# ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC — Notice of Probable Violation

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** CPF 42023045NOPV
- **title:** ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC — Notice of Probable Violation
- **source type:** enforcement
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** historical
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2023-05-11
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.406(b), 195.52(a)(2), 195.52(a)(3).
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- **app url:** https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-42023045nopv
- **source url:** https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/42023045NOPV
**body:**

Notice of Probable Violation involving ENTERPRISE PRODUCTS OPERATING LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.406(b),  195.52(a)(2),  195.52(a)(3). The case was opened on 2023-05-11 and is reported as closed as of 2024-01-26. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.

Official case documents:

42023045NOPV_Final Order_01262024_(22-232770).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023045NOPV/42023045NOPV_Final%20Order_01262024_(22-232770).pdf

42023045NOPV_Final Order_01262024_(22-232770)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023045NOPV/42023045NOPV_Final%20Order_01262024_(22-232770)_text.pdf

42023045NOPV_PCO_05112023_(22-232770).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023045NOPV/42023045NOPV_PCO_05112023_(22-232770).pdf

42023045NOPV_PCO_05112023_(22-232770)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/42023045NOPV/42023045NOPV_PCO_05112023_(22-232770)_text.pdf

42023045NOPV_Final Order_01262024_(22-232770)_text.pdf

January 26, 2024
VIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: gbacon@eprod.com
Graham W. Bacon
Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer
Enterprise Products Operating, LLC
1100 Louisiana Street
Houston, Texas 77002
Re: CPF No. 4-2023-045-NOPV
Dear Mr. Bacon:
Enclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes a finding of
violation and finds that Enterprise Products Operating, LLC, has completed the actions specified
in the Notice to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. Therefore, this case is now 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
Ms. Suzie Davis, Senior Manager, Pipeline Compliance, Enterprise Products Operating,
LLC, smdavis@eprod.com
Mr. Nhan Truong, Senior Manager, Pipeline Compliance, Enterprise Products Operating,
LLC, nvtruong@eprod.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 )
Enterprise Products Operating, LLC, ) CPF No. 4-2023-045-NOPV
)
)
)
Respondent. )
____________________________________)
FINAL ORDER
From February 2 through September 6, 2022, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative 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 Enterprise
Products Operating, LLC (Enterprise or Respondent) in Houston, Mont Belvieu, and Skellytown,
Texas. The facilities and records inspected were part of the Texas Express Pipeline. Texas
Express Pipeline is a joint venture with Enbridge Energy Partners, Anadarko Petroleum Corp.,
DCP Midstream, and Enterprise Products Partners, and is an approximately 593-mile pipeline
and affiliated NGL gathering system.
As a result of the inspection, the Director, Southwest Region, OPS (Director), issued to
Respondent, by letter dated May 11, 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 Enterprise had committed one violation of 49 C.F.R. Part 195 and proposed ordering
Respondent to take certain measures to correct the alleged violation. The Notice also included
an additional warning item pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205, which warned the operator to
correct the probable violation or face possible future enforcement action.
Enterprise responded to the Notice by letter dated June 9, 2023 (Response). Enterprise contested
the allegation and offered additional information in response to the Notice. Respondent did not
request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.
FINDING 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. § 195.406(b), which states:
§ 195.406 Maximum operating pressure.



(a) . . . .
(b) No operator may permit the pressure in a pipeline during
surges or other variations from normal operations to exceed 110
percent of the operating pressure limit established under paragraph
(a) of this section. Each operator must provide adequate controls
and protective equipment to control the pressure within this limit.
The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.406(b) by failing to provide
adequate controls and protective equipment to control the pressure of the pipeline within 110
percent of the operating limit. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Enterprise established
shutdown limits at 115 percent of the operating pressure limit, rather than 110 percent, at its
Memphis, Archer City, and Reliance pump stations.
In its Response, Enterprise contested this allegation of violation by stating that the Moore relay
shutdown systems “were intended to provide overpressure protection for the pumps, not the
pipelines,” and therefore were initially installed at 115 percent of the maximum operating pressure
(MOP).1 After issuance of the Notice, Enterprise adjusted the Enterprise Moore relay shutdown
systems to 110 percent of the MOP.2 Enterprise stated its “high pressure shut down settings … at
the six new Texas Express Pipeline pump stations are, and have always been, set at less than 110
percent of the [MOP.]”3 With its Response, Respondent provided a piping and instrumentation
diagram for Memphis Pump Station Mainline Pump PU-1021 as a representative example of the
facilities in question.
A pipeline may not be operated at a pressure exceeding MOP pursuant to § 195.406(a), except
for surge pressures and other variations from normal operations. During surges and other
variations, § 195.406(b) prohibits pipeline pressure above 110 percent of the established
operating limit and requires each operator to provide adequate controls and protective equipment
to control the pressure in a pipeline within this limit. “Pipeline,” pursuant to § 195.2, is defined
as “all parts of a pipeline facility through which a hazardous liquid or carbon dioxide moves in
transportation, including…pumping units” (emphasis added). Therefore, because pumping units
are included in Part 195’s definition of “pipeline,” the requirement to have controls and
protective equipment to control pressure within 110 percent of the MOP applied to the Moore
relay shutdown systems that were intended to protect the pumps from overpressure.
Consequently, Enterprise was in violation of that requirement when it established the shutdown
pressure limit at 115 percent of the MOP at its Memphis, Archer City, and Reliance pump
stations.
Accordingly, after considering all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R.
§ 195.406(b) by failing to provide adequate controls to control the pressure of the pipeline within
110 percent of the operating limit.
This finding of violation will be considered a prior offense in any subsequent enforcement action
1 Response to PHMSA CPF No. 4-2023-045-NOPV, dated June 9, 2023, on file with PHMSA, at 2.
2 Id.
3 Id.



taken against Respondent.
COMPLIANCE ORDER
The Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Item 1 in the Notice for a violation of 49
C.F.R. § 195.406(b). 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. In a Region
Recommendation dated September 28, 2023, the Director indicated that Respondent has taken
the following actions specified in the proposed compliance order:
1. With respect to the violation of § 195.406(b) (Item 1), Respondent has adjusted
the Enterprise Moore relay shutdown systems to 110 percent of the MOP.
Accordingly, I find that compliance has been achieved with respect to this violation. Therefore,
the compliance terms proposed in the Notice are not included in this Order.
WARNING ITEM
With respect to Item 2, the Notice alleged a probable violation of Part 195, but identified it as a
warning item pursuant to § 190.205. The warning was for:
49 C.F.R. § 195.52(a)(2) and (a)(3) (Item 2) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to
notify the National Response Center within one hour following a confirmed
discovery of a release of two reportable accidents on July 18, 2019, and May 24,
2022.
Enterprise presented information in its Response arguing that it provided notification to National
Response Center of the May 24, 2022, incident within one hour of confirmed discovery. Under
§ 190.205, PHMSA does not adjudicate warning items to determine whether a probable violation
occurred. If OPS finds a violation of this provision in a subsequent inspection, Respondent may
be subject to future enforcement action.
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.
January 26, 2024
___________________________________ __________________________
Alan K. Mayberry Date Issued
Associate Administrator
for Pipeline Safety
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