{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420203001M","title":"SABINE PASS LNG, L.P. (Cheniere) — Notice of Amendment","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2020-06-12","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of amendment citing 193.2617(b).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420203001m.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420203001m.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420203001m","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420203001M","body":"Notice of Amendment involving SABINE PASS LNG, L.P. (Cheniere). PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulation as 193.2617(b). The case was opened on 2020-06-12 and is reported as closed as of 2021-06-11. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420203001M_Closure Letter_06112021_(20-168375S).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420203001M/420203001M_Closure%20Letter_06112021_(20-168375S).pdf\n\n420203001M_Closure Letter_06112021_(20-168375S)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420203001M/420203001M_Closure%20Letter_06112021_(20-168375S)_text.pdf\n\n420203001M_Notice of Amendment_06122020.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420203001M/420203001M_Notice%20of%20Amendment_06122020.pdf\n\n420203001M_Notice of Amendment_06122020_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420203001M/420203001M_Notice%20of%20Amendment_06122020_text.pdf\n\n420203001M_Operator Response to Notice and Request for Closure_08102020.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420203001M/420203001M_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice%20and%20Request%20for%20Closure_08102020.pdf\n\n420203001M_Closure Letter_06112021_(20-168375S)_text.pdf\n\nELECTRONIC MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJune 11, 2021\nJack A. Fusco\nPresident and CEO\nCheniere Energy, Inc.\n700 Milam Street, Suite 1900\nHouston, Texas 77002\nCPF 4-2020-3001M\nDear Mr. Fusco:\nOn January 16, 2020, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration, Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States\nCode, inspected Sabine Pass LNG’s (Cheniere) system and associated procedures at the Sabine\nPass facility located in Cameron, Louisiana. As a result of the inspection, a Notice of Amendment\n(NOA) was issued to Cheniere on June 12, 2020.\nCheniere submitted its amended procedures on August 10, 2020 and a Task Based Risk\nAssessment on February 2, 2021. My staff reviewed the amended procedures and Task Based\nRisk Assessment, and it appears that the inadequacies as outlined in this Notice of Amendment\nhave been addressed.\nThis letter is to inform you no further action is necessary and this case is now closed. Thank you\nfor your cooperation.\nSincerely,\nMary L. McDaniel, P.E.\nDirector, Southwest Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\ncc: Paul Nielson, Manager, Regulatory Compliance, Cheniere Energy, Inc.,\npaul.nielson@cheniere.com\nAndrew Kohout, Director, Division of LNG Facility Reviews and Inspections, FERC,\nandrew.kohout@ferc.gov\n\n420203001M_Notice of Amendment_06122020_text.pdf\n\nNOTICE OF AMENDMENT\nELECTRONIC MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJune 12, 2020\nJack A. Fusco\nPresident and CEO\nCheniere Energy, Inc.\n700 Milam Street, Suite 1900\nHouston, Texas 77002\nCPF 4-2020-3001M\nDear Mr. Fusco:\nOn January 16, 2020, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA) pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code inspected Sabine Pass\nLNG’s (Cheniere) flare system and associated procedures at the Sabine Pass facility located in\nCameron, Louisiana.\nOn the basis of the inspection, PHMSA has identified an apparent inadequacy found within\nCheniere’s procedures, as described below:\n1. §193.2617 Repairs.\n(b) For repairs made while a component is operating, each operator shall include in the\nmaintenance procedures under §193.2605 appropriate precautions to maintain the safety of\npersonnel and property during repair activities.\nCheniere’s written procedure for Control of Work (CoW) Element 5 – Risk Assessment is\ninadequate because it fails to provide appropriate precautions to maintain the safety of personnel\nand property during repair activities as required by §193.2617(b). Specifically, Section 6.0 of the\nRisk Assessment Process does not provide sufficient safety precautions for personnel conducting\nrepair activities while a component is operating.\n\n\n\n2\nBased on our review of the procedure Control of Work (CoW) Element 5 – Risk Assessment and\ntwo records from activities performed utilizing the procedure, (Task Base Risk Assessment record\nfor Train 1, dated February 2, 2019, and Task Base Risk Assessment record for Train 3, dated\nFebruary 11, 2019), it appears that the procedures do not provide adequate precautions for\nactivities related to the flare stacks, and require revision in order to provide and maintain the safety\nof personnel during repair activities to meet the objectives found in the Purpose/Expectation in\nSection 1 of Cheniere’s procedure to reduce the risks associated with the repair activity to an\nacceptable level.\nBoth risk assessment reports identify hazards associated with the task, jobsite, and process.\nWithout any safeguards or controls, the risk levels associated with these activities contain “Very\nhigh-risk” elements; however, after the addition current of safeguards and controls, the risk levels\nare only reduced to “High-risk.”\nThe Task Based Risk Assessment conducted for the removal of old and installation of new flare\ntips must be amended to reduce the risk lower than “High” for tasks established in the assessment.\nAs written, the Task Based Risk Assessment does not provide sufficient precautions to maintain\nthe safety of personnel during repair activities by allowing Operator personnel to work on an\ninactive flare stacks while adjacent flare stacks are operating. The Task Based Risk Assessment\nmust be modified to include controls that limit or prevent personnel injury or fatality to personnel\nwho are working on inactive flare stacks.\nResponse to this Notice\nThis Notice is provided pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60108(a) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.206. Enclosed as\npart of this Notice is a document entitled Response Options for Pipeline Operators in Compliance\nProceedings. Please refer to this document and note the response options. Be advised that all\nmaterial you submit in response to this enforcement action is subject to being made publicly\navailable. If you believe that any portion of your responsive material qualifies for confidential\ntreatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document you must provide a\nsecond copy of the document with the portions you believe qualify for confidential treatment\nredacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted information qualifies for confidential\ntreatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b).\nFollowing the receipt of this Notice, you have 30 days to submit written comments, revised\nprocedures, or a request for a hearing under §190.211. If you do not respond within 30 days of\nreceipt of this Notice, this constitutes a waiver of your right to contest the allegations in this Notice\nand authorizes the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as alleged in this Notice\nwithout further notice to you and to issue an Order Directing Amendment. If your plans or\nprocedures are found inadequate as alleged in this Notice, you may be ordered to amend your plans\nor procedures to correct the inadequacies (49 C.F.R. § 190.206). If you are not contesting this\nNotice, we propose that you submit your amended procedures to my office within 30 days of\nreceipt of this Notice. This period may be extended by written request for good cause. Once the\ninadequacies identified herein have been addressed in your amended procedures, this enforcement\naction will be closed.\n\n\n\n3\nIt is requested (not mandated) that Cheniere maintain documentation of the safety improvement\ncosts associated with fulfilling this Notice of Amendment (preparation/revision of plans,\nprocedures) and submit the total to Mary L. McDaniel, Director, Southwest Region, Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration. In correspondence concerning this matter, please\nrefer to CPF 4-2020-3001M and, for each document you submit, please provide a copy in\nelectronic format whenever possible.\nSincerely,\nMary L. McDaniel P.E.\nDirector, Southwest Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\ncc: Aaron Stephenson, Senior Vice President, Operations, Cheniere Energy, Inc., 700 Milam\nStreet, Suite 1900, Houston, Texas 77002\nMaas Hinz, Vice President and Generation Manager Operations and Maintenance, 9243 Gulf\nBeach Highways, Cameron, Louisiana 70631\nEnclosure: Response Options for Pipeline Operators in Compliance Proceedings","truncated":false,"body_characters":8383}