{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 520181006","title":"COLUMBIA GULF TRANSMISSION LLC � CARTER CREEK FACILITIES — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2018-04-02","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.605(b), 192.616(a).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-520181006.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-520181006.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-520181006","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/520181006","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving COLUMBIA GULF TRANSMISSION LLC � CARTER CREEK FACILITIES. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.605(b),  192.616(a). The case was opened on 2018-04-02 and is reported as closed as of 2019-07-22. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n520181006_Closure Letter_07222019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Closure%20Letter_07222019.pdf\n\n520181006_Closure Letter_07222019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Closure%20Letter_07222019_text.pdf\n\n520181006_Final Order_05032019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Final%20Order_05032019.pdf\n\n520181006_Final Order_05032019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Final%20Order_05032019_text.pdf\n\n520181006_NOPV PCO_04022018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_NOPV%20PCO_04022018.pdf\n\n520181006_NOPV PCO_04022018_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_NOPV%20PCO_04022018_text.pdf\n\n520181006_Operator Response to Notice_05092018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_05092018.pdf\n\n520181006_Final Order_05032019_text.pdf\n\nMay 3, 2019\nMr. Russell K. Girling\nPresident and Chief Executive Officer\nTransCanada Corporation\n450 1st Street SW\nCalgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 5H1\nRe: CPF No. 5-2018-1006\nDear Mr. Girling:\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 your subsidiary, Columbia Pipeline\nGroup, Inc., to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. When the terms of the compliance\norder have been completed, as determined by the Director, Western Region, this enforcement\naction will be closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is effective upon the date of\nmailing, 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. Chris Hoidal, Acting Director, Western Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA\nMr. Lee Romack, Manager, U.S. Regulatory Compliance, TransCanada Corporation, 700\nLouisiana Street, Suite 700, Houston, Texas 77382\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__________________________________________\nIn the Matter of )\nColumbia Pipeline Group, Inc., ) CPF No. 5-2018-1006\na subsidiary of TransCanada Corporation, )\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n__________________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom November 13 through November 17, 2017, pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60117, a representative\nof the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), Office of Pipeline\nSafety (OPS), conducted an on-site pipeline safety inspection of the facilities and records of\nColumbia Pipeline Group, Inc.’s (CPG) Carter Creek pipeline in the vicinity of Evanston,\nWyoming. CPG, a subsidiary of TransCanada Corporation,1 operates approximately 12,000\nmiles of pipelines across the country and 37 storage fields in four states.2\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Western Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nTransCanada Corporation (TransCanada or Respondent), by letter dated April 2, 2018, a Notice\nof Probable Violation and Proposed Compliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R.\n§ 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that TransCanada had committed two violations of 49\nC.F.R. Part 192 and proposed ordering Respondent to take certain measures to correct the\nalleged violations.\nTransCanada responded to the Notice by letter dated May 9, 2018 (Response). The company did\nnot contest the allegations of violation but provided information concerning the corrective\nactions it had taken. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to\none.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nIn its Response, TransCanada did not contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49\nC.F.R. Part 192, as follows:\n1 https://www.transcanada.com/globalassets/pdfs/investors/reports-and-filings/regulatory-filings/2016/transcanada-\n2016-annual-information-form.pdf (last accessed March 26, 2019).\n2 See https://www.transcanada.com/en/operations/natural-gas/columbia-gas-transmission/ (last accessed March 26,\n2019).\n\n\n\nCPF No. 5-2018-1006\nPage 2\nItem 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(b)(8), which states:\n§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and\nemergencies.\n(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline,\na manual 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.\n(b) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by\nparagraph (a) of this section must include procedures for the following, if\napplicable, to provide safety during maintenance and operations.\n(1) …\n(8) Periodically reviewing the work done by operator personnel to\ndetermine the effectiveness and adequacy of the procedures used in normal\noperation and maintenance and modifying the procedures when deficiencies\nare found.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(b)(8) by failing to periodically\nreview the work done by its personnel to determine the effectiveness and adequacy of\nTransCanada’s procedures used in normal operation and maintenance (O&M) and modifying the\nprocedures when deficiencies are found. Specifically, the Notice alleged that TransCanada was\nunable to provide records of periodically reviewing work done by its personnel to determine the\neffectiveness and adequacy of the procedures used in normal operation and maintenance.\nTransCanada did not contest this allegation of violation, but contended that a revised O&M\nprocedure, submitted in response to a prior PHMSA case (Final Order CPF 3-2016-1001),3\nshould fulfill the requirements of this Item. Accordingly, based upon a review of all the\nevidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(b)(8) by failing to periodically\nreview the work done by its personnel to determine the effectiveness and adequacy of\nTransCanada’s procedures used in normal operation and maintenance and modifying the\nprocedures when deficiencies are found.\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(a), which states:\n§ 192.616 Public awareness.\n(a) Except for an operator of a master meter or petroleum gas system\ncovered under paragraph (j) of this section, each pipeline operator must\ndevelop and implement a written continuing public education program that\nfollows the guidance provided in the American Petroleum Institute’s (API)\nRecommended Practice (RP) 1162 (incorporated by reference, see § 192.7).\n3 The Notice of Probable Violation, Proposed Civil Penalty and Proposed Compliance Order was issued in CPF No.\n3-2016-1001 to a different subsidiary of TransCanada Corporation, ANR Pipeline Company, on January 28, 2016.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 5-2018-1006\nPage 3\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(a) by failing to implement its\nwritten continuing public education program that follows the guidance provided in API RP 1162.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that TransCanada could not provide records to show it had\nreached out to educate the public, appropriate government organizations, and persons engaged in\nexcavation activities, about the company’s public awareness program, as set forth in\n§ 192.616(d)(1)-(5).4\nRespondent did not contest this allegation of violation, but provided an overview of its 2018\nPublic Awareness program for the Carter Creek facilities and noted its use of Bureau of Land\nManagement Field Office databases to identify stakeholders. Accordingly, based upon a review\nof all the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(a) by failing to\nimplement its written continuing public education program that follows the guidance provided in\nAPI RP 1162.\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 1 and 2 in the Notice for\nviolations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 192.605(b)(8) and 192.616(a), respectively. Under 49 U.S.C.\n§ 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation of gas or who owns or operates a\npipeline facility is required to comply with the applicable safety standards established under\nchapter 601.\nWith respect to the violation of § 192.605(b)(8) (Item 1), Respondent submitted revised O&M\nprocedures that have been reviewed by the Director, who has recommended that the revised\nprocedures satisfy the terms of the proposed compliance order. Therefore, the terms of the\ncompliance order associated with Item 1 are not included herein.\nWith respect to the violation of § 192.616(a) (Item 2), Respondent submitted an overview of its\n2018 Public Awareness program for the Carter Creek facilities, but had not submitted\ndocumentation to the Western Region showing that the information had been delivered to the\naffected public in time for the Region to review those materials prior to the issuance of this Final\nOrder. Therefore, pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217,\n4 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(d) states:\n“(d) The operator’s program must specifically include provisions to educate the public,\nappropriate government organizations, and persons engaged in excavation related activities\non:\n(1) Use of a one-call notification system prior to excavation and other damage prevention\nactivities;\n(2) Possible hazards associated with unintended releases from a gas pipeline\nfacility;\n(3) Physical indications that such a release may have occurred;\n(4) Steps that should be taken for public safety in the event of a gas pipeline release; and\n(5) Procedures for reporting such an event.”\n\n\n\nCPF No. 5-2018-1006\nPage 4\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 violation of § 192.616(a) (Item 2), Respondent must deliver\nmailers to the affected public in 2018 that cover the provisions set forth in\n§ 192.616(d) and submit a copy to the Western Region within 90 days of issuance of\nthis Order.\nTransCanada submitted the requested documentation for this Item by letter dated October 3,\n2018. Upon his determination that this Item has been satisfactorily completed, the Director will\nprovide written notification to the Respondent and close the case.\nIt is also requested that Respondent maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs\nassociated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to the Director. It is\nrequested that these costs be reported in two categories: (1) total cost associated with\npreparation/revision of plans, procedures, studies and analyses; and (2) total cost associated with\nreplacements, additions and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.\nFailure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties\nnot to exceed $200,000, as adjusted for inflation (49 C.F.R. § 190.223), for each violation for\neach day the violation continues or in referral to the Attorney General for appropriate relief in a\ndistrict court of the United States.\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, no later than 20 days after receipt of service of this\nFinal Order by Respondent. Any petition submitted must contain a statement of the issue(s) and\nmeet all other requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.243. The terms of the order, including corrective\naction, remain in effect unless the Associate Administrator, upon request, grants a stay.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\nMay 3, 2019\n___________________________________ __________________________\nAlan K. Mayberry Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n520181006_Closure Letter_07222019_text.pdf\n\nCERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED\nJuly 22, 2019\nMr. Stan Chapman, III\nSenior Vice Chairman & General Manager, US Natural Gas\nTC Energy\n700 Louisiana St\nHouston, TX 77002\nCPF 5-2018-1006\nClosure Letter\nDear Mr. Chapman:\nOn May 3, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)\nissued TransCanada Corporation, now TC Energy, a Final Order in the above-referenced case.\nThis Order included a Compliance Order requirement to take corrective actions on your\npipeline. Based on our review of the documentation you provided prior to this Final Order\ndated October 3, 2018 it has been determined that you have complied with the terms of this\nOrder.\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,\nDustin Hubbard\nDirector, Western Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\ncc: PHP-60 Compliance Registry\nPHP-500 G. Ogirima (#157978)","truncated":false,"body_characters":14033}