{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 52021037NOPV","title":"CITY OF GLENDALE, GLENDALE WATER & POWER — Notice of Probable Violation","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2021-09-17","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of probable violation citing 192.603(b), 192.605(a), 192.616(a), 192.807.","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-52021037nopv.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-52021037nopv.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-52021037nopv","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/52021037NOPV","body":"Notice of Probable Violation involving CITY OF GLENDALE, GLENDALE WATER & POWER. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.603(b),  192.605(a),  192.616(a),  192.807. The case was opened on 2021-09-17 and is reported as closed as of 2022-04-12. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n52021037NOPV_Closure Letter_04122022_(21-201448).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52021037NOPV/52021037NOPV_Closure%20Letter_04122022_(21-201448).pdf\n\n52021037NOPV_Closure Letter_04122022_(21-201448)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52021037NOPV/52021037NOPV_Closure%20Letter_04122022_(21-201448)_text.pdf\n\n52021037NOPV_Final Order_02282022_(21-201448).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52021037NOPV/52021037NOPV_Final%20Order_02282022_(21-201448).pdf\n\n52021037NOPV_Final Order_02282022_(21-201448)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52021037NOPV/52021037NOPV_Final%20Order_02282022_(21-201448)_text.pdf\n\n52021037NOPV_Operator Response to Notice_10132021_(21-201448).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52021037NOPV/52021037NOPV_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_10132021_(21-201448).pdf\n\n52021037NOPV_PCO_09172021_(21-201448).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52021037NOPV/52021037NOPV_PCO_09172021_(21-201448).pdf\n\n52021037NOPV_PCO_09172021_(21-201448)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52021037NOPV/52021037NOPV_PCO_09172021_(21-201448)_text.pdf\n\n52021037NOPV_Final Order_02282022_(21-201448)_text.pdf\n\nFebruary 28, 2022\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: myoung@glendaleca.gov\nMr. Mark Young\nGeneral Manager\nCity of Glendale, California, Glendale Water & Power\n613 E. Broadway, Suite 200\nGlendale, California 91206\nRe: CPF No. 5-2021-037-NOPV\nDear Mr. Young:\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 the City of Glendale, California, Glendale\nWater and Power to comply with the pipeline safety regulations. When the terms of the\ncompliance order have been completed, as determined by the Director, Western Region, this\nenforcement action will be closed. Service of the Final Order by e-mail is effective upon the\ndate of transmission and acknowledgment of receipt 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. Dustin Hubbard, Director, Western Region, Office of Pipeline Safety, PHMSA\nMr. Roubik Golanian, City Manager, Glendale Water & Power,\nrgolanian@glendaleca.gov\nMr. Rostamik Chetin, Mechanical Engineer II, Glendale Water & Power,\nrchetin@glendaleca.gov\nCONFIRMATION OF 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 )\nCity of Glendale, California, )\nGlendale Water & Power, ) CPF No. 5-2021-037-NOPV\n)\n)\n)\nRespondent. )\n__________________________________________)\nFINAL ORDER\nFrom April 27, 2021 through April 29, 2021, a representative of the California Public Utilities\nCommission, on behalf of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n(PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code (U.S.C.), inspected the City of\nGlendale, California, Glendale Water and Power’s (Glendale or Respondent) records for its\nScholl Landfill Gas Pipeline. Glendale operates a 5.5-mile natural gas transmission pipeline.1\nAs a result of the inspection, the Director, Western Region, OPS (Director), issued to\nRespondent, by letter dated September 17, 2021, a Notice of Probable Violation and Proposed\nCompliance Order (Notice). In accordance with 49 C.F.R. § 190.207, the Notice proposed\nfinding that Glendale had violated 49 C.F.R. §§ 192.603(b), 192.616(a), and 192.807 and\nproposed ordering Respondent to take certain measures to correct the alleged violations. The\nNotice also included one warning item pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 190.205, which required no\nfurther action, but warned the operator to correct the probable violation or face possible future\nenforcement action\nGlendale responded to the Notice by letter dated October 13, 2021 (Response). Glendale did not\ncontest the allegations of violation. In its Response, Glendale provided additional information,\nand requested modifications of the Proposed Compliance Order (PCO). Respondent did not\nrequest a hearing and therefore has waived its right to one.\nFINDINGS OF VIOLATION\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. Part 192, as follows:\nItem 2: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.603(b), which states:\n1 Pipeline Safety Violation Report (Violation Report), (September 17, 2021) (on file with PHMSA), at 1.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 5-2021-037-NOPV\nPage 2\n§ 192.603 General provisions.\n(a) . . . .\n(b) Each operator shall keep records necessary to administer the\nprocedures established under § 192.605.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.603(b) by failing to keep records\nnecessary to administer the procedures established under § 192.605. Specifically, the Notice\nalleged that Glendale failed to conduct an evaluation of its Public Awareness Program, as\nrequired by its Operations & Maintenance Procedures, Procedure #18.01: Public Awareness\n(Revised: September 2018).2 During the inspection, Glendale was unable to provide records\nestablishing that it had conducted the requisite evaluation.\nRespondent did not contest this allegation of violation. Accordingly, after considering the\nevidence, I find that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.603(b) by failing to keep records\nnecessary to administer the procedures established under § 192.605.\nItem 3: 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).\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(a) by failing to implement a\nwritten continuing public education program that follows the guidance provided in API RP 1162.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that Glendale failed to distribute public awareness brochures to\nstakeholders pursuant to API RP 1162 Section 5, and as required by Glendale’s Operations &\nMaintenance Procedures, Procedure #18.01: Public Awareness (Revised: September 2018).\nRespondent did not contest this allegation. Accordingly, after considering the evidence, I find\nthat Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.616(a) by failing to implement a written continuing\npublic education program that follows the guidance provided in API RP 1162.\nItem 4: The Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.807, which states:\n§ 192.807 Recordkeeping.\nEach operator shall maintain records that demonstrate compliance with\nthis subpart.\nThe Notice alleged that Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.807 by failing to maintain records\n2 See API RP 1162, Section 8 (providing guidance to operators on how to periodically evaluate their Public\nAwareness Programs) (incorporated by reference, see §§ 192.7(b)(5) and 192.616). Further, Respondent’s\nOperations & Maintenance Procedures were established under § 192.605.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 5-2021-037-NOPV\nPage 3\nthat demonstrate compliance with Part 192, Subpart N – Qualification of Pipeline Personnel.\nSpecifically, the Notice alleged that during the inspection Glendale was unable to produce\nrecords indicating the qualification of individuals who perform locate and mark activities, as\nrequired by § 192.805 of Subpart N.\nRespondent did not contest this allegation. Accordingly, after considering the evidence, I find\nthat Respondent violated 49 C.F.R. § 192.807 by failing to maintain records that demonstrate\ncompliance with Part 192, Subpart N – Qualification of Pipeline Personnel.\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 2, 3, and 4 in the Notice for\nviolations of 49 C.F.R. §§ 192.603(b), 192.616(a), and 192.807, 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 regard to the violation of § 192.603(b) (Item 2), Respondent requested the compliance\nterms be modified. The proposed compliance order (PCO) for Item 2 stated that “Glendale must\nconduct and submit the required Public Awareness Program Effectiveness evaluation to PHMSA\nwithin 180 days of issuance of the Final Order.” Glendale requested an extension of the\ncompliance deadline until after it receives feedback on the public awareness education materials\nit sent to the public, appropriate government organizations, and persons engaged in excavation-\nrelated activities (mailers). Glendale contended that it cannot complete an effectiveness\nevaluation until after it receives four years’ worth of feedback on these mailers.\nAfter evaluating Glendale’s response, I do not agree that the requested extension of the\ncompliance deadline is warranted. Notably, Glendale does not provide a date by which it will\nreceive the feedback, or how much additional time it will need after it receives the feedback to\nconduct its effectiveness evaluation. I am unable to grant an open-ended extension. Glendale\nmay use what it has already collected from previous mailers to complete an effectiveness\nevaluation. Further, nothing in this decision precludes the Director from granting an extension of\ntime to comply upon a written request timely submitted by the Respondent demonstrating good\ncause for an extension.\nGlendale also requested modification to the PCO to note that if the pipeline is abandoned prior to\nthe compliance deadline, then the company will not need to complete the PCO for Items 2, 3, and\n4. I agree with the second proposed modification to the PCO. The following sentence will be\nadded to the Compliance Order for Items 2, 3, and 4: “If Glendale chooses to abandon the\npipeline prior to the compliance deadline and submits documentation to the Director evidencing\nthat it has completed abandonment pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 192.727, it does not need to take the\nactions in this section.”\n\n\n\nCPF No. 5-2021-037-NOPV\nPage 4\nFor the above reasons, the Compliance Order is modified as set forth below.\nPursuant to the authority of 49 U.S.C. § 60118(b) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.217, Respondent is\nordered to take the following actions to ensure compliance with the pipeline safety regulations\napplicable to its operations:\n1. With respect to the violation of § 192.603(b) (Item 2), Respondent must:\nA. Conduct and submit the required Public Awareness Program Effectiveness\nevaluation to PHMSA within 180 days of issuance of the Final Order. If\nGlendale chooses to abandon the pipeline prior to the compliance deadline\nand submits documentation to the Director evidencing that it has\ncompleted abandonment pursuant to 49 C.F.R. § 192.727, it does not need\nto take the actions in this section.\n2. With respect to the violation of § 192.616(a) (Item 3), Respondent must:\nB. Distribute the Public Awareness messages to the affected stakeholder\ngroups and provide proof of distribution to PHMSA within 60 days of\nissuance of the Final Order. If Glendale chooses to abandon the pipeline\nprior to the compliance deadline and submits documentation to the\nDirector evidencing that it has completed abandonment pursuant to 49\nC.F.R. § 192.727, it does not need to take the actions in this section.\n3. With respect to the violation of § 192.807 (Item 4), Respondent must:\nC. Train and qualify the individuals who locate and mark the pipeline and\nprovide those records for inspection to PHMSA within 30 days of issuance\nof the Final Order. If Glendale chooses to abandon the pipeline prior to\nthe compliance deadline and submits documentation to the Director\nevidencing that it has completed abandonment pursuant to 49 C.F.R.\n§ 192.727, it does not need to take the actions in this section.\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.\nPHMSA requests 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 (see 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.\n\n\n\nCPF No. 5-2021-037-NOPV\nPage 5\nWARNING ITEM\nWith respect to Item 1, the Notice alleged a probable violation of Part 192, but identified it as a\nwarning item pursuant to § 190.205. The warning was for:\n49 C.F.R. § 192.605(a) (Item 1) ─ Respondent’s alleged failure to review and\nupdate its manual of written procedures at intervals not exceeding 15 months, but\nat least once each calendar year.\nIf OPS finds a violation of this provision in a subsequent inspection, Respondent may be subject\nto future enforcement action.\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. The written petition must be received no later than\n20 days after receipt of the Final Order by Respondent. Any petition submitted must contain a\nstatement of the issue(s) and meet all other requirements of 49 C.F.R. § 190.243. The terms of\nthe order, including corrective action, remain in effect unless the Associate Administrator, upon\nrequest, grants a stay.\nThe terms and conditions of this Final Order are effective upon service in accordance with 49\nC.F.R. § 190.5.\nFebruary 28, 2022\n___________________________________ __________________________\nAlan K. Mayberry Date Issued\nAssociate Administrator\nfor Pipeline Safety\n\n52021037NOPV_Closure Letter_04122022_(21-201448)_text.pdf\n\nVIA E-MAIL TO MR. ROUBIK GOLANIAN\nApril 12, 2022\nMr. Roubik Golanian\nCity Manager\nCity of Glendale, Glendale Water & Power\n613 E. Broadway, Room 200\nGlendale, CA 91206-4391\nCPF 5-2021-037-NOPV\nClosure Letter\nDear Mr. Golanian:\nOn February 28, 2022, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) issued to\nthe City of Glendale (Glendale) a Final Order in the above-referenced case. This Order included a\nCompliance Order, which noted that, if Glendale chose to abandon its pipeline, the terms of the\nCompliance Order would not need to be met. On March 16, 2022, Glendale confirmed that its gas\ntransmission pipeline had been abandoned and submitted photographic documentation of the\nabandonment. Based on our review of the documentation Glendale provided, it has been determined that\nGlendale has abandoned its pipeline and therefore, complied with the terms of this Order.\nAccordingly, this case is now closed and no further action is contemplated with respect to the matters\ninvolved 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 J. Dunphy (#21-201448)\nTerrence Eng, Program Manager, Gas Safety and Reliability Branch, California Public\nUtilities Commission\nMark Young, General Manager, Glendale Water & Power, myoung@glendaleca.gov\nMr. Rostamik Chetin, Mechanical Engineer II, Glendale Water & Power, rchetin@glendaleca.gov","truncated":false,"body_characters":16619}