{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420115010","title":"PLAINS MARKETING, L.P. — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2011-07-13","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.52(a), 195.54(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420115010.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420115010.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420115010","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420115010","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving PLAINS MARKETING, L.P.. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.52(a),  195.54(a). The case was opened on 2011-07-13 and is reported as closed as of 2012-01-10. Proposed civil penalty: $10,000. Assessed civil penalty: $10,000. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420115010_Final Order_11162011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115010/420115010_Final%20Order_11162011.pdf\n\n420115010_Final Order_11162011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115010/420115010_Final%20Order_11162011_text.pdf\n\n420115010_NOPV PCP_07132011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115010/420115010_NOPV%20PCP_07132011.pdf\n\n420115010_NOPV PCP_07132011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115010/420115010_NOPV%20PCP_07132011_text.pdf\n\n420115010_Operator Response to Notice_08082011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420115010/420115010_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_08082011.pdf\n\n420115010_Final Order_11162011_text.pdf\n\nNOV 16 2011\nMr. Phil Smith\nVice President of Operations\nPlains Marketing, L.P.\n333 Clay St.\nSuite 1600\nHouston, TX 77002\nRe: CPF No. 4-2011-5010\nDear Mr. Smith:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation and assesses a civil penalty of $10,000. The penalty payment terms are set forth in the\nFinal Order. This enforcement action closes automatically upon receipt of payment. Service of\nthe Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise\nprovided 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\nMr. Alan Mayberry, Deputy Associate Administrator for Field Operations, Pipeline Safety\nMr. Jordan Janak, Senior Director, Environmental & Regulatory Compliance, Plains\nMarketing, L.P.\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [71791000164202879798]\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)\nPlains Marketing, L.P., ) CPF No. 4-2011-5010\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom May through July 2011, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline\nand Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS),\ninvestigated a hazardous liquid incident that occurred on September 12, 2010, in St. James\nTerminal, St. James, LA. Plains Marketing, L.P. (Plains), is a wholly-owned operating\nsubsidiary of Plains All American Pipeline, L.P., that transports, stores, terminals and markets\ncrude oil, refined products and liquefied petroleum gas. Plains’ system includes roughly 16,000\nmiles of active crude and refined products pipelines and gathering systems.1\nAs a result of the investigation, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated July 13, 2011, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed Civil\nPenalty (Notice), which also included a warning pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205. In accordance\nwith 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that Plains had violated\n49 C.F.R. § 195.54 and proposed assessing a civil penalty of $10,000 for the alleged violation.\nThe warning item required no further action, but advised the operator to correct the probable\nviolation.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Plains did not contest the allegation in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R. Part\n195, as follows:\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.54(a), 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\n1 See 10-K, available at http://www.b2i.us/profiles/investor/secxml.asp?Bzid=789&fg=1.\n\n\n\n2\ndays after discovery of the accident, prepare and file an accident report on\nDOT Form 7000-1, or a facsimile.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.54(a) by failing to prepare and file\nan accident report on DOT Form 7000-1, or a facsimile, as soon as practicable, but not later than\n30 days following an accident required to be reported under § 195.50. Specifically, the Notice\nalleged that on September 12, 2010, Plains experienced a hazardous liquid accident but did not\nfile an original report until January 12, 2011, approximately four months after the accident\noccurred.\nWhile the Respondent did not contest this allegation of violation, it provided a written\nexplanation for the delay and included documentation to support mitigation of the proposed\npenalty. I will address these arguments in the Assessment of Penalty section below.\nAccordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49\nC.F.R. § 195.54(a) by failing to prepare and file an accident form on DOT Form 7000-1, or a\nfacsimile, as soon as practicable, but not later than 30 days after discovery of an accident\nrequired to be reported under § 195.50.\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.\nThe Notice proposed a total civil penalty of $10,000 for the violation cited above.\nItem 2: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $10,000 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 195.54(a), for failing to prepare and file an accident report on DOT Form 7000-1, or a\nfacsimile, as soon as practicable, but not later than 30 days following an accident required to be\nreported under § 195.50. The Respondent did not contest this Item.\nAccording to Plains, a new employee neglected to electronically submit the required document\non October 11, 2010; however, a “draft” form of the document was created, which Plains\nattached to its Response.2\nRespondent’s argument notwithstanding, the actual accident report\nwas not submitted to PHMSA until January 12, 2011. Between the date the “draft” was prepared\nand the date PHMSA inspectors discovered the delay, Plains did not contact PHMSA to\n2 In its Response, Plains states that this draft was designated “Draft Number 4000” and was completed on October\n11, 2010. Response, at 1.\n\n\n\n3\nself-report its failure to submit a timely report. As a result, I decline to find that Plains has\npresented evidence sufficient to justify a reduction in the proposed penalty.\nThe Respondent further argues that the violation “did not result in any threat or impact to the\nsafety and health of the public or the environment.\nto file reports will rarely result in a threat of the nature contemplated by the Respondent.\nHowever, the fact that a requirement is administrative does not negate its importance or potential\nimpact on safety. Written accident reports provide important information to PHMSA and the\npublic on the nature of said incidents and why they occur. In determining the facilities involved,\nthe accident type, and extent of harm to public and property, PHMSA determines whether there\nis a need to take a closer look at the operations and maintenance of a particular pipeline facility,\nor whether to evaluate and update current safety regulations or to issue new ones.\n” 3 This is correct in the sense that neglecting\nAccordingly, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I assess\nRespondent a civil penalty of $10,000 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 195.54(a).\nPayment of the civil penalty must be made within 20 days of service of this Final Order.\nPayment may be made by sending a certified check or money order (containing the CPF Number\nfor this case), made payable to “U.S. Department of Transportation,” to the Federal Aviation\nAdministration, Mike Monroney Aeronautical Center, Financial Operations Division (AMZ-\n341), P.O. Box 269039, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125. Federal regulations (49 C.F.R.\n§ 89.21(b)(3)) also permit payment to be made by wire transfer through the Federal Reserve\nCommunications System (Fedwire), to the account of the U.S. Treasury. Detailed instructions\nare contained in the enclosure. Questions concerning wire transfers should be directed to:\nFinancial Operations Division (AMZ-341), Federal Aviation Administration, Mike Monroney\nAeronautical Center, P.O. Box 269039, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma 73125. The Financial\nOperations Division telephone number is (405) 954-8893.\nFailure to pay the $10,000 civil penalty will result in accrual of interest at the current annual rate\nin accordance with 31 U.S.C. § 3717, 31 C.F.R. § 901.9 and 49 C.F.R. § 89.23. Pursuant to\nthose same authorities, a late penalty charge of six percent (6%) per annum will be charged if\npayment is not made within 110 days of service. Furthermore, failure to pay the civil penalty\nmay result in referral of the matter to the Attorney General for appropriate action in a district\ncourt of the United States.\nWARNING ITEM\nWith respect to Item 1, the Notice alleged a probable violation of Part 195 specifically\nconsidered to be a warning item. The warning was for:\n49 C.F.R. § 195.52(a) (Item 1) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to report, at the\nearliest practicable moment following discovery, a release of hazardous liquid\ntransported resulting in an event described on §195.50. Plains never gave\n3 Response, at 1.\n\n\n\n4\ntelephonic notice of this release, even though it later determined, shortly after\nSeptember 12, 2010, that the release met the definition under § 195.50(e). Plains\nexplained that it initially estimated that property damage from the failure did not\nexceed $50,000. However, Plains ultimately determined that the weld on the tank\nfor the roof drain valve failed due to a full penetration crack, resulting in damage\ngreater than $50,000.\nPlains 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.\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","truncated":false,"body_characters":12264}