# COLUMBIA GULF TRANSMISSION LLC � CARTER CREEK FACILITIES — Notice of Probable Violation

- **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:** Not available
- **summary:** CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.605(b), 192.616(a).
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- **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.

Official case documents:

520181006_Closure Letter_07222019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Closure%20Letter_07222019.pdf

520181006_Closure Letter_07222019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Closure%20Letter_07222019_text.pdf

520181006_Final Order_05032019.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Final%20Order_05032019.pdf

520181006_Final Order_05032019_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Final%20Order_05032019_text.pdf

520181006_NOPV PCO_04022018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_NOPV%20PCO_04022018.pdf

520181006_NOPV PCO_04022018_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_NOPV%20PCO_04022018_text.pdf

520181006_Operator Response to Notice_05092018.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/520181006/520181006_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_05092018.pdf

520181006_Final Order_05032019_text.pdf

May 3, 2019
Mr. Russell K. Girling
President and Chief Executive Officer
TransCanada Corporation
450 1st Street SW
Calgary, Alberta, Canada T2P 5H1
Re: CPF No. 5-2018-1006
Dear Mr. Girling:
Enclosed please find the Final Order issued in the above-referenced case. It makes findings of
violation and specifies actions that need to be taken by your subsidiary, Columbia Pipeline
Group, Inc., to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. When the terms of the compliance
order have been completed, as determined by the Director, Western Region, this enforcement
action will be closed. Service of the Final Order by certified mail is effective upon the date of
mailing, 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. Chris Hoidal, Acting Director, Western Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA
Mr. Lee Romack, Manager, U.S. Regulatory Compliance, TransCanada Corporation, 700
Louisiana Street, Suite 700, Houston, Texas 77382
CERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN 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 )
Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc., ) CPF No. 5-2018-1006
a subsidiary of TransCanada Corporation, )
)
)
)
Respondent. )
__________________________________________)
FINAL ORDER
From November 13 through November 17, 2017, 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
Columbia Pipeline Group, Inc.’s (CPG) Carter Creek pipeline in the vicinity of Evanston,
Wyoming. CPG, a subsidiary of TransCanada Corporation,1 operates approximately 12,000
miles of pipelines across the country and 37 storage fields in four states.2
As a result of the inspection, the Director, Western Region, OPS (Director), issued to
TransCanada Corporation (TransCanada or Respondent), by letter dated April 2, 2018, a Notice
of Probable Violation and Proposed Compliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R.
§ 190.207, the Notice proposed finding that TransCanada had committed two violations of 49
C.F.R. Part 192 and proposed ordering Respondent to take certain measures to correct the
alleged violations.
TransCanada responded to the Notice by letter dated May 9, 2018 (Response). The company did
not contest the allegations of violation but provided information concerning the corrective
actions it had taken. Respondent did not request a hearing and therefore has waived its right to
one.
FINDINGS OF VIOLATION
In its Response, TransCanada did not contest the allegations in the Notice that it violated 49
C.F.R. Part 192, as follows:
1 https://www.transcanada.com/globalassets/pdfs/investors/reports-and-filings/regulatory-filings/2016/transcanada-
2016-annual-information-form.pdf (last accessed March 26, 2019).
2 See https://www.transcanada.com/en/operations/natural-gas/columbia-gas-transmission/ (last accessed March 26,
2019).



CPF No. 5-2018-1006
Page 2
Item 1: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(b)(8), which states:
§ 192.605 Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and
emergencies.
(a) General. Each operator shall prepare and follow for each pipeline,
a manual of written procedures for conducting operations and maintenance
activities and for emergency response. For transmission lines, the manual
must also include procedures for handling abnormal operations. This
manual must be reviewed and updated by the operator at intervals not
exceeding 15 months, but at least once each calendar year. This manual
must be prepared before operations of a pipeline system commence.
Appropriate parts of the manual must be kept at locations where operations
and maintenance activities are conducted.
(b) Maintenance and normal operations. The manual required by
paragraph (a) of this section must include procedures for the following, if
applicable, to provide safety during maintenance and operations.
(1) …
(8) Periodically reviewing the work done by operator personnel to
determine the effectiveness and adequacy of the procedures used in normal
operation and maintenance and modifying the procedures when deficiencies
are found.
The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(b)(8) by failing to periodically
review the work done by its personnel to determine the effectiveness and adequacy of
TransCanada’s procedures used in normal operation and maintenance (O&M) and modifying the
procedures when deficiencies are found. Specifically, the Notice alleged that TransCanada was
unable to provide records of periodically reviewing work done by its personnel to determine the
effectiveness and adequacy of the procedures used in normal operation and maintenance.
TransCanada did not contest this allegation of violation, but contended that a revised O&M
procedure, submitted in response to a prior PHMSA case (Final Order CPF 3-2016-1001),3
should fulfill the requirements of this Item. Accordingly, based upon a review of all the
evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.605(b)(8) by failing to periodically
review the work done by its personnel to determine the effectiveness and adequacy of
TransCanada’s procedures used in normal operation and maintenance and modifying the
procedures when deficiencies are found.
Item 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(a), which states:
§ 192.616 Public awareness.
(a) Except for an operator of a master meter or petroleum gas system
covered under paragraph (j) of this section, each pipeline operator must
develop and implement a written continuing public education program that
follows the guidance provided in the American Petroleum Institute’s (API)
Recommended Practice (RP) 1162 (incorporated by reference, see § 192.7).
3 The Notice of Probable Violation, Proposed Civil Penalty and Proposed Compliance Order was issued in CPF No.
3-2016-1001 to a different subsidiary of TransCanada Corporation, ANR Pipeline Company, on January 28, 2016.



CPF No. 5-2018-1006
Page 3
The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(a) by failing to implement its
written continuing public education program that follows the guidance provided in API RP 1162.
Specifically, the Notice alleged that TransCanada could not provide records to show it had
reached out to educate the public, appropriate government organizations, and persons engaged in
excavation activities, about the company’s public awareness program, as set forth in
§ 192.616(d)(1)-(5).4
Respondent did not contest this allegation of violation, but provided an overview of its 2018
Public Awareness program for the Carter Creek facilities and noted its use of Bureau of Land
Management Field Office databases to identify stakeholders. Accordingly, based upon a review
of all the evidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(a) by failing to
implement its written continuing public education program that follows the guidance provided in
API RP 1162.
These findings of violation will be considered prior offenses in any subsequent enforcement
action taken against Respondent.
COMPLIANCE ORDER
The Notice proposed a compliance order with respect to Items 1 and 2 in the Notice for
violations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 192.605(b)(8) and 192.616(a), respectively. Under 49 U.S.C.
§ 60118(a), each person who engages in the transportation of gas or who owns or operates a
pipeline facility is required to comply with the applicable safety standards established under
chapter 601.
With respect to the violation of § 192.605(b)(8) (Item 1), Respondent submitted revised O&M
procedures that have been reviewed by the Director, who has recommended that the revised
procedures satisfy the terms of the proposed compliance order. Therefore, the terms of the
compliance order associated with Item 1 are not included herein.
With respect to the violation of § 192.616(a) (Item 2), Respondent submitted an overview of its
2018 Public Awareness program for the Carter Creek facilities, but had not submitted
documentation to the Western Region showing that the information had been delivered to the
affected public in time for the Region to review those materials prior to the issuance of this Final
Order. Therefore, pursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217,
4 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(d) states:
“(d) The operator’s program must specifically include provisions to educate the public,
appropriate government organizations, and persons engaged in excavation related activities
on:
(1) Use of a one-call notification system prior to excavation and other damage prevention
activities;
(2) Possible hazards associated with unintended releases from a gas pipeline
facility;
(3) Physical indications that such a release may have occurred;
(4) Steps that should be taken for public safety in the event of a gas pipeline release; and
(5) Procedures for reporting such an event.”



CPF No. 5-2018-1006
Page 4
Respondent is ordered to take the following actions to ensure compliance with the pipeline safety
regulations applicable to its operations:
1. With respect to the violation of § 192.616(a) (Item 2), Respondent must deliver
mailers to the affected public in 2018 that cover the provisions set forth in
§ 192.616(d) and submit a copy to the Western Region within 90 days of issuance of
this Order.
TransCanada submitted the requested documentation for this Item by letter dated October 3,
2018. Upon his determination that this Item has been satisfactorily completed, the Director will
provide written notification to the Respondent and close the case.
It is also requested that Respondent maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs
associated with fulfilling this Compliance Order and submit the total to the Director. It is
requested that these costs be reported in two categories: (1) total cost associated with
preparation/revision of plans, procedures, studies and analyses; and (2) total cost associated with
replacements, additions and other changes to pipeline infrastructure.
Failure to comply with this Order may result in the administrative assessment of civil penalties
not to exceed $200,000, as adjusted for inflation (49 C.F.R. § 190.223), for each violation for
each day the violation continues or in referral to the Attorney General for appropriate relief in a
district court of the United States.
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, no later than 20 days after receipt of service of this
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.
May 3, 2019
___________________________________ __________________________
Alan K. Mayberry Date Issued
Associate Administrator
for Pipeline Safety

520181006_Closure Letter_07222019_text.pdf

CERTIFIED MAIL - RETURN RECEIPT REQUESTED
July 22, 2019
Mr. Stan Chapman, III
Senior Vice Chairman & General Manager, US Natural Gas
TC Energy
700 Louisiana St
Houston, TX 77002
CPF 5-2018-1006
Closure Letter
Dear Mr. Chapman:
On May 3, 2019, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)
issued TransCanada Corporation, now TC Energy, a Final Order in the above-referenced case.
This Order included a Compliance Order requirement to take corrective actions on your
pipeline. Based on our review of the documentation you provided prior to this Final Order
dated October 3, 2018 it has been determined that you have complied with the terms of this
Order.
Accordingly, this case is now closed and no further action is contemplated with respect to the
matters involved in this case. Thank you for your cooperation in this matter.
Sincerely,
Dustin Hubbard
Director, Western Region
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
cc: PHP-60 Compliance Registry
PHP-500 G. Ogirima (#157978)
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