GOLDEN VALLEY ELECTRIC ASSOCIATION, INC — Warning Letter

party submissionOfficial PDF520116007W_Operator Response and Request for Time Extension_06072011.pdf#

520116007W_Warning Letter_05172011.pdf, page 1Official PDFVIA UPS GROUND - 1Z WR2 588 03 9347 6829 May 17,2011 Mr. Alexander Gajdos Principal Partner Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc. 758 Illinois Street P.O. Box 71249 Fairbanks, AK 99707 CPF 5-2011-6007W Dear Mr. Gajdos: On April 25, 2011, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code, inspected Golden Valley Electric Association, Inc.'s (GVEA) Public Awareness Program in Fairbanks. As a result of the inspection, it appears that you have committed probable violations of the Pipeline Safety Regulations, Title 49, Code of Federal Regulations. The items inspected and the probable violations are: §195.440 Public awareness (c) The operator must follow the general program recommendations, including baseline and supplemental requirements of API RP 1162, unless the operator provides justification in its program or procedural manual as to why compliance with all or certain provisions of the recommended practice is not practicable and not necessary for safety. GVEA did not perform the following program effectiveness evaluations as indentified in API RP 1162, Section 8.4 through 8.4.4:#

520116007W_Warning Letter_05172011.pdf, page 2Under 49 United States Code, § 60122, you are subject to a civil penalty not to exceed $100,000 for each violation for each day the violation persists up to a maximum of $1,000,000 for any related series of violations. We have reviewed the circumstances and supporting documents involved in this case, and have decided not to conduct additional enforcement action or penalty assessment proceedings at this time. We advise you to correct the items identified in this letter. Failure to do so will result in GVEA Pipelines being subject to additional enforcement action. No reply to this letter is required. If you choose to reply, in your correspondence please refer to CPF 5-2011-6007W and send all documents to our location at 188 W. Northern Lights Blvd., Suite 520, Anchorage, Alaska 99503. Be advised that all material you submit in response to this enforcement action is subject to being made publicly available. If you believe that any portion of your responsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document you must provide a second copy of the document with the portions you believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an explanation of why you believe the redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment under 5 U.S.C. 552(b). Sincerely, Dennis WHenral Dennis Hinnah Deputy Director, Western Region Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration CC: PHP-60 Compliance Registry PHP-500 B. Flanders (#134343) 2#