{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420195007","title":"FIELDWOOD ENERGY, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2019-03-11","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.402(c)(13), 195.440(i), 195.452(e)(1), 195.452(f)(8), 195.49.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420195007.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420195007.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420195007","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420195007","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving FIELDWOOD ENERGY, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.402(c)(13),  195.440(i),  195.452(e)(1),  195.452(f)(8),  195.49. The case was opened on 2019-03-11 and is reported as closed as of 2019-11-21. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420195007_Closure Letter_11212019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420195007/420195007_Closure%20Letter_11212019.pdf\n\n420195007_Closure Letter_11212019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420195007/420195007_Closure%20Letter_11212019_text.pdf\n\n420195007_Final Order_09122019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420195007/420195007_Final%20Order_09122019.pdf\n\n420195007_Final Order_09122019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420195007/420195007_Final%20Order_09122019_text.pdf\n\n420195007_NOPV PCO_03112019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420195007/420195007_NOPV%20PCO_03112019.pdf\n\n420195007_NOPV PCO_03112019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420195007/420195007_NOPV%20PCO_03112019_text.pdf\n\n420195007_Operator Response to Notice_04152019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420195007/420195007_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_04152019.pdf\n\n420195007_Final Order_09122019_text.pdf\n\nSeptember 12, 2019\nMr. Matt McCarroll\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer\nFieldwood Energy, LLC\n2000 W. Sam Houston Parkway South\nSuite 1200\nHouston, Texas 77042\nRe: CPF No. 4-2019-5007\nDear Mr. McCarroll:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation and specifies actions that need to be taken by Fieldwood Energy, LLC, to comply with\nthe pipeline safety regulations. When the terms of the compliance order have been completed, as\ndetermined by the Director, Southwest Region, this enforcement action will be closed. Service\nof the Final Order by certified mail is effective upon the date of mailing, as provided under 49\nC.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\nMs. Trisha Hackett, Compliance Coordinator, Fieldwood Energy, LLC, 2014 W. Pinhook\nRoad, Suite 800, Lafayette, Louisiana 70508\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 )\nFieldwood Energy, LLC, ) CPF No. 4-2019-5007\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom July 18 through October 27, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the\nPipeline 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 Fieldwood\nEnergy, LLC (Fieldwood or Respondent), in Louisiana. Specifically, PHMSA inspected the\nGrand Isle Pipeline System in Lafayette, Cameron, and Grand Isle, Louisiana. Fieldwood has\nassets in the deepwater and shallow water of the Gulf of Mexico, including interests in\napproximately 500 offshore blocks covering approximately two million gross acres, including\nover 1,000 wells and more than 500 operated platforms.1 It also has onshore pipeline assets in\nTexas and Louisiana.2\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated March 11, 2019, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed\nCompliance Order (Notice), which also included warnings pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205. In\naccordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that Fieldwood had\ncommitted five violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 195 and proposed ordering Respondent to take\ncertain measures to correct the alleged violations. The warning items required no further action,\nbut warned the operator to correct the probable violations or face possible future enforcement\naction.\nFieldwood responded to the Notice by letter dated April 15, 2019 (Response). The company did\nnot contest the allegations of violation and agreed to complete the proposed compliance actions.\nRespondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\n1 Fieldwood website, available at https://www fieldwoodenergy.com/about/ (last accessed June 25, 2019).\n2 Pipeline Safety Violation Report (Violation Report), (March 11, 2019) (on file with PHMSA), at 1.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2019-5007\nPage 2\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Fieldwood did not contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 195, as follows:\nItem 4: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(e)(1):\n§ 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.\n(a) ….\n(e) What are the risk factors for establishing an assessment schedule\n(for both the baseline and continual integrity assessments)?\n(1) An operator must establish an integrity assessment schedule that\nprioritizes pipeline segments for assessment (see paragraphs (d)(1) and\n(j)(3) of this section). An operator must base the assessment schedule on all\nrisk factors that reflect the risk conditions on the pipeline segment. The\nfactors an operator must consider include, but are not limited to:\n(i) Results of the previous integrity assessment, defect type and size that\nthe assessment method can detect, and defect growth rate;\n(ii) Pipe size, material, manufacturing information, coating type and\ncondition, and seam type;\n(iii) Leak history, repair history and cathodic protection history;\n(iv) Product transported;\n(v) Operating stress level;\n(vi) Existing or projected activities in the area;\n(vii) Local environmental factors that could affect the pipeline (e.g.,\ncorrosivity of soil, subsidence, climatic);\n(viii) geo-technical hazards; and\n(ix) Physical support of the segment such as by a cable suspension\nbridge.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(e)(1) by failing to establish an\nintegrity assessment schedule that prioritizes pipeline segments for assessment based on all risk\nfactors that reflect the risk conditions on each pipeline segment. Specifically, the Notice alleged\nthat instead of basing its assessment schedules on all risk factors, including but not limited to\nresults of previous integrity assessments, defect type and size that the assessment method can\ndetect, and defect growth rate, pipe size, material, manufacturing information, coating type and\ncondition, and seam type, leak history, repair history and cathodic protection history, product\ntransported, operating stress level, existing or projected activities in the area, and local\nenvironmental factors that could affect the pipeline, Fieldwood only considered the results from\nprevious hydrotests when setting all assessment cycles for all pipeline segments at five year\nintervals.\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. § 195.452(e)(1) by failing to establish\nan integrity assessment schedule that prioritizes pipeline segments for assessment based on all\nrisk factors affecting the segment.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2019-5007\nPage 3\nItem 5: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(f)(8), which states:\n§ 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.\n(a) ….\n(f) What are the elements of an integrity management program?\n(1) ….\n(8) A process for review of integrity assessment results and information\nanalysis by a person qualified to evaluate the results and information (see\nparagraph (h)(2) from this section).\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(f)(8) by failing to have a\nprocess for review of integrity assessment results and information analysis by a person qualified\nto evaluate the results and information. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Fieldwood failed to\nprovide records or other substantiating evidence to demonstrate that its personnel were qualified\nto review integrity assessments results and conduct information analyses. During the inspection,\nFieldwood only provided a brief biographic summary paragraph for two employees. Not only\ncould Fieldwood not provide documentation for all its staff reviewing integrity information, but\nthe documentation it did provide did not adequately demonstrate how its employees were\nqualified to review and evaluate integrity assessment results.\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. § 195.452(f)(8) by failing to have a\nprocess for review of integrity assessment results and information analysis by a person qualified\nto evaluate the results and information.\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 4 and 5 in the Notice for\nviolations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.452(e)(1) and 195.452(f)(8), respectively. Under 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation of hazardous liquids or who owns or\noperates a pipeline facility is required to comply with the applicable safety standards established\nunder chapter 601. Pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217,\nRespondent is ordered to take the following actions to ensure compliance with the pipeline safety\nregulations applicable to its operations:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 195.452(e)(1) (Item 4), Respondent must review\nits process for risk evaluation (including threats and consequences) and amend its\nIntegrity Management Plan (IMP) to include procedures for consideration of all (but\nnot limited to) the risk factors set forth in § 195.452(e)(1). Once this is complete,\nFieldwood must prioritize its pipelines segments to establish an integrity assessment\nschedule that prioritizes pipeline segments based on all the risk factors that reflect the\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2019-5007\nPage 4\nrisk conditions on each pipeline segment. This schedule must be completed within 60\ndays of receipt of the Final Order;\n2. With respect to the violation of § 195.452(f)(8) (Item 5), Respondent must review\nits IMP Qualification Process, including making any necessary amendments to ensure\nproper documentation, and follow the process for each individual. It must document\nthe training and qualifications of each individual, including in-house and third-party\npersonnel, who are responsible for reviewing and evaluating integrity assessment\nresults and information analyses. Fieldwood must provide documentation of this to\nPHMSA within 60 days of 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 ITEMS\nWith respect to Items 1, 2, and 3, the Notice alleged probable violations of Part 195 but did not\npropose a civil penalty or compliance order for these items. Therefore, these are considered to\nbe warning items. The warnings were for:\n49 C.F.R. § 195.49 (Item 1) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to submit complete\nannual reports to PHMSA;\n49 C.F.R. § 195.402(c)(13) (Item 2) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to prepare\nand follow procedures regarding periodically reviewing work done by operator\npersonnel to determine effectiveness of the procedures and taking corrective\naction when deficiencies are found; and\n49 C.F.R. § 195.440(i) (Item 3) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to evaluate its\nPublic Awareness Program and provide its program evaluation results to PHMSA\nfor periodic review.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 4-2019-5007\nPage 5\nIf OPS finds a violation of any of these items 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.\nSeptember 12, 2019\n___________________________________ __________________________\nAlan K. Mayberry Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n420195007_Closure Letter_11212019_text.pdf\n\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nNovember 21, 2019\nJoel Plauche\nVice President, HSE and Regulatory\nFieldwood Energy, LLC\n2014 W. Pinhook Rd, Suite 800\nLafayette, Louisiana 70508\nCPF 4-2019-5007\nDear Mr. Plauche:\nFrom July 18 to October 27, 2017, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n(PHMSA) issued to Fieldwood Energy a Final Order in the above-referenced case. This Order\nincluded a Compliance Order. Based on our review of the documentation you provided, it has\nbeen determined that you have complied 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","truncated":false,"body_characters":14777}