{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420181001","title":"GULF SOUTH PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2018-01-31","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.465(d), 192.605(a), 192.615(b)(2), 192.743(a), 192.743(b).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420181001.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420181001.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420181001","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420181001","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving GULF SOUTH PIPELINE COMPANY, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.465(d),  192.605(a),  192.615(b)(2),  192.743(a),  192.743(b). The case was opened on 2018-01-31 and is reported as closed as of 2019-12-13. Proposed civil penalty: $62,000. Assessed civil penalty: $62,000. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420181001_Closure Letter_12132019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420181001/420181001_Closure%20Letter_12132019.pdf\n\n420181001_Closure Letter_12132019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420181001/420181001_Closure%20Letter_12132019_text.pdf\n\n420181001_Final Order_08082019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420181001/420181001_Final%20Order_08082019.pdf\n\n420181001_Final Order_08082019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420181001/420181001_Final%20Order_08082019_text.pdf\n\n420181001_NOPV PCP PCO_01312018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420181001/420181001_NOPV%20PCP%20PCO_01312018.pdf\n\n420181001_NOPV PCP PCO_01312018_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420181001/420181001_NOPV%20PCP%20PCO_01312018_text.pdf\n\n420181001_Operator Response to Notice_02262018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420181001/420181001_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_02262018.pdf\n\n420181001_Closure Letter_12132019_text.pdf\n\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nDecember 13, 2019\nRichard Keyser\nSr. Vice President of Operations\nGulf South Pipeline, LP\n9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2800\nHouston, Texas 77046\nCPF 4-2018-1001\nDear Mr. Keyser:\nOn August 8, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued\nto Gulf South Pipeline a Final Order in the above-referenced case. This Order included a\nCompliance Order and Civil Penalty assessment. Based on our review of the documentation you\nprovided and confirmation of payment of the civil penalty, it has been determined that you have\ncomplied with the terms of this Order.\nAccordingly, this case is now closed and no further action is contemplated with respect to the\nmatters involved in this case. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nMary L. McDaniel, P.E.\nDirector, Southwest Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n\n420181001_Final Order_08082019_text.pdf\n\nAugust 8, 2019\nMr. Stanley Horton\nChief Executive Officer and President\nBoardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP\n9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2800\nHouston, Texas 77046\nRe: CPF No. 4-2018-1001\nDear Mr. Horton:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case to your subsidiary, Gulf\nSouth Pipeline, LP. It makes findings of violation and assesses a civil penalty of $62,000. This\nis to acknowledge receipt of payment of the full penalty amount, by wire transfer, dated February\n26, 2018. When the terms of the compliance order are completed, as determined by the Director,\nSouthwest Region, this enforcement action will be closed. Service of the Final Order by\ncertified mail is effective upon the date of mailing, as provided under 49 C.F.R. § 190.5.\nThank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nAlan K. Mayberry\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\nEnclosure\ncc: Ms. Mary McDaniel, Director, Southwest Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA\nMr. Richard Keyser, Sr. Vice President of Operations, Gulf South Pipeline, LP\nMs. Tina H. Baker, Manager, Compliance Services, Gulf South Pipeline, LP\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 )\nGulf South Pipeline, LP, ) CPF No. 4-2018-1001\na subsidiary of Boardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP, )\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n__________________________________________ )\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom May 8, 2015, through September 15, 2016, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, representatives\nof the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline\nSafety (OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of Gulf\nSouth Pipeline, LP (Gulf South or Respondent), a wholly-owned, operating subsidiary of\nBoardwalk Pipeline Partners, LP,1 in Texas and Louisiana. Gulf South is an interstate natural\ngas system that gathers gas from basins between Texas and Alabama and delivers to on-system\nmarkets in the Northeast, Midwest, and Southeast through interconnections with third-party\npipelines. The Gulf South system is composed of approximately 7,275 miles of pipeline having\nan average daily throughput of approximately 2.8 billion cubic feet (of natural gas) per day in\n2017. Gulf South is headquartered in Houston, Texas, with a major operations office in\nOwensboro, Kentucky.2\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated January 31, 2018, a Notice of Probable Violation, Proposed Civil\nPenalty, and Proposed Compliance Order (Notice), which also included a warning pursuant to 49\nC.F.R. § 190.205. In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that\nGulf South had committed four violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 192 and proposed assessing a civil\npenalty of $62,000 for the alleged violations. The Notice also proposed ordering Respondent to\ntake certain measures to correct the alleged violations. The warning item required no further\naction, but warned the operator to correct the probable violation or face possible future\nenforcement action.\nGulf South responded to the Notice by letter dated February 26, 2018 (Response). The company\ndid not contest the allegations of violation and paid the proposed civil penalty of $62,000. In\n1 http://www.gulfsouthpl.com/ (last accessed June 24, 2019).\n2 Pipeline Safety Violation Report (on file with PHMSA).\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2018-1001\nPage 2\naccordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.208(a)(1), such payment authorizes the Associate\nAdministrator to make findings of violation and to issue this final order without further\nproceedings. The company also provided information concerning the corrective actions it had\nagreed to complete under the proposed compliance order. Respondent did not request a hearing\nand therefore has waived its right to one.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Gulf South did not contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 192, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.615(b)(2), which states:\n§ 192.615 Emergency plans.\n(a) ….\n(b) Each operator shall: ….\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)(2) by failing to perform\ntraining of personnel through mock drills to assure knowledge of the emergency procedures and\nto verify effectiveness of the training as required by Gulf South Procedure 3010 – Event\nResponse Plan, dated June 1, 2016. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Gulf South failed to\nconduct exercises and mock drills in its Hall Summit-Sarepta, Westlake, and Goodrich Units in\n2014, and its Hall Summit-Sarepta, and Goodrich Units in 2015, despite its procedure and the\nregulation requiring such action.\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)(2) by failing to perform\ntraining of personnel through mock drills to assure knowledge of the emergency procedures and\nto verify effectiveness of the training as required.\nItem 3: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.743(a)-(b), which states:\n§ 192.743 Pressure limiting and regulating stations: Capacity of relief\ndevices.\n(a) Pressure relief devices at pressure limiting stations and pressure\nregulating stations must have sufficient capacity to protect the facilities to\nwhich they are connected. Except as provided in § 192.739(b), the capacity\nmust be consistent with the pressure limits of § 192.201(a). This capacity\nmust be determined at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once\neach calendar year, by testing the devices in place or by review and\ncalculations.\n(b) If review and calculations are used to determine if a device has\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2018-1001\nPage 3\nsufficient capacity, the calculated capacity must be compared with the rated\nor experimentally determined relieving capacity of the device for the\nconditions under which it operates. After the initial calculations, subsequent\ncalculations need not be made if the annual review documents that\nparameters have not changed to cause the rated or experimentally\ndetermined relieving capacity to be insufficient.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.743(a)-(b) by failing to properly\ndetermine the capacity of pressure-relief devices to protect the facilities to which they are\nconnected. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Gulf South’s control room equipment inspection\nreports, which were presented as records of annual inspection of overpressure protection, failed\nto reflect actual or up-to-date information related to regulator and relief-valve capacities at\nseveral locations. The Notice stated that the required annual testing or reviews of capacities of\nregulators and overpressure protection relief devices should have revealed to the reviewers that,\nin some cases, capacities of regulators appeared to exceed the capacities of overpressure\nprotective-relief devices.\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. § 192.743(a)-(b) by failing to properly\ndetermine the capacity of pressure-relief devices to protect the facilities to which they are\nconnected.\nItem 4: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.465(d), which states:\n§ 192.465 External corrosion control: Monitoring.\n(a) ….\n(d) Each operator shall take prompt remedial action to correct any\ndeficiencies indicated by the monitoring.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.465(d) by failing to take prompt\nremedial action to remediate cathodic-protection deficiencies discovered during annual\nmonitoring of cathodically protected facilities. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Gulf South\nfailed to meet the established criteria for adequate cathodic protection for 2014 and 2015 on its\nLine 64, Magasco C.S. to Call Junction, as evidenced by pipe-to-soil measurements taken at mile\npole 62.9600, and pipe-to-soil measurements taken at mile pole 63.9010, which failed to meet\nadequate cathodic-protection levels for 2014, 2015, and 2016.\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. § 192.465(d) by failing to take prompt\nremedial action to remediate cathodic-protection deficiencies discovered during annual\nmonitoring of cathodically protected facilities.\nThese findings of violation will be considered prior offenses in any subsequent enforcement\naction taken against Respondent.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2018-1001\nPage 4\nASSESSMENT OF PENALTY\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122, Respondent is subject to an administrative civil penalty not to exceed\n$200,000 per violation for each day of the violation, up to a maximum of $2,000,000 for any\nrelated series of violations.3 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; any effect that\nthe penalty may have on its ability to continue doing business; and the good faith of Respondent\nin attempting to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. In addition, I may consider the\neconomic benefit gained from the violation without any reduction because of subsequent\ndamages, and such other matters as justice may require. The Notice proposed a total civil\npenalty of $62,000 for the violations cited above.\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $29,600 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.615(b)(2), for failing to perform training of personnel through mock drills to assure\nknowledge of the emergency procedures and to verify effectiveness of the training as required by\nGulf South Procedure 3010 – Event Response Plan. Gulf South neither contested the allegation\nnor presented any evidence or argument justifying a reduction or elimination of the proposed\npenalty. Accordingly, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria, I\nassess Respondent a civil penalty of $29,600 for violation of 49 C.F.R. § 192.615(b)(2).\nItem 4: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $32,400 for Respondent’s violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.465(d), for failing to take prompt action to remediate cathodic-protection deficiencies\ndiscovered during annual monitoring of cathodically protected facilities. Gulf South neither\ncontested the allegation nor presented any evidence or argument justifying a reduction or\nelimination of the proposed penalty. Accordingly, having reviewed the record and considered\nthe assessment criteria, I assess Respondent a civil penalty of $32,400 for violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.465(d).\nIn summary, having reviewed the record and considered the assessment criteria for each of the\nItems cited above, I assess Respondent a total civil penalty of $62,000, which amount was paid\nin full by wire transfer on February 26, 2018.\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Item 3 in the Notice for a violation of 49\nC.F.R. § 192.743(a)-(b). Under 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the\ntransportation of hazardous liquids or who owns or operates a pipeline facility is required to\ncomply with the applicable safety standards established under chapter 601. Pursuant to the\nauthority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217, Respondent is ordered to take the\nfollowing actions to ensure compliance with the pipeline safety regulations applicable to its\n3 These amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. See 49 C.F.R. § 190.223; Revisions to Civil Penalty Amounts,\n83 Fed. Reg. 60732, 60744 (Nov. 27, 2018).\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2018-1001\nPage 5\noperations:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 192.743(a)-(b) (Item 3), Respondent must:\na. Conduct a review of pressure-reduction and relief-device capacities to\nensure adequate overpressure protection capacities are in place to maintain\ndownstream operating pressures within the maximum allowable operating\npressure limits and provide training to individuals responsible for the\nannual reviews required by § 192.743.\nb. Provide documentation of the reviews of pressure reduction and\noverpressure protection capacities performed. Also provide the names and\ndates of when the training was completed for individuals who would be\nperforming the annual reviews required by § 192.743.\n2. Gulf South shall complete the items required by this Compliance Order within\n120 days after receipt of the Final Order.\nThe Director may grant an extension of time to comply with any of the required items upon a\nwritten request timely submitted by the Respondent and demonstrating good cause for an\nextension.\nIt is requested (not mandated) that Respondent maintain documentation of the safety\nimprovement costs associated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to the\nDirector. It is requested that these costs be reported in two categories: (1) total cost associated\nwith preparation/revision of plans, procedures, studies and analyses; and (2) total cost associated\nwith replacements, additions and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.\nFailure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties\nnot to exceed $200,000, as adjusted for inflation (49 C.F.R. § 190.223), for each violation for\neach day the violation continues or in referral to the Attorney General for appropriate relief in a\ndistrict court of the United States.\nWARNING ITEM\nWith respect to Item 2, the Notice alleged probable violations of Part 192 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. §§ 192.605(a) and 192.615(b)(3) (Item 2) ─ Respondent’s alleged\nfailure to perform a review of employee activities following an emergency\nsituation to determine whether emergency procedures were effectively followed\nas required by Gulf South Procedure 3010 – Event Response Plan.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2018-1001\nPage 6\nIf OPS finds a violation of these provisions in a subsequent inspection, Respondent may be\nsubject to future enforcement action.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.243, Respondent may submit a Petition for Reconsideration of this Final\nOrder to the Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey\nAvenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20590, with a copy sent to the Office of\nChief Counsel, PHMSA, at the same address, no later than 20 days after receipt of service of this\nFinal Order by Respondent. Any petition submitted must contain a statement of the issue(s) and\nmeet all other requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.243. The terms of the order, including corrective\naction, remain in effect unless the Associate Administrator, upon request, grants a stay.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\nAugust 8, 2019\n___________________________________ __________________________\nAlan K. Mayberry Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n420181001_NOPV PCP PCO_01312018_text.pdf\n\nNOTICE OF PROBABLE VIOLATION\nPROPOSED CIVIL PENALTY\nand\nPROPOSED COMPLIANCE ORDER\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJanuary 31, 2018\nMr. Richard Keyser\nSr. Vice President of Operations\nGulf South Pipeline, LP\n9 Greenway Plaza, Suite 2800\nHouston, Texas 77046\nCPF 4-2018-1001\nDear Mr. Keyser:\nOn multiple occasions between May 8, 2015 and September 15, 2016, representatives of the\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety\n(OPS), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code were onsite and inspected Gulf South\nPipeline’s assets in Texas and Louisiana.\nAs a result of the investigation, it appears that you have committed probable violations of the\nPipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected and the\nprobable violations are:\n1. §192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance and emergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline, a manual of\nwritten procedures for conducting operating and maintenance activities and for\nemergency response. For transmission lines, the manual must also include\nprocedures for handling abnormal operations. This manual must be reviewed\nand updated by the operator at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least\n\n\n\nonce each calendar year. This manual must be prepared before operations of a\npipeline system commence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at\nlocations where operations and maintenance activities are conducted.\n§ 192.615 Emergency plans.\n(b) Each operator shall:\n(2) Train the appropriate operating personnel to assure that they are\nknowledgeable of the emergency procedures and verify that the training is\neffective.\nGulf South failed to perform training of personnel through mock drills to assure knowledge\nof the emergency procedures and to verify effectiveness of the training as required by Gulf\nSouth Procedure 3010.\nDuring the inspection, records of annual training of personnel in emergency procedures\nand mock drills were reviewed for the operating areas visited.\nIn 2014, exercises and mock drills were not conducted in Hall Summit Sarepta, Westlake,\nand Goodrich Units and in 2015, exercises and mock drills were not conducted in Hall\nSummit Sarepta and Goodrich Units.\nGulf South Procedure 3010 – Event Response Plan states:\n“Supervisors who may be expected to implement a portion of this plan shall:\n Verify that training is effective through performance of exercises and mock drills\n(document on Form 3000-40: Emergency Response Scenario and Training\nRecord); and\n Review employee activities after responses to events and emergency situations to\ndetermine whether procedures were adequate and were effectively followed.\nDocumentation of training meetings, people attending, and the material covered\nshall be put in writing and maintained in field office records (document on Form\n0000-10: Meeting/Training Roster).\nExercises and mock drills shall be conducted periodically, typically once a year, as\noperations permit. Exercise documentation shall be maintained at each facility\n(document on Form 3000-40: Emergency Response Scenario and Training Record).”\n2. §192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance and emergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline, a manual of\nwritten procedures for conducting operating and maintenance activities and for\nemergency response. For transmission lines, the manual must also include\nprocedures for handling abnormal operations. This manual must be reviewed\n2\n\n\n\nand updated by the operator at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least\nonce each calendar year. This manual must be prepared before operations of a\npipeline system commence. Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at\nlocations where operations and maintenance activities are conducted.\n§ 192.615 Emergency plans.\n(b) Each operator shall:\n(3) Review employee activities to determine whether the procedures were\neffectively followed in each emergency.\nGulf South failed to perform a review of employee activities following an emergency situation\nto determine whether emergency procedures were effectively followed as required by Gulf\nSouth Procedure 3010.\nEvent Notification Reports 1062 and 1063 involved pipeline leaks that occurred within 220\nyards of a building intended for human occupancy. The events did not result in reportable\nSafety Related Condition Reports since they were promptly corrected. They were, however,\nconsidered to be emergency situations due to their proximity to a building intended for human\noccupancy.\nGulf South’s documentation of these emergency event situations on Form 3000-10 did not\ninclude a review of employee activities to determine whether procedures were effectively\nfollowed in response to the emergency.\nGulf South Procedure 3010 – Event Response Plan states:\n“Supervisors who may be expected to implement a portion of this plan shall:\n Review employee activities after responses to events and emergency situations to\ndetermine whether procedures were adequate and were effectively followed.”\nGulf South Procedure 2130 – General Operation of the Pipeline states:\nSafety-Related Condition\n“Potential safety-related conditions include, but are not limited to the following:\n A leak in a pipeline or LNG facility that contains or processes gas or LNG that\nconstitutes and emergency. A leak discovered, especially one that exists within 220\nyards (220 m) from any building intended for human occupancy or outside place of\nassembly by default is an emergency.”\n3. §192.743 Pressure limiting and regulating stations: Capacity of relief devices.\n(a) Pressure relief devices at pressure limiting stations and pressure regulating stations\nmust have sufficient capacity to protect the facilities to which they are connected. Except\nas provided in §192.739(b), the capacity must be consistent with the pressure limits of\n§192.201(a). This capacity must be determined at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but\n3\n\n\n\nat least once each calendar year, by testing the devices in place or by review and\ncalculations.\n(b) If review and calculations are used to determine if a device has sufficient capacity,\nthe calculated capacity must be compared with the rated or experimentally\ndetermined relieving capacity of the device for the conditions under which it operates.\nAfter the initial calculations, subsequent calculations need not be made if the annual\nreview documents that parameters have not changed to cause the rated or\nexperimentally determined relieving capacity to be insufficient.\nGulf South failed to properly determine the capacity of pressure relief devices to protect the\nfacilities to which they are connected as required by §192.743.\nThe Control Equipment Inspection Reports presented as a record of annual inspection of\noverpressure protection did not represent actual or up to date information related to regulator and\nrelief valve capacities. Outlined below are locations where overpressure protection device\ncapacities were presented incorrectly on the Control Equipment Inspection Report form.\nThe required annual testing or reviews of capacities of regulators and overpressure protection relief\ndevices should have revealed to the reviewers that, in some cases, capacities of regulators appeared\nto exceed the capacities of overpressure protective relief devices.\nControl Equipment Inspection Reports for Relief Valve SLN 571, Alto City Gate Equipment No.\n255600 and Regulator SLN 571, Alto City Gate Reg-Primary Equipment No. 255501 indicate\nimproper capacities of 71.5 MSCF/HR and 85 MSCF/HR respectively for 2013 and 2015.\nControl Equipment Inspection Report for Relief Valve SLN 508 Entex-Carthage TB Equipment\nNo. 255695 indicated an inadequate capacity of 266 MSCF/HR with the Regulator Capacity @ set\npoint of MAOP to the relief valve in MSCF/HR of 500 in the 2013 inspection cycle.\nControl Equipment Inspection Reports reviewed from 2011 – 2015 indicated the capacity of Relief\nValve 727470-1 SLN 4695 Equipment No. 257753 to be 2835 MSCF/HR and Regulator Capacity\n(Equipment No. 259011) @ set point of MAOP to the relief valve in MSCF/HR to also be 2835.\nFurther investigation revealed the correct capacities of the Relief Valve and Regulator to be 2218.4\nand 1926.3 MSCF/HR respectively.\nGulf South Procedure 2050 – Regulator and Overpressure Protection states:\n“Requirements and Frequencies for Testing and Inspection\nOperations Personnel shall inspect and test all DOT regulated pressure regulating\nand overpressure protection equipment at facilities to determine that it meets the\nfollowing:\n In good mechanical condition;\n Adequate from the standpoint of capacity and reliability of operation for the\nservice in which it is employed;\n4\n\n\n\n Properly installed and protected from dirt, liquids, or other conditions that might\nprevent proper operation; and\n It is set to function at the correct pressure.\nAnnually the Regional Measurement Leader (RML) shall perform capacity verification on all\nregulator, relief valve and/or overpressure protection equipment.”\n4. §192.465 External corrosion control: Monitoring.\n(d) Each operator shall take prompt remedial action to correct any deficiencies indicated by\nthe monitoring.\nGulf South failed to take prompt remedial action to remediate cathodic protection deficiencies\ndiscovered during annual monitoring of cathodically protected facilities.\nOn Line 64, Magasco C.S. to Call Junction, pipe-to-soil measurements taken at mile pole 62.9600\nfailed to meet the established criteria for adequate cathodic protection for 2014 and 2015 and pipe-\nto-soil measurements taken at mile pole 63.9010 failed to meet adequate cathodic protection levels\nfor 2014, 2015, and 2016.\nProposed Civil Penalty\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 CFR § 190.223, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed\n$209,002 per violation per day the violation persists up to a maximum of $2,090,022 for a related\nseries of violations. For violations occurring prior to November 2, 2015, the maximum penalty\nmay not exceed $200,000 per violation per day, with a maximum penalty not to exceed $2,000,000\nfor a related 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 $62,000as follows:\nItem number PENALTY\n1 $ 29,600\n4 $ 32,400\nWarning Items\nWith respect to Item 2, we have reviewed the circumstances and supporting documents involved\nin this case and have decided not to conduct additional enforcement action or penalty assessment\nproceedings at this time. We advise you to promptly correct these items. Failure to do so may\nresult in additional enforcement action.\n5\n\n\n\nProposed Compliance Order\nWith respect to Item 3 pursuant to 49 United States Code § 60118, the Pipeline and Hazardous\nMaterials Safety Administration proposes to issue a Compliance Order to Gulf South Pipeline, LP.\nPlease refer to the Proposed Compliance Order, which is enclosed and made a part of this Notice.\nResponse to this Notice\nEnclosed as part of this Notice is a document entitled Response Options for Pipeline Operators in\nCompliance Proceedings. Please refer to this document and note the response options. All\nmaterial submit in response to this enforcement action may be made publicly available. If you\nbelieve that any portion of your responsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5\nU.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document you must provide a second copy of the\ndocument with the portions you believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an\nexplanation of why you believe the redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under\n5 U.S.C. 552(b). If you do not respond within 30 days of receipt of this Notice, this constitutes a\nwaiver of your right to contest the allegations in this Notice and authorizes the Associate\nAdministrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as alleged in this Notice without further notice to\nyou and to issue a Final Order.\nIn your correspondence on this matter, please refer to CPF 4-2018-1001 and for each document\nyou submit, please provide a copy in electronic format whenever possible.\nSincerely,\nTerri J. Binns\nActing Director, Southwest Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nEnclosure: Response Options for Pipeline Operators in Compliance Proceedings\n6\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 Gulf South Pipeline, LP a Compliance Order\nincorporating the following remedial requirements to ensure the compliance of Gulf South\nPipeline, LP with the pipeline safety regulations:\n1. 2. 3. In regard to Item Number 3 of the Notice pertaining to the failure to properly\ndetermine the capacity of pressure reduction and relief devices to protect facilities\nto which they are connected as required by §192.743:\na. Gulf South must conduct a review of pressure reduction and relief device\ncapacities to ensure adequate overpressure protection capacities are in place to\nmaintain downstream operating pressures within the MAOP limits and provide\ntraining to individuals responsible for the annual reviews required by §192.743.\nb. Provide documentation of the reviews of pressure reduction and overpressure\nprotection capacities performed. Also provide the names and dates of when the\ntraining was completed for individuals who would be performing the annual\nreviews required by §192.743.\nGulf South shall complete Item 1 within 60 days after receipt of the Final Order.\nIt is requested (not mandated) that Gulf South Pipeline, LP maintain documentation\nof the safety improvement costs associated with fulfilling this Compliance Order\nand submit the total to Terri J. Binns, Acting Director, Southwest Region, Pipeline\nand Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. It is requested that these costs be\nreported in two categories: 1) total cost associated with preparation/revision of\nplans, procedures, studies and analyses, and 2) total cost associated with\nreplacements, additions and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.\n7","truncated":false,"body_characters":32377}