{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420185007","title":"INDORAMA VENTURES OLEFINS LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2018-04-27","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.403(b)(1), 195.575(a), 195.575(e).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420185007.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420185007.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420185007","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420185007","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving INDORAMA VENTURES OLEFINS LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.403(b)(1),  195.575(a),  195.575(e). The case was opened on 2018-04-27 and is reported as closed as of 2019-05-15. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420185007_Closure Letter_05152019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420185007/420185007_Closure%20Letter_05152019.pdf\n\n420185007_Closure Letter_05152019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420185007/420185007_Closure%20Letter_05152019_text.pdf\n\n420185007_Final Order_02042019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420185007/420185007_Final%20Order_02042019.pdf\n\n420185007_Final Order_02042019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420185007/420185007_Final%20Order_02042019_text.pdf\n\n420185007_NOPV PCO_04272018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420185007/420185007_NOPV%20PCO_04272018.pdf\n\n420185007_NOPV PCO_04272018_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420185007/420185007_NOPV%20PCO_04272018_text.pdf\n\n420185007_Operator Response to Notice_05232018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420185007/420185007_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_05232018.pdf\n\n420185007_Closure Letter_05152019_text.pdf\n\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nMay 15, 2019\nAnand Kumar Agrawal\nChief Financial Officer\nIndorama Ventures Olefins, LLC\n4300 Highway 108\nWestlake, Louisiana 70669\nCPF 4-2018-5007\nDear Mr. Agrawal:\nOn February 4, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\nissued to Indorama Ventures Olefins, LLC a Final Order in the above-referenced case. This Order\nincluded a Compliance Order to take corrective actions on your pipeline. Based on our review of\nthe documentation provided, it has been determined that you have complied with the terms of this\nOrder.\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\n420185007_Final Order_02042019_text.pdf\n\nFebruary 4, 2019\nMr. Aloke Lohia\nGroup Chief Executive Officer\nIndorama Ventures Public Company Limited\n75/102 Ocean Tower 2, 37th floor\nSukhumvit Soi 19\nBangkok 10110, Thailand\nRe: CPF No. 4-2018-5007\nDear Mr. Lohia:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case to your subsidiary,\nIndorama Ventures Olefins, LLC (Indorama). It makes findings of violation and specifies\nactions that need to be taken by Indorama to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. When\nthe terms of the compliance order have been completed, as determined by the Director,\nSouthwest Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA, this enforcement action will be closed.\nService of the Final Order by certified mail is effective upon the date of mailing as provided\nunder 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 L. McDaniel, Director, Southwest Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA\nMr. Anand Kumar Agarwal, Chief Financial Officer, Indorama Ventures Olefins, LLC,\n4300 Hwy 108, Westlake, LA 70669\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 )\nIndorama Ventures Olefins, LLC, ) CPF No. 4-2018-5007\na subsidiary of Indorama Ventures Public )\nCompany Limited, )\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n__________________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom June 12, 2017, through August 3, 2017, 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 on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of Indorama\nVentures Olefins, LLC’s (Indorama or Respondent) Lake Charles/Orange Ethylene pipeline in\nHouston, Texas. Indorama is a subsidiary of Indorama Ventures PCL,1 a global petrochemical\ncompany with 85 manufacturing facilities in 29 countries.2 Indorama’s Lake Charles/Orange\nEthylene Line is a 6-5/8-inch-diameter liquid pipeline that starts at the Glen Springs Holding\nPlant in Sulphur, Louisiana, and ends at a Chevron chemical plant in Orange, Texas.3 The\npipeline is approximately 33 miles long, with approximately 12 miles running through marshy\nareas and two crossings of navigable waterways.4 The pipeline is currently purged and not\noperational.5\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated April 27, 2018, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed\nCompliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed\nfinding that Indorama had committed three violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 195, and proposed\nordering Respondent to take certain measures to correct the alleged violations.\n1 Indorama Ventures PCL Organization Structure, available at\nhttp://www.indoramaventures.com/storage/company/organization-chart/20181002-orgchart-en.jpg, last accessed\nOctober 10, 2018.\n2 Indorama Ventures Company Overview, available at http://www.indoramaventures.com/en/our-\ncompany/overview, last accessed October 17, 2018.\n3 Pipeline Safety Violation Report (Violation Report), (April 27, 2018) (on file with PHMSA), at 1.\n4 Id.\n5 Id.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2018-5007\nPage 2\nIndorama responded to the Notice by letter dated May 25, 2018 (Response). The company did\nnot 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.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Indorama did not contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 195, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. §195.403(b)(1), which states:\n§ 195.403 Emergency response training.\n(a) ….\n(b) At the intervals not exceeding 15 months, but at least once each\ncalendar year, each operator shall:\n(1) Review with personnel their performance in meeting the objectives\nof the emergency response training program set forth in paragraph (a) of\nthis section; . . . .\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.403(b)(1) by failing to conduct and\ndocument reviews with personnel concerning their performance in meeting the objectives of the\ncompany’s emergency-response training program at the required interval of once each calendar\nyear, not to exceed 15 months. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Indorama could not provide\nany documentation demonstrating that it had conducted emergency-response personnel\nperformance reviews at the required intervals.\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. § 195.403(b)(1) by failing to conduct\nand document reviews with personnel concerning their performance in meeting the objectives of\nthe emergency-response training program at the required interval of once each calendar year, not\nto exceed 15 months.\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.575(a), which states:\n§ 195.575 Which facilities must I electrically isolate and what\ninspections, tests, and safeguards are required?\n(a) You must electrically isolate each buried or submerged pipeline\nfrom other metallic structures, unless you electrically interconnect and\ncathodically protect the pipeline and the other structures as a single unit.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.575(a) by failing to determine\nwhether each buried pipeline was electrically isolated from other metallic structures.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that Section 10 of Indorama’s Corrosion Control Procedure,\nLiquid Pipeline Operations, Maintenance & Emergency Manual, did not include any guidance\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2018-5007\nPage 3\nregarding electrical isolation of each buried or submerged pipeline from other metallic structures.\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. § 195.575(a) by failing to determine\nwhether each buried pipeline was electrically isolated from other metallic structures.\nItem 3: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 575(e), which states:\n§ 195.575 Which facilities must I electrically isolate and what inspections,\ntest, and safeguards are required?\n(a) ….\n(e) If a pipeline is in close proximity to electrical transmission tower\nfootings, ground cables, or counterpoise, or in other areas where it is reasonable\nto foresee fault currents or an unusual risk of lightning, you must protect the\npipeline against damage from fault currents or lighting and take protective\nmeasures at insulating devices.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.575(e) by failing, when a pipeline\nis in close proximity to electrical transmission tower footings, ground cables, or counterpoise, or\nin other areas where it is reason able to foresee fault currents or an unusual risk of lightning, to\ndetermine when protection is required and when protective measures must be taken to protect the\npipeline against damage. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Section 10 of Indorama’s\nCorrosion Control Procedures, Liquid Pipeline Operations, Maintenance & Emergency Manual,\nfailed to include any guidance for personnel to determine when such protection is needed.\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. § 195.575(e) by failing to determine\nwhen protection from fault currents and lighting strikes is required and when protective measures\nmust be taken to protect the pipeline against damage.\nThese findings of violation will be considered prior offenses in any subsequent enforcement\naction taken against Respondent.\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Items 1, 2, and 3 in the Notice for\nviolations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.403(b)(1), 195.575(a), and 195.575(e), respectively. Under 49\nU.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation of hazardous liquids or who\nowns or operates a pipeline facility is required to comply with the applicable safety standards\nestablished under chapter 601. The Director has indicated that Respondent has taken the\nfollowing actions to address one of the cited violations:\nFor Item 2, the Director has indicated that Respondent submitted a revised section 10.8,\nElectrical Isolation, of its procedures, to provide detailed guidance for personnel to determine\nwhen and how to accomplish electrical isolation. Accordingly, I find that compliance has been\nachieved with respect to this violation. Therefore, the compliance terms proposed in the Notice\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2018-5007\nPage 4\nfor Item 2 are not included in this Order.\nAs for the remaining compliance terms, pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49\nC.F.R. § 190.217, I order Respondent to take the following actions to ensure compliance with the\npipeline safety regulations applicable to its operations:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 195.403(a) (Item 1), Respondent must conduct\nand document reviews of emergency-response personnel’s performance within 60\ndays following receipt of the Final Order, and must submit documentation to the\nDirector once personnel are trained to the objectives of the company’s emergency-\nresponse training program.\n2. With respect to the violation of § 195.575(e) (Item 3), Respondent must develop\nand follow a procedure as required by § 195.402(c)(3) that covers the determination\nof when protection from fault currents and lightning strikes is required to protect the\npipeline and other devices, and any mitigating steps taken to protect the pipeline and\ndevices that could be affected by fault currents and lightning strikes. The procedure\nrequired by this paragraph must be submitted to the Director within 30 days following\nreceipt of this Final Order. Within 90 days following receipt of the Final Order,\nRespondent must conduct inspections following the procedures and provide\ndocumentation to the Director.\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 that Respondent maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs\nassociated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to the Director. It is\nrequested that these costs be reported in two categories: (1) the total cost associated with\npreparation/revision of plans, procedures, studies and analyses; and (2) the total cost associated\nwith replacements, additions and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.\nFailure to comply with this Order may result in administrative assessment of civil penalties not\nto exceed $200,000, as adjusted for inflation (49 C.F.R. § 190.223), for each violation for each\nday the violation continues or in referral to the Attorney General for appropriate relief in a\ndistrict court of the United States.\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.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2018-5007\nPage 5\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\nFebruary 4, 2019\n___________________________________ __________________________\nAlan K. Mayberry Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety","truncated":false,"body_characters":14552}