{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 520120005","title":"PALO ALTO, CITY OF — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2012-03-28","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.805(b), 192.805(c), 192.805(d).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-520120005.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-520120005.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-520120005","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/520120005","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving PALO ALTO, CITY OF. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.805(b),  192.805(c),  192.805(d). The case was opened on 2012-03-28 and is reported as closed as of 2013-10-23. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n520120005_Final Order_10232013.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520120005/520120005_Final%20Order_10232013.pdf\n\n520120005_Final Order_10232013_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520120005/520120005_Final%20Order_10232013_text.pdf\n\n520120005_NOPV PCO_03282012.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520120005/520120005_NOPV%20PCO_03282012.pdf\n\n520120005_NOPV PCO_03282012_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520120005/520120005_NOPV%20PCO_03282012_text.pdf\n\n520120005_Final Order_10232013_text.pdf\n\nOCTOBER 23, 2013\nMs. Valerie Fong\nUtilities Director\nCity of Palo Alto\n250 Hamilton Avenue\nPalo Alto, CA 94301\nRe: CPF No. 5-2012-0005\nDear Ms. Fong:\nEnclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of\nviolation and finds that the City of Palo Alto has completed the actions specified in the Notice to\ncomply with the pipeline safety regulations. Therefore, this case is now closed. Service of the\nFinal Order by certified mail is deemed effective upon the date of mailing, or as otherwise\nprovided 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: Mr. Chris Hoidal, Director, Western Region, OPS\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN 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)\nCity of Palo Alto, ) CPF No. 5-2012-0005\n)\nRespondent. )\n____________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nOn February 14-17, 2012, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative of the Pipeline and\nHazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline Safety (OPS),\nconducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the Operator Qualification (OQ) program of\nthe City of Palo Alto (Palo Alto or Respondent) in Palo Alto, California. Palo Alto operates a\ngas distribution system consisting of approximately 207 miles of pipelines.1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Western Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated March 28, 2012, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed\nCompliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed\nfinding that Palo Alto had committed four violations of 49 C.F.R. § 192.805 and proposed\nordering Respondent to take certain measures to correct the alleged violations.2\nPalo Alto responded to the Notice by letter dated May 1, 2012 (Response). Palo Alto did not\ncontest the allegations of violation, but provided explanations and information concerning the\ncorrective actions it had taken and submitted copies of its revised OQ procedures. Respondent\nprovided supplemental materials and additional copies of its OQ procedures on\nNovember 29, 2012 and June 28, 2013. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has\nwaived its right to one.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, Palo Alto did not contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49 C.F.R.\n1 Pipeline Safety Violation Report (Violation Report), (March 25, 2012) (on file with PHMSA), at 1.\n2 The Director simultaneously issued a Notice of Amendment (CPF No. 5-2012-0006M). That case was closed on\nAugust 6, 2013.\n\n\n\n2\nPart 192, as follows:\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(b), which states in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.805 – Qualification program.\nEach operator shall have and follow a written qualification program.\nThe program shall include provisions to:\n(a) Identify covered tasks;\n(b) Ensure through evaluation that individuals performing covered\ntasks are qualified;\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(b) by failing to have an OQ\nprogram that ensured through evaluation that all individuals performing covered tasks were\nqualified. Specifically, the Notice alleged that Palo Alto did not have an OQ program that\nensured individuals performing covered tasks were qualified to recognize and react to Abnormal\nOperating Conditions (AOCs), as required by the definition of “qualified” in § 192.803.\nRespondent did not contest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all\nof the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(b) by failing to have an OQ\nprogram that ensured individuals performing covered tasks were qualified to recognize and react\nto AOCs.\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(c), which states in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.805 – Qualification program.\nEach operator shall have and follow a written qualification program.\nThe program shall include provisions to:\n(a) Identify covered tasks;\n(b) ….\n(c) Allow individuals that are not qualified pursuant to this subpart to\nperform a covered task if directed and observed by an individual that is\nqualified;\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(c) by failing to have OQ\nprogram provisions to ensure that individuals that were not qualified to perform a covered task\nwere directed and observed by an individual that was qualified. Specifically, the Notice alleged\nthat Palo Alto’s OQ program did not provide for a span of control that specified the number of\nnon-qualified individuals that could be directed and observed by a qualified individual.\nRespondent did not contest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all\nof the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(c) by failing to have OQ\nprogram provisions to ensure that individuals that were not qualified to perform a covered task\nwere directed and observed by an individual that was qualified.\nItem 3: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(b), which states in\nrelevant part:\n\n\n\n3\n§ 192.805 – Qualification program.\nEach operator shall have and follow a written qualification program.\nThe program shall include provisions to:\n(a) Identify covered tasks;\n(b) Ensure through evaluation that individuals performing covered\ntasks are qualified;\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(b) by failing to ensure that\ncertain individuals performing a covered task, making fusion bonds, were qualified through\nevaluation to perform this covered task. Specifically, the Notice alleged that although the annual\nqualifications of nine individuals to make fusion bonds expired on March 3, 2010, these\nindividuals made 41 fusion bonds prior to being re-qualified on October 28, 2010. In its\nResponse, Palo Alto acknowledged that three of the nine individuals had not been properly\nqualified, and explained that it had excavated 5 of the 41 affected fusion bonds, had leak tested\nan additional 20, and would leak test the remaining locations to rectify the issue. Accordingly,\nbased upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.805(b) by failing to ensure that certain individuals making fusion bonds between March\nand October 2010 were qualified through evaluation to perform this covered task.\nItem 4: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(d), which states in\nrelevant part:\n§ 192.805 – Qualification program.\nEach operator shall have and follow a written qualification program.\nThe program shall include provisions to:\n(a) Identify covered tasks;\n(b) ….\n(d) Evaluate an individual if the operator has reason to believe that the\nindividual's performance of a covered task contributed to an incident as\ndefined in Part 191;\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(d) by failing to have OQ\nprogram provisions to evaluate an individual if there is reason to believe that person’s\nperformance of a covered task contributed to an accident. Specifically, the Notice alleged that\nPalo Alto’s OQ program did not have provisions to immediately suspend an individual from\nperforming a covered task that may have contributed to an accident until that individual’s\nperformance of that task can be evaluated. Respondent did not contest this allegation of\nviolation. Accordingly, based upon a review of all of the evidence, I find that Respondent\nviolated 49 C.F.R. § 192.805(d) by failing to have OQ program provisions to evaluate an\nindividual if there is reason to believe that person’s performance of a covered task contributed to\nan accident.\nThese findings of violation will be considered prior offenses in any subsequent enforcement\naction taken against Respondent.\n\n\n\n4\nCOMPLIANCE ORDER\nThe Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Items 1-4 in the Notice for the violations\nof 49 C.F.R. § 192.805. Under 49 U.S.C. § 60118(a), each person who engages in the\ntransportation of gas or who owns or operates a pipeline facility is required to comply with the\napplicable safety standards established under chapter 601. The Director indicates that\nRespondent has taken the following actions specified in the proposed compliance order:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 192.805(b) (Item 1), Respondent has developed\ntask-specific AOCs and revised its OQ program to ensure that all individuals\nperforming covered tasks are qualified to recognize and react to these task-specific\nAOCs.\n2. With respect to the violation of § 192.805(c) (Item 2), Respondent has revised its\nOQ program to include span of control provisions to ensure that individuals that are\nnot qualified to perform a covered task are directed and observed by an individual\nthat is qualified.\n3. With respect to the violation of § 192.805(b) (Item 3), Respondent has conducted\na leak survey at the 41 fusion bond locations including immediately adjacent\nstructures.\n4. With respect to the violation of § 192.805(d) (Item 4), Respondent has revised its\nOQ program to include provisions to immediately suspend an individual from\nperforming a covered task that may have contributed to an accident until that\nindividual’s performance of that task can be evaluated.\nAccordingly, I find that compliance has been achieved with respect to these violations.\nTherefore, the compliance terms proposed in the Notice are not included in this Order.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with\n49 C.F.R. § 190.5.\n___________________________________ __________________________\nJeffrey D. Wiese Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety","truncated":false,"body_characters":10821}