{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 420207004","title":"HIGH POINT GAS GATHERING, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2020-04-24","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.402(c)(13), 195.49, 195.573(a)(1), 195.583(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420207004.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420207004.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-420207004","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/420207004","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving HIGH POINT GAS GATHERING, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.402(c)(13),  195.49,  195.573(a)(1),  195.583(a). The case was opened on 2020-04-24 and is reported as closed as of 2021-06-22. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n420207004_Closure Letter_06222021_(19-164169S).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420207004/420207004_Closure%20Letter_06222021_(19-164169S).pdf\n\n420207004_Closure Letter_06222021_(19-164169S)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420207004/420207004_Closure%20Letter_06222021_(19-164169S)_text.pdf\n\n420207004_Final Order_01042021.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420207004/420207004_Final%20Order_01042021.pdf\n\n420207004_Final Order_01042021_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420207004/420207004_Final%20Order_01042021_text.pdf\n\n420207004_NOPV PCO_04242020.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420207004/420207004_NOPV%20PCO_04242020.pdf\n\n420207004_NOPV PCO_04242020_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420207004/420207004_NOPV%20PCO_04242020_text.pdf\n\n420207004_Operator Response to Notice_06112020.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/420207004/420207004_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_06112020.pdf\n\n420207004_Final Order_01042021_text.pdf\n\nJanuary 4, 2021\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: mrowland@3cmidstream.com\nMr. Matthew Rowland\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer\nThird Coast Midstream Holdings, LLC\n1501 McKinney Street, Suite 800\nHouston, Texas 77010\nRe: CPF No. 4-2020-7004\nDear Mr. Rowland:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It withdraws an\nallegation of violation, makes other findings of violation and specifies actions that need to be\ntaken by your operating entity, High Point Gas Gathering, LLC, to comply with the pipeline\nsafety regulations. When the terms of the compliance order have been completed, as determined\nby the Director, Southwest Region, this enforcement action will be closed. Service of the Final\nOrder by electronic mail is effective upon the date of transmission as provided under 49 C.F.R. §\n190.5.\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. Lawrence Rearick, Director, Pipeline Integrity, High Point Gas Gathering, LLC,\nlrearick@3cmidstream.com\nMr. Kevin Stanley, Senior Manager, EHS, High Point Gas Gathering, LLC,\nkstanley@3cmidstream.com\nCONFIRMATION OF 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 )\nThird Coast Midstream Holdings, LLC, ) d.b.a. High Point Gas Gathering, LLC, )\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nCPF No. 4-2020-7004\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom May 13, 2019, through May 15, 2019, 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 High Point\nGas Gathering, LLC’s (High Point or Respondent) 10-inch crude pipeline from Viosca Knoll-\n817 production platform to the Main Pass-290 platform in the Gulf of Mexico. High Point is an\noperating entity of Third Coast Midstream Holdings, LLC.1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated April 24, 2020, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed\nCompliance Order (Notice), which also included a warning pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205. In\naccordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that High Point had\ncommitted three violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 195 and proposed ordering Respondent to take\ncertain measures to correct the alleged violations. The warning item required no further action\nbut warned the operator to correct the probable violation or face possible future enforcement\naction.\nHigh Point responded to the Notice by letter dated June 11, 2020 (Response). The company\ncontested one of the allegations and submitted additional records in response to the Notice.\nRespondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. Part 195, as follows:\n1 Third Coast Midstream website, Third Coast Midstream's W9 Forms for Our Operating Entities, available at\nhttps://www.3cmidstream.com/customer-resources html (last accessed November 15, 2020).\n\n\n\nCPF 4-2020-7004\nPage 2\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.402(c)(13), which states:\n§ 195.402 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline\nsystem a manual of written procedures for conducting normal operations\nand maintenance activities and handling abnormal operations and\nemergencies. This manual shall be reviewed at intervals not exceeding 15\nmonths, but at least once each calendar year, and appropriate changes made\nas necessary to insure that the manual is effective….\n(b) ….\n(c) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by\nparagraph (a) of this section must include procedures for the following to\nprovide safety during maintenance and normal operations:\n(1) ….\n(13) Periodically reviewing the work done by operator personnel to\ndetermine the effectiveness of the procedures used in normal operation and\nmaintenance and taking corrective action where deficiencies are found.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.402(c)(13) by failing to\nperiodically review the work performed by its operating personnel to determine the effectiveness\nof its Operation and Maintenance (O&M) procedures and take corrective action where\ndeficiencies are found. Specifically, the Notice alleged that High Point failed to provide any\nrecords to demonstrate that it periodically reviewed the work of Local Operations Supervision,\nAMID Training personnel, third parties, and others designated by its O&M procedures to\ndetermine compliance and effectiveness since 2017.\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. § 195.402(c)(13) by failing to\nperiodically review the work performed by its operating personnel to determine the effectiveness\nof its O&M procedures and take corrective action where deficiencies are found.\nItem 3: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.573(a)(1), which states:\n§ 195.573 What must I do to monitor external corrosion control?\n(a) Protected pipelines. You must do the following to determine\nwhether cathodic protection required by this subpart complies with\n§195.571:\n(1) Conduct tests on the protected pipeline at least once each calendar\nyear, but with intervals not exceeding 15 months. However, if tests at those\nintervals are impractical for separately protected short sections of bare or\nineffectively coated pipelines, testing may be done at least once every 3\ncalendar years, but with intervals not exceeding 39 months.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.573(a)(1) by failing to conduct an\nannual cathodic protection (CP) survey on its 10-inch offshore crude pipelines at Viosca Knoll-\n817 to Main Pass-290 at least once each calendar year, but with intervals not exceeding 15\n\n\n\nCPF 4-2020-7004\nPage 3\nmonths to ensure that the pipeline is protected. Specifically, the Notice alleged that High Point\nprovided CP survey reports for 2016 and 2017 performed by the previous operator, Genesis\nOffshore Holdings, but stated that a CP survey was not performed in 2018.\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. § 195.573(a)(1) by failing to conduct\nan annual CP survey on its 10-inch offshore crude pipelines at Viosca Knoll-817 to Main Pass-\n290 at least once each calendar year, but with intervals not exceeding 15 months to ensure that\nthe pipeline is protected.\nItem 4: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.583(a), which states:\n§ 195.583 What must I do to monitor atmospheric corrosion control?\n(a) You must inspect each pipeline or portion of pipeline that is exposed\nto the atmosphere for evidence of atmospheric corrosion, as follows:\nIf the pipeline is located: Then the frequency of inspection is:\nOnshore At least once every 3 calendar years, but\nwith intervals not exceeding 39 months\nOffshore At least once each calendar year, but\nwith intervals not exceeding 15 months\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.583(a) by failing to inspect\nexposed portions of its 10-inch offshore crude pipelines from Viosca Knoll-817 to Main Pass-290\nfor evidence of atmospheric corrosion (A/C) at least once each calendar year, with intervals not to\nexceed 15 months. Specifically, the Notice alleged that High Point’s written procedure, OM-195 –\n14.5 Atmospheric Corrosion Rev. 1 Eff 09/04/2018, section 14.5.0 2.a. ii. Monitoring for\nAtmospheric Corrosion, required pipelines located offshore to be inspected for evidence of\natmospheric corrosion at least once each calendar year, but with intervals not exceeding 15 months.\nIn addition, the Notice alleged High Point’s written procedure required personnel to record\natmospheric corrosion inspections. Yet, the Notice alleged, when the PHMSA inspector requested\nA/C inspections for 2016, 2017, and 2018, High Point only provided A/C inspections performed in\n2016 and 2017 by the previous operator, Genesis Offshore, and stated that an A/C inspection was not\nperformed on the system for calendar year 2018.\nIn its Response, High Point contested this allegation of violation. High Point stated that its 2018\nA/C inspection records were subsequently located and provided its 2018 Piping Inspection Report.\nThe Director contended the Piping Inspection Report documentation does not demonstrate\ncompliance with § 195.583(a) but did not explain the reason. Based on my review of the record, I\nfind that the record demonstrates Respondent inspected the pipeline for evidence of atmospheric\ncorrosion. The Piping Inspection Report includes 25 data points where metal loss was measured;\nnotations for inactive pitting; a map of inactive pitting and light active external corrosion; and several\npictures. Accordingly, after considering all of the evidence, I find that High Point inspected the\nexposed portions of its 10-inch offshore crude pipeline from Viosca Knoll-817 to Main Pass-290 for\n\n\n\nCPF 4-2020-7004\nPage 4\nevidence of A/C in December 2018. Based upon the foregoing, I hereby order that Item 4 be\nwithdrawn.\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 2, 3, and 4 in the Notice for\nviolations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.402(c)(13), 195.573(a)(1), and 195.583(a), respectively. Under\n49 U.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:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 195.573(a)(1) (Item 3), Respondent provided\nrecords demonstrating that it conducted an annual CP survey on its 10-inch offshore\ncrude pipeline at Viosca Knoll-817 to Main Pass-290 on June 14, 2019, and the CP\nreading was within criteria. Accordingly, I find that compliance has been achieved\nwith respect to this violation.\nWith respect to the alleged violation of § 195.583(a) (Item 4), this Item and the proposed\ncompliance order items are withdrawn. Therefore, the compliance terms proposed in the Notice\nfor Items 3 and 4 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, Respondent is ordered to take the following actions to ensure compliance with\nthe pipeline safety regulations applicable to its operations:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 195.402(c)(13) (Item 2), Respondent must\nconduct a review for work done by operating personnel to determine the effectiveness\nand adequacy of its O&M procedures.\n2. All documentation demonstrating compliance must be submitted to the Director,\nSouthwest Region, Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, 8701\nSouth Gessner, Suite 630, Houston, Texas 77074 for review within 120 days of\nreceipt 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\n\n\n\nCPF 4-2020-7004\nPage 5\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.\nWARNING ITEM\nWith respect to Item 1, the Notice alleged probable violation of Part 195, but identified it as a\nwarning item pursuant to § 190.205. The warning was for:\n49 C.F.R. § 195.49 (Item 1) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to complete and\nsubmit its DOT Form PHMSA F 7000-1.1 (Annual Report) for the 6.145 miles of\ncrude oil pipeline for calendar years 2017 and 2018 within the required time frames.\nIf OPS finds a violation of this provision in a subsequent inspection, Respondent may be subject\nto 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.\nJanuary 4, 2021\n___________________________________ __________________________\nAlan K. Mayberry Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n420207004_Closure Letter_06222021_(19-164169S)_text.pdf\n\nELECTRONIC MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJune 22, 2021\nMatthew Rowland\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer\nThird Coast Midstream Holdings, LLC\n1501 McKinney Street, Suite 800\nHouston, Texas 77010\nCPF 4-2020-7004\nDear Mr. Rowland:\nOn January 4, 2021, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued\nto High Point Gas Gathering, LLC a Final Order in the above-referenced case. This Order included\na Compliance Order and a Warning Item. Based on our review of the documentation High Point\nprovided, PHMSA has determined that you have complied with the terms of the Final 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":16477}