{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 520075027","title":"TESORO HIGH PLAINS PIPELINE COMPANY LLC — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2007-06-06","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 195.452(c)(1)(i), 195.452(h)(1), 195.452(j)(5).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-520075027.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-520075027.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-520075027","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/520075027","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving TESORO HIGH PLAINS PIPELINE COMPANY LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 195.452(c)(1)(i),  195.452(h)(1),  195.452(j)(5). The case was opened on 2007-06-06 and is reported as closed as of 2011-04-12. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n520075027_closure letter_04122011.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520075027/520075027_closure%20letter_04122011.pdf\n\n520075027_closure letter_04122011_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520075027/520075027_closure%20letter_04122011_text.pdf\n\n520075027_FinalOrder_06172010.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520075027/520075027_FinalOrder_06172010.pdf\n\n520075027_FinalOrder_06172010_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520075027/520075027_FinalOrder_06172010_text.pdf\n\n520075027_NOPV letter_06062007.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520075027/520075027_NOPV%20letter_06062007.pdf\n\n520075027_nopv letter_06062007_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520075027/520075027_nopv%20letter_06062007_text.pdf\n\n520075027_FinalOrder_06172010_text.pdf\n\nJUN 17 2010\nMr. Bruce A. Smith\nChairman\nTesoro Refining and Marketing Company\n19100 Ridgewood Parkway\nSan Antonio, TX 78259\nRe: CPF No. 5-2007-5027\nDear Mr. Smith:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation and specifies actions that need to be taken by Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company\nto comply with the pipeline safety regulations. When the terms of the compliance order have\nbeen completed, as determined by the Director, Western Region, this enforcement action will be\nclosed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing,\nor as otherwise provided under 49 C.F.R. § 190.5.\nThank you for your cooperation in this matter.\nSincerely,\nJeffrey D. Wiese\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\nEnclosure\ncc: Chris Hoidal, Director, Western Region, PHMSA\nCERTIFIED MAIL – RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED [7005 1160 0001 0043 9566]\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 )\nTesoro Refining and Marketing ) CPF No. 5-2007-5027\nCompany, )\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n______________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom February 26 through March 2, 2007, 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 the Integrity Management Program (IMP) of Tesoro Refining and Marketing\nCompany (Tesoro or Respondent) in Denver, Colorado. Tesoro is an independent refiner and\nmarketer of petroleum products. It operates seven refineries in the western United States with a\ncombined capacity of approximately 665,000 barrels per day and has a retail-marketing system\nthat includes over 880 branded retail stations.\n1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Western Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated June 6, 2007, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed\nCompliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed\nfinding that Respondent had committed various violations of 49 C.F.R. Part 195 and proposed\nordering Respondent to take certain measures to correct the alleged violations.\nTesoro responded to the Notice by letter dated August 3, 2007 (Response). Respondent did not\ncontest the allegations of violation but provided information concerning the corrective actions it\nhad taken. Tesoro did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Tesoro did not contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\nPart 195, as follows:\nItem 1A: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(c)(1)(i), which\nstates:\n1 http://www.tsocorp.com\n\n\n\n2\n§ 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.\n(a) . . . .\n(c) What must be in the baseline assessment plan?\n(1) An operator must include each of the following elements in its written\nbaseline assessment plan:\n(i) The methods selected to assess the integrity of the line pipe. An operator\nmust assess the integrity of the line pipe by any of the following methods. The\nmethods an operator selects to assess low frequency electric resistance welded\npipe or lap welded pipe susceptible to longitudinal seam failure must be capable\nof assessing seam integrity and of detecting corrosion and deformation anomalies.\n(A) Internal inspection tool or tools capable of detecting corrosion and\ndeformation anomalies including dents, gouges and grooves;\n(B) Pressure test conducted in accordance with subpart E of this part;\n(C) External corrosion direct assessment in accordance with § 195.588; or\n(D) Other technology that the operator demonstrates can provide an equivalent\nunderstanding of the condition of the line pipe. An operator choosing this option\nmust notify the Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS) 90 days before conducting the\nassessment, by sending a notice to the address or facsimile number specified in\nparagraph (m) of this section.\n(ii) A schedule for completing the integrity assessment;\n(iii) An explanation of the assessment methods selected and evaluation of risk\nfactors considered in establishing the assessment schedule.\n(2) An operator must document, prior to implementing any changes to the\nplan, any modification to the plan, and reasons for the modification.\nThe Notice alleged that Tesoro violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(c)(1)(i) by failing to comply with\nits written procedures for determining the long-seam susceptibility of its low frequency electric\nresistance welded (LF-ERW) line pipe. In particular, the Notice alleged that Tesoro had\nidentified pipeline segments with LF-ERW line pipe in its High Plains and Mountain Region\nsystems, but that it had not completed a long-seam evaluation process of that line pipe in certain\ncases. Respondent did not contest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review\nof all of the evidence, I find that Tesoro violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(c)(1)(i) by failing to follow\nits written procedures for evaluating the long-seam susceptibility of the LF-ERW line pipe on its\nHigh Plains and Mountain Region systems.\nItem 1B: The Notice alleged that Tesoro also violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(c)(1)(i) by failing to\nperform a stress corrosion cracking (SCC) examination of its pipelines. In particular, the Notice\nalleged that Respondent had identified pipelines in areas susceptible to SCC, and that Tesoro had\nto evaluate those pipelines in accordance with the recommendations of ADB-03-05, “Stress\nCorrosion Cracking Threat to Gas and Hazardous Liquid Pipelines.” Respondent did not contest\nthis allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that\nTesoro violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452 by failing to perform a SCC examination of its pipelines.\nItem 2A: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(h)(1), which states:\n\n\n\n3\n§ 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.\n(a) . . . .\n(h) What actions must an operator take to address integrity issues?\n(1) General requirements. An operator must take prompt action to address all\nanomalous conditions the operator discovers through the integrity assessment or\ninformation analysis. In addressing all conditions, an operator must evaluate all\nanomalous conditions and remediate those that could reduce a pipeline's integrity.\nAn operator must be able to demonstrate that the remediation of the condition will\nensure the condition is unlikely to pose a threat to the long-term integrity of the\npipeline. An operator must comply with § 195.422 when making a repair.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(h)(1) by failing to take prompt\naction to address all anomalous conditions discovered through its integrity assessment or\ninformation analysis. In particular, the Notice alleged that Tesoro did not include some of the\nrepair records from the inline inspection (ILI) assessment of its 1.5-mile pipeline between Sand\nIsland and the Shell Terminal in the documentation provided to the OPS inspection team. The\nNotice further alleged that Respondent had to reevaluate all of the undocumented repair\nanomalies on that particular pipeline segment. Tesoro did not contest this allegation of violation.\nAccordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49\nC.F.R. § 195.452 by failing to take prompt action to address all anomalous conditions discovered\nthrough its integrity assessment or information analysis.\nItem 2B: The Notice alleged that Respondent also violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(h)(1) by failing\nto take prompt action to address another anomalous condition discovered through its integrity\nassessment or information analysis. In particular, the Notice alleged that a dig site repair report\nindicated that SCC was present near a girth weld. The Notice further alleged that Tesoro had\nfailed to implement a SCC susceptibility program and to perform further evaluations of the dig\nsite and any other indications that could signify the presence of SCC. Respondent did not\ncontest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I\nfind that Tesoro violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(h)(1) by failing to properly implement a SCC\nsusceptibility program on its pipeline.\nItem 3: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(j)(5), which states:\n§ 195.452 Pipeline integrity management in high consequence areas.\n(f) What are the elements of an integrity management program? An integrity\nmanagement program begins with the initial framework. An operator must\ncontinually change the program to reflect operating experience, conclusions\ndrawn from results of the integrity assessments, and other maintenance and\nsurveillance data, and evaluation of consequences of a failure on the high\nconsequence area. An operator must include, at minimum, each of the following\nelements in its written integrity management program….\n(5) A continual process of assessment and evaluation to maintain a pipeline's integrity\n(see paragraph (j) of this section) . . . .\n(j) What is a continual process of evaluation and assessment to maintain a pipeline's\nintegrity?\n\n\n\n4\n(1) . . . .\n(5) Assessment methods. An operator must assess the integrity of the line pipe by any\nof the following methods. The methods an operator selects to assess low frequency\nelectric resistance welded pipe or lap welded pipe susceptible to longitudinal seam failure\nmust be capable of assessing seam integrity and of detecting corrosion and deformation\nanomalies.\n(i) Internal inspection tool or tools capable of detecting corrosion and deformation\nanomalies including dents, gouges and grooves;\n(ii) Pressure test conducted in accordance with subpart E of this part;\n(iii) External corrosion direct assessment in accordance with § 195.588; or\n(iv) Other technology that the operator demonstrates can provide an equivalent\nunderstanding of the condition of the line pipe. An operator choosing this option must\nnotify OPS 90 days before conducting the assessment, by sending a notice to the address\nor facsimile number specified in paragraph (m) of this section.\nThe Notice alleged that Tesoro violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(j)(5) by failing to use an adequate\nmethod for assessing the integrity of its line pipe. In particular, the Notice alleged that\nRespondent’s ILI results and a dig report showed visual evidence of SCC on its Alaska pipeline,\nand that Tesoro should have reviewed its dig reports to determine if other areas exhibited those\nsame characteristics. The Notice further alleged that if such areas did exist, then Respondent had\nan obligation to reevaluate its method for assessing the integrity of its line pipe. Tesoro did not\ncontest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I\nfind that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 195.452(j)(5) by failing to use an adequate method for\nassessing the integrity of its line pipe.\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 1A, 1B, 2A, 2B, and 3 for\nviolations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 195.452(c)(1)(i), (h)(1), and (j)(5), respectively. Under 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation of hazardous liquids or who owns or\noperates a pipeline facility is required to comply with the applicable safety standards established\nunder chapter 601. Pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217,\nRespondent is ordered to take the following actions to ensure compliance with the pipeline safety\nregulations applicable to its operations:\n1. With respect to the violations of § 195.452(c)(1)(i) (Item 1A and 1B), Respondent must\nperform a long-seam susceptibility of the LF-ERW line pipe in its High Plains and Mountain\nRegion pipeline systems. Respondent must also evaluate those pipelines in accordance with\nrecommendations of ADB-03-05, “Stress Corrosion Cracking Threat to Gas and Hazardous\nLiquid Pipelines.”\n2. With respect to the violations of § 195.452(h)(1) (Item 2A and 2B), Respondent must\nreevaluate all of the undocumented repair anomalies on the 1.5-mile pipeline segment\nbetween Sand Island and the Shell Terminal to insure the integrity of that pipeline segment.\n\n\n\n5\nRespondent must also submit a reevaluation schedule for all of those undocumented repair\nanomalies 45 days prior to the investigation or reevaluation of those anomalies. Respondent\nmust implement an SCC susceptibility program and perform further evaluations of Dig 29\nand other indications of that could signify the presence of SCC on the Tesoro Alaska\nPipeline.\n3. With respect to the violation of § 195.452(j)(5) (Item 3), Respondent must reevaluate its\nmethod for assessing the integrity of its line pipe if SCC indications are found and make all\nnecessary modification to its IMP.\n4. Respondent must complete each of these actions within 60 days of the issuance of this\nFinal Order and submit required documentation and procedures to Chris Hoidal, Director,\nWestern Region, PHMSA, 12300 West Dakota Avenue, Suite 110, Lakewood, CO 80228.\n5. Respondent shall maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs associated with\nfulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to Chris Hoidal, Director, Western\nRegion, PHMSA. Costs shall be reported in two categories: (1) total costs associated with\nthe preparation of or revision of plans, procedures, studies and analyses and (2) total costs\nassociated with the replacements, additions, and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.\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.\nFailure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties\nnot to exceed $100,000 for each violation for each day the violation continues or in referral to the\nAttorney General for appropriate relief in a district court of the United States.\nUnder 49 C.F.R. § 190.215, Respondent has a right to submit a Petition for Reconsideration of\nthis Final Order. The petition must be sent to: Associate Administrator, Office of Pipeline\nSafety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC\n20590. A copy of the petition should also be sent to: Assistant Chief Counsel for Pipeline\nSafety, PHMSA, 1200 New Jersey Avenue, SE, East Building, 2nd Floor, Washington, DC\n20590. The petition must be received no later than 20 days after service of this Final Order upon\nthe Respondent and must contain a brief statement of the issue(s) and meet all other requirements\nof 49 C.F.R. § 190.215. Unless the Associate Administrator, upon request, grants a stay, the\nterms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon receipt of service.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n520075027_closure letter_04122011_text.pdf\n\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nApril 12, 2011\nMs. Bernadette Frieh\nManager, Environmental and Compliance\nTesoro Refining and Marketing Company\n19100 Ridgewood Parkway\nSan Antonio, TX 78259\nCPF 5-2007-5027\nDear Ms. Frieh:\nOn June 17, 2010, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\nissued to Tesoro Refining and Marketing Company a Final Order in the above-referenced case.\nThis Order included a Compliance Order. Based on our review of the documentation you\nprovided, it has been determined that you have complied with the terms of this 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,\nChris Hoidal\nDirector, Western Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\ncc: PHP-60 Compliance Registry\nPHP-500 H. Nguyen (#118232)","truncated":false,"body_characters":17438}