{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420105011","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":"2010-06-22","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.54.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420105011.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420105011.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420105011","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420105011","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving TE PRODUCTS PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 195.54. The case was opened on 2010-06-22 and is reported as closed as of 2012-12-14. Proposed civil penalty: $22,500. Assessed civil penalty: $22,500. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420105011_Final Order_12142012.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420105011/420105011_Final%20Order_12142012.pdf\n\n420105011_Final Order_12142012_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420105011/420105011_Final%20Order_12142012_text.pdf\n\n420105011_NOPV PCP PCO_06222010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420105011/420105011_NOPV%20PCP%20PCO_06222010.pdf\n\n420105011_NOPV PCP PCO_06222010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420105011/420105011_NOPV%20PCP%20PCO_06222010_text.pdf\n\n420105011_Final Order_12142012_text.pdf\n\nDECEMBER 14, 2012\nMr. Terry Hurlburt\nGroup Senior Vice President, Operations & EHS&T\nTE Products Pipeline Company, LLC\n1100 Louisiana Street\nHouston, TX 77002-5227\nRe: CPF No. 4-2010-5011\nDear Mr. Hurlburt:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued for the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $22,500. This letter acknowledges receipt of payment of\nthe full penalty amount, by wire transfer, dated July 9, 2012. It further finds that TE Products\nPipeline Company, LLC has completed the actions specified in the Notice to comply with the\npipeline safety regulations. This enforcement action is now closed. Service of the Final Order\nby certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise provided under\n49 C.F.R. § 190.5.\nThank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nJeffrey D. Wiese\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\nEnclosure\ncc: 2893\nBJ Walker, Esq., Rose Law Firm, 120 East Fourth Street, Little Rock, Arkansas 72201-\nMr. R. M. Seeley, Director, Southwest Region, OPS\nMr. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, OPS\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\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, ) )\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nCPF No. 4-2010-5011\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), initiated an investigation of an\naccident involving the explosion of an out-of-service breakout tank operated by TE Products\nPipeline Company, LLC (TEPPCO or Respondent) at the McRae Product Terminal near Garner,\nArkansas on May 12, 2009. Respondent owns and operates refined products and liquefied\npetroleum gas pipelines in the United States. TE Products Pipeline Company, LLC is a\nsubsidiary of TEPPCO Partners LP. In its correspondence with PHMSA throughout the course\nof this case, Respondent has referred to itself as “TEPPCO.”\nThe explosion of the out-of-service breakout tank occurred during the installation of a gauge pole\nin the tank. Gauge poles are intended to reduce emissions and product loss from aboveground\nstorage tanks and breakout tanks. After the tank was emptied and cleaned, hazardous vapors\nwere ignited when a welder used a flame cutter to cut the internal floating roof. The explosion\nand destruction of the tank resulted in three fatalities of contract personnel working inside the\ntank.\nThe Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to Respondent, by letter dated\nJune 22, 2010, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil Penalty (Notice). In\naccordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that TEPPCO had violated\n49 C.F.R. § 195.54, and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $22,500 for the alleged violation.\nTEPPCO responded to the Notice by letter dated July 22, 2010. Respondent contested the\nallegation, presented information seeking mitigation and/or elimination of the proposed penalty,\nand requested a hearing. The hearing was to include discussion of this case and also a follow up\ncase related to the May 12, 2009 incident concerning TEPPCO’s alleged failure to follow its own\nprocedures, C.P.F. 4-2010-5015.\n\n\n\n2\nBy letter dated May 21, 2012, Respondent withdrew its request for a hearing and thereby\nauthorized entry of this Final Order without further notice. On July 7, 2012, Respondent paid the\nproposed civil penalty of $22,500. Notwithstanding its payment of the civil penalty, TEPPCO\nasked for permission to submit a formal response and documentation for consideration of the\nhearing officer prior to preparation of this Final Order. On July 30, 2012, TEPPCO submitted\nsaid document, which included deposition testimony related to ongoing litigation for tortious\nsuits, documents concerning the cleaning and planning for the gauge pole installation, and\ncontracts between Respondent and its contractors for the project. Respondent also requested that\nPHMSA “acknowledge all that TEPPCO did to ensure the work was done safely, in accordance\nwith regulations and guiding safety principles.” Under 49 C.F.R. § 190.209(a)(1), however,\npayment of the penalty serves to close the case with prejudice to Respondent. Therefore, the\nadditional information provided and the defenses asserted by Respondent are neither discussed\nnor considered in this Order. The findings and conclusions set forth below are based entirely on\nthe information referenced in the Notice and discussed in this Order, insofar as such information\nrelates to the specific regulatory violations alleged in the Notice.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. Part 195.54, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.54, which states:\n§ 195.54 Accident reports.\n(a) Each operator that experiences an accident that is required to be\nreported under §195.50 shall as soon as practicable, but not later than 30\ndays after discovery of the accident, prepare and file an accident report on\nDOT Form 7000-1, or a facsimile.\n(b) Whenever an operator receives any changes in the information\nreported or additions to the original report on DOT Form 7000-1, it shall\nfile a supplemental report within 30 days.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.54 by failing to file a supplemental\nreport after it received updated information about the cause of the May 12, 2009 incident.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that TEPPCO failed to file a supplemental report within 30 days\nafter it obtained a failure investigation report from Baker Engineering and Risk Consultants, Inc.\n(BakerRisk) on March 5, 2010.1 The report concluded that the probable cause of the explosion\nwas ignition of a flammable gasoline/air mixture inside the floating roof pontoons, created by\nleakage of gasoline vapors into the pontoons. As of May 19, 2010, a supplemental PHMSA\n7000-1 report still had not been filed by Respondent to update the original report with the\ninformation included in the BakerRisk report.\nBy May 19, 2010, Respondent had also not reported estimated losses as a result of the accident\nin the PHMSA 7000-1 report on file (20090164-8872).\nRespondent did not contest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, I find that Respondent\n1 See The BakerRisk Report # 01-02565-001-09, as included in the Violation Report.\n\n\n\n3\nviolated 49 C.F.R. § 195.54 by failing to file a supplemental report after it received changes in\nthe information reported in the original report.\nThis finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action\ntaken against Respondent.\nASSESSMENT OF PENALTY\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122, Respondent is subject to an administrative civil penalty not to exceed\n$100,000 per violation for each day of the violation, up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any\nrelated series of violations. In determining the amount of a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60122 and 49 C.F.R. § 190.225, PHMSA must consider the following criteria: the nature,\ncircumstances, and gravity of the violation, including adverse impact on the environment; the\ndegree of Respondent’s culpability; the history of Respondent’s prior offenses; the Respondent’s\nability to pay the penalty and any effect that the penalty may have on its ability to continue doing\nbusiness; and the good faith of Respondent in attempting to comply with the pipeline safety\nregulations. In addition, PHMSA may consider the economic benefit gained from the violation\nwithout any reduction because of subsequent damages, and such other matters as justice may\nrequire. The Notice proposed a total civil penalty of $22,500 for the violations cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $22,500 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 195.54, for failing to file a supplemental report after it received changes in the information\nreported in the report. Accordingly, I assess Respondent a civil penalty of $22,500 for violation\nof 49 C.F.R. § 195.54.\nTEPPCO paid the proposed penalty, which serves to close the case with prejudice to Respondent.\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Item 1 in the Notice for violation of 49\nC.F.R. § 195.54. Under 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation of\nhazardous liquids or who owns or operates a pipeline facility is required to comply with the\napplicable safety standards established under chapter 601. The Director indicates that\nRespondent has taken the following actions specified in the proposed compliance order:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 195.54 (Item 1), Respondent filed a supplemental report on\nMay 26, 2011.\nAccordingly, I find that compliance has been achieved with respect to this violation. Therefore,\nthe compliance terms proposed in the Notice are not included in this Order.\n\n\n\n4\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with\n49 C.F.R. § 190.5.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n420105011_NOPV PCP PCO_06222010_text.pdf\n\nNOTICE OF PROBABLE VIOLATION\nPROPOSED CIVIL PENALTY\nand\nPROPOSED COMPLIANCE ORDER\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJune 22, 2010\nMr. Terry Hurlburt\nSenior Vice President\nTexas Eastern Products Pipeline Company, LLC\nP. O. Box 4735\nHouston, Texas 77210-4735\nCPF 4-2010-5011\nMr. Hurlburt:\nIn May, 2009, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n(PHMSA) pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code investigated an accident that\noccurred on May 12, 2009 at Texas Eastern Products Pipeline Company, LLC’s (TEPPCO)\nMcRae Product Terminal near Garner, AR.\nAs a result of the accident investigation, it appears that you have committed a probable violation\nof the Pipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The item inspected\nand the probable violation is:\n1. §195.54 Accident reports.\n(a) Each operator that experiences an accident that is required to be reported under\n§195.50 shall as soon as practicable, but not later than 30 days after discovery of the\naccident, prepare and file an accident report on DOT Form 7000-1, or a facsimile.\n(b) Whenever an operator receives any changes in the information reported or\nadditions to the original report on DOT Form 7000-1, it shall file a supplemental\nreport within 30 days.\n\n\n\nTEPPCO failed to file a supplemental report for the McRae Product Terminal facility accident\nthat occurred on May 12, 2009 within 30 days after the failure investigation report was obtained\nthat provided information on the probable cause of failure. On May 12, 2009, at approximately\n2:17 p.m. CST, an explosion occurred in a gasoline storage tank, Tank 1303, at TEPPCO’s\nMcRae Product Terminal near Garner, AR. Three contractor employees were fatally injured in\nthe explosion. A failure analysis was performed by Baker Engineering and Risk Consultants, Inc\n(BakerRisk) of San Antonio, TX. The probable cause of the explosion was determined to be\ndeflagration of a flammable gasoline/air mixture inside the floating roof pontoons, created by\nleakage of gasoline vapors into the pontoons, and which was ignited by an oxygen/acetylene\ncutting torch being used by C&C Welding personnel. The BakerRisk Report # 01-02565-001-09\nwas provided by BakerRisk to the operator on or about March 5, 2010. As of May 19, 2010, a\nsupplemental PHMSA 7000-1 report has not been filed, updating the original report with the\nfinal failure report information as to the cause of the accident. There have also not been any\nlosses estimated by TEPPCO as a result of this accident in the PHMSA 7000-1 report on file\n(20090164-8872).\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 $22,500 as follows:\nItem number PENALTY\n1 $ 22,500\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 TEPPCO.\nPlease refer to the Proposed Compliance Order, which is enclosed and made a part of this\nNotice.\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\n2\n\n\n\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 4-2010-5011 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\nMaterials Safety Administration\nEnclosures: Proposed Compliance Order\nResponse Options for Pipeline Operators in Compliance Proceedings\n3\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 Texas Eastern Products Pipeline Company, LLC\n(TEPPCO) a Compliance Order incorporating the following remedial requirements to ensure the\ncompliance of TEPPCO with the pipeline safety regulations:\n1. In regard to Item Number 1 of the Notice pertaining to failure to comply with the\nrequirements of §195.54, TEPPCO must immediately file a supplemental DOT\nForm 7000-1 report for number 20090164 specifying the cause of failure of the\nTank 1303 explosion at the McRae Products Terminal near Garner, AR on May\n12, 2009 and updating any other information obtained since the accident. If all of\nthe information about the accident is known, this information must be included\nand the accident report filed as a final report.\n2. TEPPCO shall maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs\nassociated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to R.M.\nSeeley, Director, Southwest Region, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration. Costs shall be reported in two categories: 1) total cost associated\nwith preparation/revision of plans, procedures, studies and analyses, and 2) total\ncost associated with replacements, additions and other changes to pipeline\ninfrastructure.\n4","truncated":false,"body_characters":16580}