{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420175010W","title":"CITGO PRODUCTS PIPELINE CO — Warning Letter","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2017-04-04","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED warning letter citing 195.52(a)(2), 195.54(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420175010w.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420175010w.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420175010w","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420175010W","body":"Warning Letter involving CITGO PRODUCTS PIPELINE CO. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.52(a)(2),  195.54(a). The case was opened on 2017-04-04 and is reported as closed as of 2017-04-04. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420175010W_Warning Letter_04042017.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420175010W/420175010W_Warning%20Letter_04042017.pdf\n\n420175010W_Warning Letter_04042017_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420175010W/420175010W_Warning%20Letter_04042017_text.pdf\n\n420175010W_Warning Letter_04042017_text.pdf\n\nWARNING LETTER\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nApril 4, 2017\nMr. Jim Sanders\nCitgo Products Pipeline Company\nGeneral Manager – Terminals and Pipelines\n1293 Eldridge Parkway\nHouston, Texas 77077\nCPF 4-2017-5010W\nDear Mr. Sanders:\nOn October 7, 2016, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA) pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code initiated an\ninvestigation for the accident that occurred at Citgo Products Pipeline Company (Citgo), Mont\nBelvieu Station in Mont Belvieu, Texas.\nAs a result of the investigation, it is alleged that you have committed a probable violation of the\nPipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected and the\nprobable violations are:\n\n\n\n1. §195.52 Immediate notice of certain accidents.\n(a) Notice requirements. At the earliest practicable moment following discovery of a\nrelease of the hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide transported resulting in an event\ndescribed in § 195.50, the operator of the system must give notice, in accordance\nwith paragraph (b) of this section, of any failure that:\n(2) Resulted in either a fire or explosion not intentionally set by the operator;\nCitgo failed to provide immediate notice following discovery of an accident at their Mont Belvieu\nfacility on October 7, 2016. Telephonic notification was made to the National Response Center\n(NRC) at 2153 CST, for the accident that occurred at 1735 CST. This documents a 4 hr 18 min\nresponse time to contact the NRC. According to 195.52(a), as soon as practicable would have\nresulted in notification within a two hour time frame.\nThe NRC recorded the elapsed time as 4 hrs. 18 mins; while the written Accident Report -\nHazardous Liquid Pipeline Systems Form PHMSA F7000.1 (submitted by Citgo) recorded the\nelapsed time as 4 hrs. 3 mins.\n2. §195.54 Accident reports.\n(a) Each operator that experiences an accident that is required to be reported under\n§ 195.50 must, as soon as practicable, but not later than 30 days after discovery of the\naccident, file an accident report on DOT Form 7000-1.\nCitgo failed to file the written accident report on DOT Form 7000-1 within thirty days following\nthe accident that occurred on October 7, 2017, at their Mont Belvieu facility. Citgo filed their\nwritten DOT Form 7000-1 34 days after the accident.\nDOT Accident Report -Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Systems Form PHMSA F7000-1 was submitted\nby Citgo on November 10, 2016. The accident occurred on October 7, 2016. The submittal\noccurred 34 days after the accident, therefore exceeding the 30 day requirement per the code.\nUnder 49 United States Code, § 60122, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $205,638\nper violation per day the violation persists up to a maximum of $2,056,380 for a related series of\nviolations. For violation occurring between January 4, 2012 to August 1, 2016, the maximum\npenalty may not exceed $200,000 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not to exceed\n$2,000,000 for a related series of violations. For violations occurring prior to January 4, 2012, the\nmaximum penalty may not exceed $100,000 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not to\nexceed $1,000,000 for a related series of violations. We have reviewed the circumstances and\nsupporting documents involved in this case, and have decided not to conduct additional\n2\n\n\n\nenforcement action or penalty assessment proceedings at this time. We advise you to correct the\nitems identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in Citgo being subject to additional\nenforcement action.\nNo reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer to\nCPF 4-2017-5010W. Be advised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement\naction is subject to being made publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your\nresponsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the\ncomplete original document you must provide a second copy of the document with the portions\nyou believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the\nredacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b).\nSincerely,\nR. M. Seeley\nDirector, Southwest\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n3","truncated":false,"body_characters":5010}