{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420115008","title":"WESTERN REFINING LOGISTICS, LP — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2011-06-27","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.420(b).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420115008.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420115008.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420115008","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420115008","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving WESTERN REFINING LOGISTICS, LP. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 195.420(b). The case was opened on 2011-06-27 and is reported as closed as of 2012-02-17. Proposed civil penalty: $13,500. Assessed civil penalty: $13,500. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420115008_Final Order_12192011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115008/420115008_Final%20Order_12192011.pdf\n\n420115008_Final Order_12192011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115008/420115008_Final%20Order_12192011_text.pdf\n\n420115008_NOPV PCP_06272011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115008/420115008_NOPV%20PCP_06272011.pdf\n\n420115008_NOPV PCP_06272011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115008/420115008_NOPV%20PCP_06272011_text.pdf\n\n420115008_Operator_Response_to_Notice_07252011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115008/420115008_Operator_Response_to_Notice_07252011.pdf\n\n420115008_Final Order_12192011_text.pdf\n\nDec 19 2011\nMr. Jeff A. Stevens\nPresident and CEO\nWestern Refining Pipeline Company\n123 W. Mills Avenue, Suite 200\nEl Paso, Texas 79901\nRe: CPF No. 4-2011-5008\nDear Mr. Stevens:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $13,500. When the civil penalty has been paid, this\nenforcement action will be closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed\neffective upon the date of mailing, 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. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, Pipeline\nSafety, PHMSA\nMr. Rod Seeley, Director, Southwest Region, PHMSA\nJohn S. Howell, Esq., Deputy General Counsel, Western Refining, Inc.\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [71791000164202979467]\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 )\nWestern Refining Pipeline Company, ) CPF No. 4-2011-5008\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nBetween October 25 and November 17, 2010, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of\nthe Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety\n(OPS), conducted an inspection of the facilities and records of Western Refining Pipeline\nCompany’s Texas-New Mexico pipeline located in New Mexico. Western Refining Pipeline\nCompany (Western) is a subsidiary of Western Refining, Inc., which operates refineries in El\nPaso, Texas, and Gallup, New Mexico.1 The system OPS inspected is a 424-mile 16-inch\ntransmission pipeline that transports crude oil.\n2\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated June 27, 2011, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil\nPenalty (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that\nWestern had violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.420 and assessing a civil penalty of $13,500 for the\nalleged violation.\nWestern responded to the Notice by letter dated July 25, 2011 (Response). Western did not\ncontest the probable violation but offered additional information in support of its request to\nreduce the civil penalty. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right\nto one.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Western did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\n§ 195.420(b), as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.420(b), which states:\n§ 195.420 Valve maintenance.\n(a) Each operator shall maintain each valve that is necessary for the\nsafe operation of its pipeline systems in good working order at all times.\n1 SEC Form 10-K, Western Refining, Inc., March 7, 2011, at 3.\n2 OPS Pipeline Safety Violation Report (on or around June 27, 2011), page 1.\n\n\n\n2\n(b) Each operator shall, at intervals not exceeding 7½ months, but at\nleast twice each calendar year, inspect each mainline valve to determine\nthat it is functioning properly.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.420(b) by failing to inspect each\nmainline valve at least twice each calendar year at intervals not exceeding 7½ months to\ndetermine that it is functioning properly. During the inspection, PHMSA reviewed Western’s\nOM-204 Valve Inspection Reports for 2007-2010. The documents confirmed that although\nWestern did inspect each valve at 7½ month intervals, it did not inspect them twice each calendar\nyear. Specifically, Western conducted inspections in December 2008, June 2009, and January\n2010. Although Western complied with the 7½-month interval requirement, it did not conduct\ninspections of 27 mainline valves twice during the 2009 calendar year.\nIn its Response, Western acknowledged it did not inspect these valves twice during 2009 but\nstated that it had met the 7½-month interval which qualified the company for a civil penalty\nreduction. The civil penalty arguments will be discussed in the Assessment of Penalty section\nbelow. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated\n49 C.F.R. § 195.420 by failing to inspect each mainline valve twice during the 2009 calendar\nyear.\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, I 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, I may consider the economic benefit gained from the violation without\nany reduction because of subsequent damages, and such other matters as justice may require.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $13,500 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 195.420(b),\nfor failing to inspect Western’s mainline valves twice during the 2009 calendar year. In response\nto the proposed civil penalty, Western argued that if either the December 2008 or the January\n2010 inspection had occurred in 2009, the calendar year requirement would have been met.\nWestern had already met the 7½-month interval requirement. Since Western only missed the\ncalendar year requirement, Western proposed that PHMSA reduce the proposed civil penalty to\n$8,100, amounting to a $300 penalty for each of the 27 valves.\nThe proposed civil penalty of $13,500 is based on the civil penalty assessment factors listed in\n49 C.F.R. § 190.225. Proper valve inspection and maintenance are necessary for the safe\noperation of a pipeline. This is not a new requirement but rather has been part of the Pipeline\n\n\n\n3\nSafety Regulations since 1982.\n3 In calculating the proposed civil penalty amount, PHMSA took\ninto account the fact that only eight of the 27 missed valves were currently in crude oil service.\nThe remaining 19 valves were located on an idled portion of the pipeline and had been isolated\nwith nitrogen gas since 2006.4\nTherefore, the proposed penalty amount reflects the statement made in the Violation Report that\nthe gravity of the violation is low because the safe operation of the pipeline was “minimally\naffected.\n”5\nThe proposed amount also reflects the fact that Western had not had any prior\nenforcement history in the past five years. Having reviewed the civil penalty assessment factors\nand the evidence presented in this case, I find that the proposed civil penalty of $13,500 is\nappropriate. Accordingly, I assess Respondent a civil penalty of $13,500 for violation of\n49 C.F.R. § 195.420.\nPayment of the civil penalty must be made within 20 days of service. Federal regulations\n(49 C.F.R. § 89.21(b)(3)) require such payment to be made by wire transfer through the Federal\nReserve Communications System (Fedwire), to the account of the U.S. Treasury. Detailed\ninstructions are contained in the enclosure. Questions concerning wire transfers should be\ndirected to: Financial Operations Division (AMZ-341), Federal Aviation Administration, Mike\nMonroney Aeronautical Center, P.O. Box 269039, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125. The\nFinancial Operations Division telephone number is (405) 954-8893.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.215, Respondent has the 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 service of the Final Order by\nthe Respondent, provided they contain a brief statement of the issue(s) and meet all other\nrequirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.215. The filing of a petition automatically stays the payment of\nany civil penalty assessed but does not stay any other provisions of the Final Order, including\nany required corrective actions. If Respondent submits payment of the civil penalty, the Final\nOrder becomes the final administrative decision and the right to petition for reconsideration is\nwaived.\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\n3 “Transportation of Natural and Other Gas and Hazardous Liquids by Pipeline; Inspection and Test Intervals”, 47\nFed. Reg. 46852 (October 21, 1982).\n4 Violation Report, at 4.\n5 Id.","truncated":false,"body_characters":10474}