# CPN PIPELINE COMPANY — Notice of Amendment

- **operation:** document
- **citation:** CPF 52022009NOA
- **title:** CPN PIPELINE COMPANY — Notice of Amendment
- **source type:** enforcement
- **agency:** Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
- **status:** historical
- **official:** true
- **published on:** 2022-07-18
- **effective on:** Not available
- **summary:** CLOSED notice of amendment citing 192.605(b)(12), 192.605(b)(8).
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- **source url:** https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/52022009NOA
**body:**

Notice of Amendment involving CPN PIPELINE COMPANY. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.605(b)(12),  192.605(b)(8). The case was opened on 2022-07-18 and is reported as closed as of 2022-09-27. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.

Official case documents:

52022009NOA_Closure Letter_09272022_(21-201438).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52022009NOA/52022009NOA_Closure%20Letter_09272022_(21-201438).pdf

52022009NOA_Closure Letter_09272022_(21-201438)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52022009NOA/52022009NOA_Closure%20Letter_09272022_(21-201438)_text.pdf

52022009NOA_Notice of Amendment_07182022_(21-201438).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52022009NOA/52022009NOA_Notice%20of%20Amendment_07182022_(21-201438).pdf

52022009NOA_Notice of Amendment_07182022_(21-201438)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52022009NOA/52022009NOA_Notice%20of%20Amendment_07182022_(21-201438)_text.pdf

52022009NOA_Operator Response to Notice_08172022_(21-201438).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52022009NOA/52022009NOA_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_08172022_(21-201438).pdf

52022009NOA_Closure Letter_09272022_(21-201438)_text.pdf

VIA E-MAIL TO MR. CHARLES GATES
September 27, 2022
Mr. Charles Gates
Executive VP of Power Operations
Calpine Company
717 Texas Avenue, Suite 1000
Houston, TX 77002
CPF 5-2022-009-NOA
Closure Letter
Dear Mr. Gates:
From November 15 through 17, 2021, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety
Administration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code, inspected CPN Pipeline
Company’s (CPN) written procedures for control room management in Houston, Texas.1 As a result of
the inspection, CPN was issued a Notice of Amendment on July 18, 2022, which proposed amendment of
your procedures.
CPN submitted its amended procedures on August 17, 2022. My staff reviewed the amended procedures,
and it appears that the inadequacies outlined in this Notice of Amendment have been corrected.
This letter is to inform you no further action is necessary and this case is now closed. Thank you for your
cooperation.
Sincerely,
Dustin Hubbard
Director, Western Region
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
cc: PHP-60 Compliance Registry
PHP-500 J. Dunphy (#21-201438)
1 CPN is a subsidiary of Calpine Company.

52022009NOA_Notice of Amendment_07182022_(21-201438)_text.pdf

NOTICE OF AMENDMENT
VIA E-MAIL TO MR. CHARLES GATES
July 18, 2022
Mr. Charles Gates
Executive VP of Power Operations
Calpine Company
717 Texas Avenue, Suite 1000
Houston, TX 77002
CPF 5-2022-009-NOA
Dear Mr. Gates:
From November 15 through 17, 2021, representatives of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials
Safety Administration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code, inspected
CPN Pipeline Company’s (CPN) written procedures for control room management in Houston,
Texas.1
On the basis of the inspection, PHMSA has identified these apparent inadequacies found within
CPN’s plans or procedures, as described below:
1. § 192.605 - Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.
(a) …
(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.
(12) Implementing the applicable control room management procedures required
by § 192.631.
1 CPN is a subsidiary of Calpine Company.



CPN’s procedures are inadequate to assure safe operation of a pipeline facility. Specifically,
CPN’s Control Room Management Plan (Aug. 2020), Section 3.11.2 Good Practice Guidelines
for Work Environment note that consideration should be given to “[a]llow time for
communication at shift handovers.”2 CPN’s procedures, however, fail to establish what should
be communicated during shift handovers. Shift change procedures that explain what information
must be exchanged between outgoing and incoming controllers promotes alertness and enhances
capabilities for effective decision-making. CPN must amend its Control Room Management
Plan to establish and implement procedures for when a different controller assumes
responsibility, including the content of information to be exchanged. The procedures should also
note that shift changes are documented in CPN’s Geo SCADA Journal.
2. § 192.605 - Procedural manual for operations, maintenance, and emergencies.
(a) …
(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…
CPN’s procedures are inadequate to assure safe operation of a pipeline facility. Specifically,
CPN’s manual does not include procedures for 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, as
required by §192.605(b)(8). CPN’s Control Room Management Plan (Aug. 2020) Section 3.13
Effectiveness of Training does not contain adequate metrics to measure fatigue mitigation
program efficacy or a requirement to improve the program if deficiencies are found. Although
Section 3.13 lists certain metrics, such as reports of increased fatigue and increased use of
fatigue mitigation tactics, the procedures do not describe how many reports of increased fatigue
are problematic, or when the use of fatigue mitigation tactics becomes concerning and requires
additional action. CPN must amend its procedures to establish data measurement methods for
the fatigue management program review, including a requirement to identify deficiencies, and
make modifications when deficiencies are found.
Response to this Notice
This Notice is provided pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60108(a) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.206. Enclosed as
part of this Notice is a document entitled Response Options for Pipeline Operators in
Compliance Proceedings.
2 See also Section 1.7 Definitions, noting that a controller’s “general activity” includes but is not limited to
“conducting shift change.”
2



Please refer to this document and note the response options. 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).
Following the receipt of this Notice, you have 30 days to submit written comments, revised
procedures, or a request for a hearing under §190.211. If you do not respond within 30 days of
receipt of this Notice, this constitutes a waiver of your right to contest the allegations in this
Notice and authorizes the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as alleged in
this Notice without further notice to you and to issue an Order Directing Amendment. If your
plans or procedures are found inadequate as alleged in this Notice, you may be ordered to amend
your plans or procedures to correct the inadequacies (49 C.F.R. § 190.206). If you are not
contesting this Notice, we propose that you submit your amended procedures to my office within
30 days of receipt of this Notice. This period may be extended by written request for good
cause. Once the inadequacies identified herein have been addressed in your amended
procedures, this enforcement action will be closed.
It is requested (not mandated) that CPN maintain documentation of the safety improvement costs
associated with fulfilling this Notice of Amendment (preparation/revision of plans, procedures)
and submit the total to Dustin Hubbard, Director, Western Region, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Administration. In correspondence concerning this matter, please refer to CPF
5-2022-009-NOA and, for each document you submit, please provide a copy in electronic format
whenever possible.
Sincerely,
Dustin Hubbard
Director, Western Region
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration
Enclosure: Response Options for Pipeline Operators in Enforcement Proceedings
cc: PHP-60 Compliance Registry
J. Dunphy (#21-201438)
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