{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 42023027NOPV","title":"SEA ROBIN PIPELINE CO — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2023-03-24","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.481(c), 192.605(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-42023027nopv.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-42023027nopv.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-42023027nopv","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/42023027NOPV","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving SEA ROBIN PIPELINE CO. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.481(c),  192.605(a). The case was opened on 2023-03-24 and is reported as closed as of 2023-09-25. Proposed civil penalty: $39,400. Assessed civil penalty: $36,800. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n42023027NOPV_Final Order_09222023_(22-239724).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023027NOPV/42023027NOPV_Final%20Order_09222023_(22-239724).pdf\n\n42023027NOPV_Final Order_09222023_(22-239724)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023027NOPV/42023027NOPV_Final%20Order_09222023_(22-239724)_text.pdf\n\n42023027NOPV_Operator Response to Notice_04232023_(22-239724).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023027NOPV/42023027NOPV_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_04232023_(22-239724).pdf\n\n42023027NOPV_PCP_03242023_(22-239724).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023027NOPV/42023027NOPV_PCP_03242023_(22-239724).pdf\n\n42023027NOPV_PCP_03242023_(22-239724)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023027NOPV/42023027NOPV_PCP_03242023_(22-239724)_text.pdf\n\n42023027NOPV_Final Order_09222023_(22-239724)_text.pdf\n\nSeptember 22, 2023\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL: gregory.mcilwain@energytransfer.com\nGregory McIlwain\nExecutive Vice President, Operations\nSea Robin Pipeline Company, LLC\n1300 Main Street\nHouston, Texas 77002\nRe: CPF No. 4-2023-027-NOPV\nDear Mr. McIlwain:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of\nviolation and assesses a reduced civil penalty of $36,800. The penalty payment terms are set\nforth in the Final Order. This enforcement action closes automatically upon receipt of payment.\nService of the Final Order by e-mail is effective upon the date of transmission and\nacknowledgement of receipt as provided under 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: Mr. Bryan Lethcoe, Director, Southwest Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA\nMr. Eric Amundsen, Senior Vice President, Operations, Energy Transfer,\neric.amundsen@energytransfer.com\nMr. Todd Nardozzi, Director, Regulatory Compliance, Energy Transfer,\ntodd.nardozzi@energytransfer.com\nMs. Heidi Slinkard, Chief Counsel, Energy Transfer, heidi.slinkard@energytransfer.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____________________________________\n)\nIn the Matter of )\n)\nSea Robin Pipeline Company, LLC, ) CPF No. 4-2023-027-NOPV\na subsidiary of Energy Transfer LP, )\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom February 28 through June 23, 2022, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety\n(OPS), inspected Sea Robin Pipeline Company, LLC’s (Sea Robin or Respondent) offshore\npipeline system in the Gulf of Mexico and Louisiana. Sea Robin is a subsidiary of Energy\nTransfer LP.1 Sea Robin’s offshore gas transmission system in the Gulf of Mexico and southern\nLouisiana is comprised of 827 miles of pipeline.2\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, Office of Pipeline Safety\n(Director), issued to Respondent, by letter dated March 24, 2023, a Notice of Probable Violation\nand Proposed Civil Penalty (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice\nproposed finding that Sea Robin had committed one violation of 49 C.F.R. Part 192 and\nproposed assessing a civil penalty of $39,400 for the alleged violation.\nEnergy Transfer, on behalf of Sea Robin, responded to the Notice by letter dated April 23, 2023\n(Response). Respondent did not contest the allegation of violation described in the Notice and\nmade no admission or denial, but requested that the proposed civil penalty be reduced. Sea\nRobin did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\nFINDING OF VIOLATION\nThe Notice alleged that Sea Robin violated 49 C.F.R. Part 192, as follows:\n1 Sea Robin Pipeline Company, LLC, ENERGY TRANSFER, https://sermessenger.energytransfer.com/ipost/SER (last\naccessed September 20, 2023).\n2 See PHMSA Violation Report, CPF 4-2023-027-NOPV (hereinafter “Violation Report”), at 1, on file with\nPHMSA.\n\n\n\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a), which states:\n§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline, a\nmanual of written procedures for conducting operations and maintenance\nactivities and for emergency response. For transmission lines, the manual\nmust also include procedures for handling abnormal operations. This\nmanual must be reviewed and updated by the operator at intervals not\nexceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year. This manual\nmust be prepared before operations of a pipeline system commence.\nAppropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations where operations\nand maintenance activities are conducted.\nThe Notice alleged that Sea Robin violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) by failing to remediate\natmospheric corrosion found during an inspection at the Vermillion 149 platform within one\ncalendar year, not to exceed 15 months, in accordance with its procedures and § 192.481(c).3\nIn the Response, Respondent did not contest the allegation of violation as described in the Notice\nand made no admission or denial. Accordingly, after considering all of the evidence, I find that\nSea Robin violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) by failing to remediate atmospheric corrosion found\nduring an inspection at the Vermillion 149 platform within one calendar year, not to exceed 15\nmonths, in accordance with its procedures and § 192.481(c).\nThis finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action\ntaken against Respondent.\nASSESSMENT OF PENALTY\nUnder 49 U.S.C. § 60122, Respondent is subject to an administrative civil penalty not to exceed\n$200,000 per violation for each day of the violation, up to a maximum of $2,000,000 for any\nrelated series of violations.4\nIn determining the amount of a civil penalty under 49 U.S.C. § 60122 and 49 C.F.R. § 190.225, I\nmust consider the following criteria: the nature, circumstances, and gravity of the violation,\nincluding adverse impact on the environment; the degree of Respondent’s culpability; the history\nof Respondent’s prior offenses; any effect that the penalty may have on its ability to continue\ndoing business; the good faith of Respondent in attempting to comply with the pipeline safety\nregulations; and self-disclosure or actions to correct a violation prior to discovery by PHMSA.\nIn addition, I may consider the economic benefit gained from the violation without any reduction\nbecause of subsequent damages, and such other matters as justice may require. The Notice\nproposed a total civil penalty of $39,400 for the violation cited above.\n3 49 C.F.R. § 192.481(c) states: “If atmospheric corrosion is found during an inspection, the operator must provide\nprotection against the corrosion as required by § 192.479.”\n4 These amounts are adjusted annually for inflation. See 49 C.F.R. § 190.223 for adjusted amounts.\n\n\n\nItem 1: The Notice proposed a civil penalty of $39,400 for the violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.605(a), for failing to remediate atmospheric corrosion found during an inspection at the\nVermillion 149 platform within one calendar year, not to exceed 15 months, in accordance with\nits procedures and § 192.481(c).\nIn the Response, Sea Robin requested reduction of the proposed civil penalty. With respect to\nthe instances of violation, Respondent argued it was unfairly penalized for including additional\ndetail in its April 2019 inspection report. It stated that all four items requiring remediation were\non the same platform, inspected the same day, and all received the same remediation\nclassification (Case 6). Respondent argued its technician could have elected to document this\ninspection more succinctly by including each of these four items together as the Vermillion 149\nplatform. As such, Sea Robin requested a reduction of the instances of violation from four to\none.\nAccording to Sea Robin’s procedures, a Case 6 classification indicates, “[a]ny corrosion other\nthan light surface oxide found on natural gas piping due to missing, degraded, or failed\natmospheric coating systems not classified as Case 1-5.”5 Sea Robin’s procedure D.44\nAtmospheric Corrosion Inspection (D.44) requires the following action item for Case 6\nindications: “Requires coating remediation/rehabilitation. Repair or replace existing coating\nsystem per Company Standards.”6 Sea Robin’s procedure D.40 Corrosion Control Remedial\nAction describes the remedial actions required for corrosion control issues and includes the\nfollowing instructions in section 4.0: “Restore offshore atmospheric corrosion protection within\none calendar year following discovery, not to exceed 15 months from the date deficiencies were\ndiscovered.”7\nI find a reduction in the number of instances of violation is not necessary based on this\nargument. Here, the instances of violation were not based on the four “Case 6” items requiring\nremediation identified on the same day in Sea Robin’s April 2019 inspection report. Rather, the\ninstances were based on Respondent’s performance of four separate surveys or inspections in a\nthree-year period in which it identified separate areas of corrosion, but Sea Robin failed to\nremediate the identified corrosion within one calendar year, not to exceed 15 months.\nSea Robin personnel provided PHMSA with two forms D.40.A Corrosion Control Remedial\nAction Report, dated April 17, 2019.8 These forms include two action items. Item 17 for the\nVermillion 149 Roof Deck states, “[g]as coolers have severe corrosion that needs to be blasted\nand painted.” Item 18 states, “[a]ll 3 units and unit piping needs to be blasted and painted.” Sea\nRobin also provided its form MC_ATM_CM_V_2022, Atmospheric Report, which notes a Case\n6 atmospheric classification on the Vermillion 149 platform following surveys dated April 15,\n5 See Violation Report, Exhibit A, Appendix A, on file with PHMSA.\n6 Id.\n7 See Violation Report, Exhibit B, on file with PHMSA.\n8 See Violation Report, Exhibit C, on file with PHMSA.\n\n\n\n2019, April 16, 2019, April 14, 2020, and April 12, 2021.9\nRespondent conducted surveys or inspections on April 15, 2019, April 16, 2019, April 14, 2020,\nand April 12, 2021, where corrosion was identified, but Respondent failed to perform\nremediation within 15 months. In a recommendation for final action submitted pursuant to §\n190.209(b)(7), the Director recommended reducing the instances of violation from four to three,\none for each year that Sea Robin failed to carry out remedial action pursuant to the timeframe\nfound in its procedures. Based upon the foregoing, I reduce the number of instances from four\nto three, and I assess a reduced civil penalty of $36,800 for the violation of 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.605(a).\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. The written petition must be received no later than\n20 days after receipt of the Final Order by Respondent. Any petition submitted must contain a\nbrief statement of the issue(s) and meet all other requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.243. The filing\nof a petition automatically stays the payment of any civil penalty assessed. The other terms of\nthe order, including any corrective action, remain in effect unless the Associate Administrator,\nupon request, grants a stay. If Respondent submits payment of the civil penalty, the Final Order\nbecomes the final administrative decision and the right to petition for reconsideration is waived.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\nSeptember 22, 2023\n___________________________________ __________________________\nAlan K. Mayberry Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n9 Id.","truncated":false,"body_characters":12551}