# DENBURY GREEN PIPELINE-TEXAS, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** CPF 42023016NOPV
- **title:** DENBURY GREEN PIPELINE-TEXAS, LLC — Notice of Probable Violation
- **source type:** enforcement
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** historical
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2023-01-31
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.452(i)(1), 195.452(k).
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- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-42023016nopv
- **source url:** https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/42023016NOPV
**body:**

Notice of Probable Violation involving DENBURY GREEN PIPELINE-TEXAS, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.452(i)(1),  195.452(k). The case was opened on 2023-01-31 and is reported as closed as of 2023-12-18. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.

Official case documents:

42023016NOPV_Closure Letter_12182023_(21-199998).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023016NOPV/42023016NOPV_Closure%20Letter_12182023_(21-199998).pdf

42023016NOPV_Closure Letter_12182023_(21-199998)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023016NOPV/42023016NOPV_Closure%20Letter_12182023_(21-199998)_text.pdf

42023016NOPV_Final Order_09252023_(21-199998).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023016NOPV/42023016NOPV_Final%20Order_09252023_(21-199998).pdf

42023016NOPV_Final Order_09252023_(21-199998)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023016NOPV/42023016NOPV_Final%20Order_09252023_(21-199998)_text.pdf

42023016NOPV_Operator Response to Notice_03022023_(21-199998).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023016NOPV/42023016NOPV_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_03022023_(21-199998).pdf

42023016NOPV_PCO_01312023_(21-199998).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023016NOPV/42023016NOPV_PCO_01312023_(21-199998).pdf

42023016NOPV_PCO_01312023_(21-199998)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023016NOPV/42023016NOPV_PCO_01312023_(21-199998)_text.pdf

42023016NOPV_Final Order_09252023_(21-199998)_text.pdf

September 25, 2023
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: chris.kendall@denbury.com
Chris Kendall
Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer
Denbury Inc.
5851 Legacy Circle, Suite 1200
Plano, Texas 75024
Re: CPF No. 4-2023-016-NOPV
Dear Mr. Kendall:
Enclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of
violation and specifies actions that need to be taken by Denbury Green Pipeline – Texas, LLC, a
subsidiary of Denbury Inc., to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. When the terms of
the compliance order have been completed, as determined by the Director, Southwest Region,
this enforcement action will be closed. Service of the Final Order by e-mail is effective upon the
date of transmission and acknowledgement of receipt as provided under 49 C.F.R. § 190.5.
Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
Alan K. Mayberry
Associate Administrator
for Pipeline Safety
Enclosure
cc: Mr. Bryan Lethcoe, Director, Southwest Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA
Mr. David Sheppard, Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer, Denbury
Inc., david.sheppard@denbury.com
Mr. Randy Robichaux, Vice President, Health, Safety and Environmental, Denbury
Onshore, LLC, randy.robichaux@denbury.com
CONFIRMATION OF RECEIPT REQUESTED



U.S. DEPARTMENT OF TRANSPORTATION
PIPELINE AND HAZARDOUS MATERIALS SAFETY ADMINISTRATION
OFFICE OF PIPELINE SAFETY
WASHINGTON, D.C. 20590
____________________________________
In the Matter of )
)
)
Denbury Green Pipeline – Texas, LLC, a subsidiary of Denbury Inc., )
)
Respondent. )
____________________________________)
) CPF No. 4-2023-016-NOPV
FINAL ORDER
From February 23, 2021, through July 23, 2021, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, representatives
of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline
Safety (OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of
Denbury Green Pipeline – Texas, LLC’s (Denbury or Respondent) carbon dioxide (CO2)
transmission pipeline system located in Texas. Respondent is a subsidiary of Denbury Inc.1
As a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to
Respondent, by letter dated January 31, 2023, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed
Compliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed
finding that Denbury had committed two violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 195 and proposed ordering
Respondent to take certain measures to correct the alleged violations.
Denbury Onshore, LLC, another subsidiary of Denbury Inc., responded to the Notice by letter
dated March 2, 2023, (Response) on behalf of Respondent and contested one of the allegations.
Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.
FINDINGS OF VIOLATION
The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. Part 195, as follows:
Item 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(i)(1), which states:
1 US SEC Form 10-K, Denbury Inc., available at
https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/945764/000094576423000028/den-20221231 htm (last accessed
September 6, 2023).



§ 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.
(a) …
(i) What preventative and mitigative measures must an operator take
to protect the high consequence area? –
(1) General requirements. An operator must take measures to prevent
and mitigate the consequences of a pipeline failure that could affect a high
consequence area. These measures include conducting a risk analysis of
the pipeline segment to identify additional actions to enhance public safety
or environmental protection. Such actions may include, but are not limited
to, implementing damage prevention best practices, better monitoring of
cathodic protection where corrosion is a concern, establishing shorter
inspection intervals, installing EFRDs on the pipeline segment, modifying
the systems that monitor pressure and detect leaks, providing additional
training to personnel on response procedures, conducting drills with local
emergency responders and adopting other management controls.
The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(i)(1) by failing to conduct a
risk analysis to identify additional actions to enhance public safety or environmental protection
for facilities that could affect a high consequence area (HCA). Specifically, the Notice alleged
that Denbury failed to conduct a risk analysis in 2019 for its Brazoria Station, Beaumont Pig
Launcher and Receiver Station, OCI Beaumont Lateral, and Air Products Meter Station tie-in,
2
as required by its procedures.3
In its Response, Denbury did not deny it had failed to complete a risk analysis in 2019 but
argued that it was not in violation of § 195.452(i)(1) because it “reviewed and considered
additional actions in 2021 as 49 C.F.R. 195.452(i) requires but decided that they were not
needed.”4 Denbury asserted that it conducted risk assessments on October 27, 2021, and
November 2, 2021, and identified the potential additional preventative and mitigative measures
(P&MM) of installing remoted mounted cameras and additional inspections as well as additional
internal coupon inspections of the OCI Beaumont Lateral Meter Site, but ultimately determined
that the current P&MM in place were sufficient and chose not to implement them.5 Denbury
averred that as it had identified and considered additional P&MM it was not in violation of
§ 195.452(i)(1).
Denbury’s argument is very similar to another enforcement action with another of Denbury
Inc.’s subsidiaries alleging a violation of § 195.452(i)(1).6 In that case, PHMSA brought an
enforcement action alleging the operator had violated § 195.452(i)(1) for failing to do a risk
2 Denbury ceased operation of the Air Products Meter Station tie-in on October 1, 2019.
3 Denbury’s procedures require it to conduct a risk analysis pursuant to § 195.452(i)(1) every five years. Prior to
2021, the last risk analysis was conducted in 2014.
4 Response, at 1.
5 Id.
6 Denbury Onshore, LLC, Final Order, CPF 4-2022-041-NOPV, 2023 WL 3884046 (April 28, 2023).



analysis in 2019 for five pipeline facilities in HCAs in accordance with its procedures.
7 Like this
proceeding, the operator did not dispute that it had failed to conduct a risk analysis every five
years as its procedures required, but argued that it was not in violation of the pipeline safety
regulations because it had identified and rejected additional P&MM during a subsequent
evaluation, concluding that the P&MM it had in place for the HCAs were sufficient.8 In that
Final Order, I determined the operator was in violation of § 195.452(i)(1), noting further how
compliance with this requirement is related to other critical elements of integrity management:
Under § 195.452(f)(6), identification of P&MM to protect the high consequence area (HCA) is an element of an
integrity management program (IMP). An operator must continually change this program to reflect operating
experience, conclusions drawn from results of the integrity assessments, other maintenance and surveillance
data, and evaluation of consequences of a failure on the HCA. Pursuant to § 195.452(j)(3), an operator must
continually evaluate and assess pipeline integrity at intervals of five years, not to exceed 68 months. [The
operator’s] own procedures establish a five-year interval for P&MM risk analysis. [The operator] complied with
neither. An operator must follow their manual of written procedures 9
.
Likewise, here Denbury acknowledges it failed to follow its own procedures to conduct a risk
analysis as required by § 195.452(i)(1) in 2019. Respondent’s assertion that it is not in violation
of the pipeline safety regulations because two years after it was due, it conducted an assessment
and determined additional P&MM were not necessary is inconsistent with the requirements of
the pipeline safety regulations and Denbury’s integrity management procedures.
Accordingly, after considering all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R.
§ 195.452(i)(1) by failing to conduct a risk analysis to identify additional actions to enhance
public safety or environmental protection for facilities that could affect an HCA in 2019.
Item 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(k), which states:
§ 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.
(a) …
(k) What methods to measure program effectiveness must be used? An
operator’s program must include methods to measure whether the program
is effective in assessing and evaluating the integrity of each pipeline
segment and in protecting the high consequence areas. See Appendix C of
this part for guidance on methods that can be used to evaluate a program’s
effectiveness.
The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(k) by failing to measure the
effectiveness of its integrity management program (IMP) in assessing and evaluating the
integrity of each pipeline segment and in protecting the HCAs. Specifically, the Notice alleged
that Denbury failed to conduct an annual integrity management performance measurement from
2015 to 2020.
7 Id.
8 Id.
9 Id, at 2-3.



In its Response, Denbury did not contest the alleged violation and agreed to perform the tasks
required in the proposed compliance order.
Accordingly, after considering all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R.
§ 195.452(k) by failing to measure the effectiveness of its IMP in HCAs.
These findings of violation will be considered prior offenses in any subsequent enforcement
action taken against Respondent.
COMPLIANCE ORDER
The Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Items 1 and 2 in the Notice for
violations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.452(i)(1) and 195.452(k), respectively. Under 49 U.S.C.
§ 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation of hazardous liquids or who owns or
operates a pipeline facility is required to comply with the applicable safety standards established
under chapter 601.
With regard to the violation of § 195.452(i)(1) (Item 1), Respondent argued it had already
provided documentation complying with the terms of the proposed compliance order but would
provide them again to PHMSA as required by the proposed compliance order. Having reviewed
the record, I do not find confirmation that Respondent has previously provided the
documentation to the Director. Additionally, in its recommendation submitted pursuant to
§ 190.209(b)(7), the Region asserted it had not received the documents Denbury stated it had
provided. For these reasons, the Compliance Order is not modified.
Denbury did not contest the compliance terms for Item 2.
Pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217, Respondent is
ordered to take the following actions to ensure compliance with the pipeline safety regulations
applicable to its operations:
1. With respect to the violation of § 195.452(i)(1) (Item 1), Respondent must
conduct a comprehensive facility risk analysis for all facilities that could affect an
HCA to identify P&MM to enhance public safety or environmental protection.
Denbury must submit the comprehensive facility risk analysis report to the Director,
Southwest Region, PHMSA within 90 days of the issuance of the Final Order.
Denbury must also provide its most recent list of all could-affect HCA facilities to the
Director, Southwest Region, within 90 days of the issuance of the Final Order.
2. With respect to the violation of § 195.452(k) (Item 2), Respondent must measure
whether its IMP is effective in assessing and evaluating the integrity of each pipeline
segment and in protecting HCAs. Denbury must submit the IMP effectiveness review
to the Director, Southwest Region, PHMSA within 60 days of the issuance of the
Final Order.



The Director may grant an extension of time to comply with any of the required items upon a
written request timely submitted by the Respondent and demonstrating good cause for an
extension.
PHMSA requests that Respondent maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs
associated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to the Director. It is
requested that these costs be reported in two categories: (1) total cost associated with
preparation/revision of plans, procedures, studies, and analyses; and (2) total cost associated with
replacements, additions, and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.
Failure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties
not to exceed $200,000, as adjusted for inflation (see 49 C.F.R. § 190.223), for each violation for
each day the violation continues or in referral to the Attorney General for appropriate relief in a
district court of the United States.
Under 49 C.F.R. § 190.243, Respondent may submit a Petition for Reconsideration of this Final
Order to the Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey
Avenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC 20590, with a copy sent to the Office of
Chief Counsel, PHMSA, at the same address. The written petition must be received no later than
20 days after receipt of the Final Order by Respondent. Any petition submitted must contain a
statement of the issue(s) and meet all other requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.243. The terms of
the order, including corrective action, remain in effect unless the Associate Administrator, upon
request, grants a stay.
The terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49
C.F.R. § 190.5.
September 25, 2023
___________________________________ __________________________
Alan K. Mayberry Date Issued
Associate Administrator
for Pipeline Safety

42023016NOPV_Closure Letter_12182023_(21-199998)_text.pdf

VIA ELECTRONIC MAILTO: chris.kendall@denbury.com
December 18, 2023
Chris Kendall
Director, President, and Chief Executive Officer
Denbury Inc.
5851 Legacy Circle, Suite 1200
Plano, Texas 75024
CPF 4-2023-016-NOPV
Dear Mr. Kendall:
From February 23 to July 23, 2021, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code (U.S.C.),
inspected Denbury Green Pipeline - Texas, LLC (Denbury) carbon dioxide transmission pipeline
system in Texas. As a result of the inspection, Denbury was issued a Final Order (Order) in the
above-referenced case. This Order included a Compliance Order.
Based on PHMSA’s review of the documentation Denbury provided, it has been determined that
Denbury has complied with the terms of this Order.
Accordingly, this case is now closed, and no further action is contemplated with respect to the
matters involved in this case. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
Bryan Lethcoe
Director, Southwest Region, Office of Pipeline Safety
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
cc: David Sheppard, Executive Vice President – Chief Operating Officer,
david.sheppard@denbury.com
Mr. Randy Robichaux, Vice President, Health, Safety and Environmental,
randy.robichaux@denbury.com
Chad Docekal, Regulatory Manager - Pipelines, chad.docekal@denbury.com
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