perform\nrequisite laboratory testing on the component. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the\nevidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.402(a) by failing to have and follow\nwritten procedures for maintaining the chain of custody for components suspected to be involved\nin a pipeline accident or release.\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.402(c)(5), which states:\n§ 195.402 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) . . . .\n(c) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by\nparagraph (a) of this section must include procedures for the following to\nprovide safety during maintenance and normal operations . . .\n(5) Analyzing pipeline accidents to determine their causes.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated § 195.402(c)(5) by failing to follow its written\nprocedures for analyzing pipeline accidents to determine their causes. Specifically, Respondent\nfailed to follow its Procedure E-400, “Investigation of Failures,” which required that the\ncompany maintain and test any materials involved in a failure or accident. Respondent failed to\nmaintain or test a suspect valve involved in a pipeline accident on November 18, 2007.\nAccordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49\nC.F.R. § 195.402(c)(5) by failing to follow its written procedures for analyzing pipeline\naccidents to determine their causes.\n\n\n\n3\nThese findings of violation will be considered prior offenses in any subsequent enforcement\naction taken against Respondent.\nHaving reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I assess TEPPCO a civil\npenalty of $17,500 for the violation of § 195.402(c)(5) (Item 2), which has already been paid by\nRespondent.\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to the violation of 49 C.F.R. § 195.402(a)\n(Item 1). Under 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation of\nhazardous liquids by pipeline or who owns or operates a hazardous liquid pipeline facility is\nrequired to comply with the applicable safety standards established under chapter 601.\nThe Director has indicated that Respondent has taken the following actions specified in the\nproposed compliance order:\nTEPPCO has amended its procedures to ensure that the chain of\ncustody is established in order to secure items and components\ninvolved in accidents or releases and maintain those components\nfor laboratory testing.\nAccordingly, since compliance has been achieved with respect to this violation, the compliance\nterms are not included in this Order.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\n___________________________________ __________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n420095011_NOPV PCP PCO_12012009_text.pdf\n\nNOTICE OF PROBABLE VIOLATION\nPROPOSED CIVIL PENALTY\nand\nPROPOSED COMPLIANCE ORDER\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nDecember 1, 2009\nMr. Leonard W. Mallet\nSenior Vice President, Operations\nTE Products Pipeline, LLC\nPO Box 2521\nHouston, TX 77252-6500\nCPF 4-2009-5011\nDear Mr. Mallet:\nAs part of an investigation of a pipeline accident which occurred on November 18, 2007, a\nrepresentative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\npursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code inspected your TE Products Pipeline, LLC\n(TEPPCO) Egypt Pump Station near Walnut Ridge, AR.\nAs a result of the inspection, it appears that you have committed probable violations of the\nPipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected and the\nprobable violation(s) are:\n1. 195.402 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline system a\nmanual of written procedures for conducting normal operations and\nmaintenance activities and handling abnormal operations and emergencies.\nThis manual shall be reviewed at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least\nonce each calendar year, and appropriate changes made as necessary to insure\nthat the manual is effective. This manual shall be prepared before initial\noperations of a pipeline commence, and appropriate parts shall be kept at\nlocations where operations and maintenance activities are conducted.\n\n\n\nThe operator’s procedure for retaining a valve (suspected in causing an incident release; as\nreported by the operator) was insufficient in establishing a chain of custody for the valve\nprior to its transfer to an independent testing laboratory. This insufficiency led to loss of the\nsuspect component thus preventing the requisite testing of the valve to determine its role in\nthe release/incident.\nFollowing the release of approximately 5800 barrels of propane on November 11, 2007, at\nTE Products Pipeline, LLC’s (TEPPCO’s) Egypt Pump Station, TEPPCO removed a two\ninch sump line valve connected to the pump suspected of being the point source of the\nrelease/incident. It was to be temporarily stored at the Egypt Station warehouse pending\ndelivery to a testing laboratory.\nAs explained by TEPPCO, the loss of the valve resulted from the following factors:\n• “TEPPCO does not have a formal procedure once the valve has been taken out\nof the ground and put into the warehouse.\n• There is a procedure once engineering has designated a lab where the valve\nchanges custody. Under normal circumstances there is a procedure for custody\ntransfer when the valve leaves our possession for transportation to a\nmetallurgy lab. Several things were in play here.\n• This is a very large warehouse and the valve had been stored for over a year\nawaiting designation.\n• The valve was thrown out accidently during the annual cleaning of this\nwarehouse.\n• The valve was thrown out 1 day prior to receiving the instructions for sending\nvalve to a lab.\n• The operations people tried to retrieve the valve in question from the scrap\nyard as it had been delivered less than 24 hours to the scrap yard.\n• This is a very infrequent occurrence for the operation’s people that a procedure\nhad not been developed.”\nTEPPCO further communicated that,\n“Operations are preparing a document to cover the storage and safety of pipeline\nappurtenances prior to designation to a lab.”\nAt the time of the incident, TEPPCO’s internal procedures for maintaining a chain of custody\nfor suspect components involved in incidents or releases were inadequate to comply with the\nregulations. The valve was lost and therefore the requisite laboratory testing was not\nperformed due to inadequate procedures.\n2. 195.402 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.\n2\n\n\n\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(5) Analyzing pipeline accidents to determine their causes.\nThe operator failed to perform post-accident analyses (laboratory testing) of the suspect valve\ncomponent, as required by the regulation and the operator’s Procedure E-400, Investigation\nof Failures. Procedures E-400 specifically require,\n“All operational failures and accidents involving facilities shall be investigated and analyzed\nfor the purpose of determining the cause and to minimize the possibility of a recurrence.\n”\nAdditionally, “When possible, salvage materials that can be utilized in a laboratory analysis\nin an effort to establish the possible cause of the failure or accident. Care shall be taken to\npreserve these materials in their existing condition so as not to impair their analytical value.\nA laboratory analysis and/or metallurgical examination of the failed specimen shall be\ninitiated when it is deemed necessary. The laboratory firm shall prepare a full report on the\nfindings of the analysis or examination.”\nDuring the time the valve was being stored, it was inadvertently discarded when it was\nmistaken for disposable refuse. TEPPCO states the delay in delivering the component for\ntesting was due to contractual delays between the laboratory and TEPPCO; wherein an\nownership change had occurred with one of the parties voiding a previous contract. This\nrequired the negotiations and execution of a replacement contract for services causing the\ndelay. The subject valve was errantly discarded during this period.\nBy not performing the requisite laboratory testing of the suspect component, the operator\nviolated the regulation. The valve was lost and therefore requisite laboratory testing was not\nperformed.\nProposed Civil Penalty\nUnder 49 United States Code, § 60122, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000\nfor each violation for each day the violation persists up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any\nrelated series of violations. The Compliance Officer has reviewed the circumstances and\nsupporting documentation involved in the above probable violation(s) and has recommended that\nyou be preliminarily assessed a civil penalty of $17,500 as follows:\nItem number PENALTY\n2. $17,500\n3\n\n\n\nProposed Compliance Order\nWith respect to item number 1 pursuant to 49 United States Code § 60118, the Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration proposes to issue a Compliance Order to TE\nProducts Pipeline, LLC. Please refer to the Proposed Compliance Order, which is enclosed and\nmade a part of this Notice.\nResponse to this Notice\nEnclosed as part of this Notice is a document entitled Response Options for Pipeline Operators\nin Compliance Proceedings. Please refer to this document and note the response options. Be\nadvised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement action is subject to being\nmade publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your responsive material qualifies for\nconfidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document you\nmust provide a second copy of the document with the portions you believe qualify for\nconfidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted information\nqualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b). If you do not respond within 30 days\nof receipt of this Notice, this constitutes a waiver of your right to contest the allegations in this\nNotice and authorizes the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as alleged in\nthis Notice without further notice to you and to issue a Final Order.\nIn your correspondence on this matter, please refer to CPF 4-2009-5011 and for each document\nyou submit, please provide a copy in electronic format whenever possible.\nSincerely,\nR. M. Seeley\nDirector, Southwest Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nEnclosures: Proposed Compliance Order\nResponse Options for Pipeline Operators in Compliance Proceedings\n4\n\n\n\nPROPOSED COMPLIANCE ORDER\nPursuant to 49 United States Code § 60118, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA) proposes to issue to TE Products Pipeline, LLC (TEPPCO) a\nCompliance Order incorporating the following remedial requirements to ensure the compliance\nof TE Products Pipeline, LLC with the pipeline safety regulations:\n1. In regard to Item Number 1 of the Notice pertaining to TEPPCO’s procedures for\nmaintaining a chain of custody (internally), for suspect components involved in incidents\nor releases, were found to be inadequate to comply with the regulations.\nTEPPCO must amend its procedures to ensure an internal chain-of-custody is established\nto secure items/components suspected involved in incidents/releases for requisite\nlaboratory testing thus preventing future similar acts involving the loss of material\nevidence from recurring.\n2. TEPPCO shall have such an amendment to its procedures in place within 30 days from\nthe date of issuance of the Final Order.\n3 TEPPCO shall maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs associated with\nfulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to R. M. Seeley, Director,\nSouthwest Region, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Costs shall\nbe reported in two categories: 1) total cost associated with preparation/revision of plans,\nprocedures, studies and analyses, and 2) total cost associated with replacements, additions\nand other changes to pipeline infrastructure.\n5","truncated":false,"body_characters":17248}