{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420111014","title":"COLUMBIA GULF TRANSMISSION, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2011-11-07","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 191.5(a), 192.615(b)(2).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420111014.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420111014.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420111014","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420111014","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving COLUMBIA GULF TRANSMISSION, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 191.5(a),  192.615(b)(2). The case was opened on 2011-11-07 and is reported as closed as of 2012-05-01. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420111014_ Final Order_05012012.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420111014/420111014_%20Final%20Order_05012012.pdf\n\n420111014_ Final Order_05012012_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420111014/420111014_%20Final%20Order_05012012_text.pdf\n\n420111014_NOPV PCO_11072011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420111014/420111014_NOPV%20PCO_11072011.pdf\n\n420111014_NOPV PCO_11072011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420111014/420111014_NOPV%20PCO_11072011_text.pdf\n\n420111014_Operator Response to Notice and Closure Request_12122011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420111014/420111014_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice%20and%20Closure%20Request_12122011.pdf\n\n420111014_ Final Order_05012012_text.pdf\n\nMAY 1 2012\nMr. Joseph P. Shields\nChief Operating Officer\nNiSource Gas Transmission and Storage\n5151 San Felipe, #2500\nHouston, TX 77056\nRe: CPF No. 4-2011-1014\nDear Mr. Shields:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding\nof violation and finds that Columbia Gulf Transmission Company has completed the actions\nspecified in the Notice to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. Therefore, this case is\nnow 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. Rod Seeley, Director, Southern Region, OPS\nMr. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, OPS\nMr. Michael Hoffman, Manager, System Integrity, NiSource Gas Transmission &\nStorage, 1700 McCorkle Avenue, Charleston, WV 25314\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____________________________________\n)\nIn the Matter of )\n)\nColumbia Gulf Transmission Company, ) CPF No. 4-2011-1014\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nOn various dates in 2010, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS),\nconducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of Columbia Gulf\nTransmission Company (CGTC or Respondent) in Louisiana, Mississippi, Tennessee, and\nKentucky. CGTC is the operator of a 3,400-mile interstate pipeline system that transports\nnatural gas to customers and markets in the Midwest, Southeast, and Northeast.1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated November 7, 2011, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed\nCompliance Order (Notice), which also included a warning item pursuant to\n49 C.F.R. § 190.205. In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that\nCGTC had violated 49 C.F.R. Part 192 and proposed ordering Respondent to take certain\nmeasures to correct the alleged violation. The warning item required no further action but\nwarned the operator to correct the probable violation or face future potential enforcement action.\nCGTC responded to the Notice by letter dated December 12, 2011 (Response). The company\ndid not contest the allegations of violation but provided information concerning the corrective\nactions it had taken. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to\none.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, CGTC did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R. Part\n192, as follows:\n1 CGTC is a subsidiary of NiSource Gas Transmission & Storage, which owns and operates approximately 15,000\nmiles of interstate natural gas pipelines and an integrated underground storage system in North America.\nhttp://www.ngts.com/en/home.aspx (last accessed Feb. 29, 2012).\n\n\n\n2\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.615(b), which states:\n§ 192.615 Emergency Plans.\n(a) Each operator shall establish written procedures to minimize the\nhazard resulting from a gas pipeline emergency. At a minimum, the\nprocedures must provide for the following: . . . .\n(b) Each operator shall:\n(1) . . . .\n(2) Train the appropriate operating personnel to assure that they are\nknowledgeable of the emergency procedures and verify that the training is\neffective.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.615(b) by failing to train\nappropriate operating personnel to assure that they were knowledgeable of the company’s\nemergency procedures and to verify that the training was effective. Specifically, the Notice\nalleged that CGTC did not have adequate documentation to demonstrate that the company’s\ncontrol center personnel had received the required training, or that Respondent had taken steps to\nverify the effectiveness of that training. The Notice stated that the only documentation CGTC\nprovided to the OPS inspection team was a sign-in sheet and brochure for the emergency plan\ntraining for the company’s control center personnel.\nRespondent did not contest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all\nof the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.615(b) by failing to train\nappropriate operating personnel to assure that they were knowledgeable of the company’s\nemergency procedures and to verify that the training was effective.\nThis finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action\ntaken against Respondent.\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Item 2 in the Notice for violations of\n49 C.F.R. § 192.615. 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. The Director indicates that CGTC has\ntaken the following actions in response to the proposed compliance order:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 192.615(b) (Item 2), Respondent has\nimplemented a robust emergency training plan program for its control center\npersonnel. PHMSA has reviewed the procedures and records for that program and\nfound them to be satisfactory.\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\n3\nWARNING ITEM\nWith respect to Item 1, the Notice alleged probable violations of Part 191 but did not propose a\ncivil penalty or compliance order for this item. Therefore, this is considered to be a warning\nitem. The warning was for:\n49 C.F.R. § 191.5(a) (Item 1) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to provide\ntelephonic notice to the National Response Center at the earliest practicable\nmoment after discovering two incidents, on August 25, 2006, and\nAugust 3, 2007, meeting the definition of reportable incidents under § 191.3.\nCGTC presented information in its Response showing that it had taken certain actions to address\nthe cited item. If OPS finds a violation of this provision in a subsequent inspection, Respondent\nmay be subject to future enforcement action.\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","truncated":false,"body_characters":7939}