{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420101002","title":"TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPE LINE COMPANY — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2010-05-19","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.179(b)(1), 192.243(b), 192.745(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420101002.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420101002.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420101002","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420101002","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving TRANSCONTINENTAL GAS PIPE LINE COMPANY. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.179(b)(1),  192.243(b),  192.745(a). The case was opened on 2010-05-19 and is reported as closed as of 2012-01-26. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420101002_Closure Letter_ 01262012_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420101002/420101002_Closure%20Letter_%2001262012_text.pdf\n\n420101002_Closure Letter_01262012.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420101002/420101002_Closure%20Letter_01262012.pdf\n\n420101002_FinalOrder_08232010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420101002/420101002_FinalOrder_08232010.pdf\n\n420101002_FinalOrder_08232010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420101002/420101002_FinalOrder_08232010_text.pdf\n\n420101002_NOPV PCO_05192010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420101002/420101002_NOPV%20PCO_05192010.pdf\n\n420101002_NOPV PCO_05192010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420101002/420101002_NOPV%20PCO_05192010_text.pdf\n\n420101002_Response to NOPV PCO_08172010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420101002/420101002_Response%20to%20NOPV%20PCO_08172010.pdf\n\n420101002_FinalOrder_08232010_text.pdf\n\nAUG 23 2010\nMr. Larry Hjalmarson\nVice President, Operations\nWilliams Gas Pipeline Company, LLC\n2800 Post Oak Boulevard\nHouston, TX 77056\nRe: CPF No. 4-2010-1002\nDear Mr. Hjalmarson:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes one finding\nof violation and specifies actions that need to be taken by Williams Gas Pipeline Company, LLC,\nto comply with the pipeline safety regulations. When the terms of the compliance order have\nbeen completed, as determined by the Director, Southwest Region, this enforcement action will\nbe closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of\nmailing, or as otherwise provided under 49 C.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 [7009 1410 0000 2472 2780\n\n\n\nU.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION\nPIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION\nOFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY\nWASHINGTON, D.C. 20590\n____________________________________\n)\nIn the Matter of )\n)\nWilliams Gas Pipeline Company, LLC, ) CPF No. 4-2010-1002\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nDuring August, September, and December 2009, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative\nof the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline\nSafety (OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities of Williams Gas\nPipeline Company, LLC (Williams or Respondent), in southern Louisiana. The OPS\nrepresentative inspected transmission, compression, storage, and metering facilities along the\nTranscontinental Pipeline. Williams, a subsidiary of The Williams Companies, Inc., owns and\noperates approximately 14,000 miles of gas transmission and gathering lines across the United\nStates, including the 10,000-mile Transcontinental Pipeline, which extends from Texas,\nLouisiana, Mississippi and the Gulf of Mexico to Atlantic seaboard states.\n1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated May 19, 2010, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed\nCompliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed\nfinding that Williams had violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.179(b) and proposed ordering Respondent to\ntake certain measures to correct the alleged violation. The Notice also proposed finding that\nRespondent had committed certain other probable violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 192 and warning\nRespondent to take appropriate corrective action or be subject to future enforcement action.\nAn electronic record from the U.S. Postal Service confirms that Williams received the Notice on\nMay 24, 2010. Respondent failed to respond within 30 days of receipt of the Notice. Pursuant to\n49 C.F.R. § 190.209(c), Respondent’s failure to respond constitutes a waiver of the company’s\nright to contest the allegations in the Notice and authorizes the entry of this Final Order finding\nthe facts to be as alleged.\n1 The Williams Companies, Inc., SEC Annual Report (Form 10-K), at 2 and 9 (Feb. 26, 2010). Respondent files\nannual reports with PHMSA under the name Williams Gas Pipeline – Transco. Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line\nCompany, LLC (Transco) is a division of Williams Gas Pipeline Company, LLC.\n\n\n\n2\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nWilliams has waived its right to contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R. Part\n192, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.179(b), which states in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.179 – Transmission line valves.\n(a) . . . .\n(b) Each sectionalizing block valve on a transmission line, other than\noffshore segments, must comply with the following:\n(1) The valve and the operating device to open or close the valve must\nbe readily accessible and protected from tampering and damage.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.179(b) by failing to protect\nsectionalizing block valves from tampering and damage. Specifically, the Notice alleged that the\nchain on a block valve at Cow Island was not secured, which left the valve vulnerable to\ntampering or damage. The Notice also alleged that the block valves at the company’s Gueydan\nmeter station used decorative chains that provided inadequate security. Respondent’s failure to\nrespond authorizes PHMSA to find these facts to be as alleged. Accordingly, based upon a\nreview of all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.179(b) by failing to\nprotect sectionalizing block valves from tampering and damage.\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Item 1 in the Notice for violation of 49\nC.F.R. § 192.179(b). Under 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the\ntransportation of gas or who owns or operates a pipeline facility is required to comply with the\napplicable safety standards established under chapter 601. Pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217, Respondent is ordered to take the following actions to\nensure compliance with the pipeline safety regulations applicable to its operations:\nWith respect to the violation of § 192.179(b), Respondent must:\n1. Within 90 days of receipt of this Final Order, survey all transmission line\nsectionalizing block valves and replace all decorative style chain and other non-\nsecure means of protection with security chain or other secure means of protection to\nensure that valves are protected from tampering.\n2. Maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs associated with fulfilling\nthis Compliance Order and submit the total to the Director. Costs shall be reported in\ntwo categories: 1) total cost associated with preparation/revision of plans, procedures,\nstudies, and analyses, and 2) total cost associated with replacements, additions, and\nother changes to pipeline infrastructure.\n\n\n\n3\n3. Complete each of the above items and submit documentation of compliance to the\nDirector, Southwest Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, 8701 South Gessner Dr. Suite\n1110, Houston, TX 77074-2949.\nThe Director may grant an extension of time to comply with any of the required items upon a\nwritten request timely submitted by the Respondent and demonstrating good cause for an\nextension.\nFailure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties\nnot to exceed $100,000 for each violation for each day the violation continues or in referral to the\nAttorney General for appropriate relief in a district court of the United States.\nWARNING ITEMS\nWith respect to Items 2 and 3, the Notice alleged probable violations of Part 192 but did not\npropose a civil penalty or compliance order for these items. Therefore, these are considered to\nbe warning items. The warnings were for:\n49 C.F.R. § 192.243(b) (Item 2) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to perform\nnondestructive testing of welds in accordance with its written procedures.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that Williams performed nondestructive testing of\nwelds in 2007, and that the company could not demonstrate that during this\ntesting it complied with applicable procedures relating to densitometers, film\ndensity, radiographic procedure qualification reports, and NDE work reports; and\n49 C.F.R. § 192.745(a) (Item 3) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to inspect and\npartially operate a transmission line with the required frequency. Specifically, the\nNotice alleged that Respondent could not provide documentation that it had\ninspected a particular isolation valve during the 2007 calendar year.\nAccordingly, having considered such information, I find, pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205, that\nprobable violations of 49 C.F.R. § 192.243(b) (Notice Item 2) and 49 C.F.R. § 192.745(a)\n(Notice Item 3) have occurred and Respondent is hereby advised to correct such conditions. In\nthe event that OPS finds a violation of any of these items in a subsequent inspection, Respondent\nmay be subject to future enforcement action.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.215, Respondent has a right to submit a Petition for Reconsideration of\nthis Final Order. The petition must be sent to: Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline\nSafety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC\n20590, with a copy sent to the Office of Chief Counsel, PHMSA, at the same address. PHMSA\nwill accept petitions received no later than 20 days after receipt of this Final Order by the\nRespondent, provided they contain a brief statement of the issue(s) and meet all other\nrequirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.215. The terms of the Final Order, including any required\n\n\n\n4\ncorrective action, shall remain in full force and effect unless the Associate Administrator, upon\nrequest, grants a stay. The terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in\naccordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.5.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n420101002_Closure Letter_ 01262012_text.pdf\n\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJanuary 26, 2012\nMr. Larry Hjarlmarson\nVice President, Operations\nWilliams Gas Pipelines\n2800 Post Oak Blvd\nHouston, TX 77056\nCPF 4-2010-1002\nDear Mr. Hjarlmarson:\nOn August 23, 2010, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\nissued to Williams Gas Pipelines a Final Order in the above-referenced case. This Order\nincluded a Compliance Order. Based on our review of the documentation you provided, it has\nbeen determined that you have complied with the terms of this Order.\nAccordingly, this case is now closed and no further action is contemplated with respect to the\nmatters involved in this case. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nR. M. Seeley\nDirector, Southwest region\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration\n\n420101002_Closure Letter_01262012.pdf\n\nU.S. Department 8701 South Gessner, Suite 1110\nHouston, TX 77074\nof Transportation\nPipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJanuary 26, 2012\nMr. Larry Hjarlmarson\nVice President, Operations\nWilliams Gas Pipelines\n2800 Post Oak Blvd\nHouston, TX 77056\nCPF 4-2010-1002\nDear Mr. Hjarlmarson:\nOn August 23 , 2010, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\nissued to Williams Gas Pipelines a Final Order in the above-referenced case. This Order\nincluded a Compliance Order. Based on our review of the documentation you provided, it has\nbeen determined that you have complied with the terms of this Order.\nAccordingly, this case is now closed and no further action is contemplated with respect to the\nmatters involved in this case. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nR. M. Seeley\nDirector, Southwest region\nPipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration","truncated":false,"body_characters":12400}