{"operation":"document","citation":"CPF 52023032NOA","title":"BLACK HILLS SHOSHONE PIPELINE, LLC — Notice of Amendment","source_type":"enforcement","agency":"Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration","status":"historical","official":true,"published_on":"2023-07-19","effective_on":null,"summary":"CLOSED notice of amendment citing 192.631(b)(3), 192.631(c)(3), 192.631(c)(5), 192.631(e)(1), 192.631(e)(3), 192.631(e)(5), 192.631(h)(1), 192.631(h)(6).","machine_formats":{"json":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-52023032noa.json","markdown":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-52023032noa.md"},"app_url":"https://regulus.evalyn.ai/document/phmsa-enforcement-52023032noa","source_url":"https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-data/case/52023032NOA","body":"Notice of Amendment involving BLACK HILLS SHOSHONE PIPELINE, LLC. PHMSA's enforcement data identifies the cited regulations as 192.631(b)(3),  192.631(c)(3),  192.631(c)(5),  192.631(e)(1),  192.631(e)(3),  192.631(e)(5),  192.631(h)(1),  192.631(h)(6). The case was opened on 2023-07-19 and is reported as closed as of 2024-09-13. Open the official case record for notices, responses, orders, and the latest status.\n\nOfficial case documents:\n\n52023032NOA_Closure Letter_09132024_(22-239213).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52023032NOA/52023032NOA_Closure%20Letter_09132024_(22-239213).pdf\n\n52023032NOA_Closure Letter_09132024_(22-239213)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52023032NOA/52023032NOA_Closure%20Letter_09132024_(22-239213)_text.pdf\n\n52023032NOA_Notice of Amendment_07192023_(22-239213).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52023032NOA/52023032NOA_Notice%20of%20Amendment_07192023_(22-239213).pdf\n\n52023032NOA_Notice of Amendment_07192023_(22-239213)_text.pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52023032NOA/52023032NOA_Notice%20of%20Amendment_07192023_(22-239213)_text.pdf\n\n52023032NOA_Operator Response to Notice_08172023_(22-239213).pdf: https://primis.phmsa.dot.gov/enforcement-documents/52023032NOA/52023032NOA_Operator%20Response%20to%20Notice_08172023_(22-239213).pdf\n\n52023032NOA_Closure Letter_09132024_(22-239213)_text.pdf\n\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO: john.hill@blackhillscorp.com\nSeptember 13, 2024\nMr. John Hill\nVP of Natural Gas System Safety\nBlack Hills Energy\n7001 Mt. Rushmore Road\nP.O. Box 1400\nRapid City, SD 57709\nCPF 5-2023-032-NOA\nClosure Letter\nDear Mr. Hill:\nFrom April 25 through 29, 2022, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code, inspected Black\nHills Shoshone Pipeline, LLC (Black Hills) procedures for control room management in Council\nBluffs, Iowa. As a result of the inspection, Black Hills was issued a Notice of Amendment on\nJuly 19, 2023, which proposed amendment of your procedures.\nBlack Hills submitted its amended procedures on August 17, 2023. My staff reviewed the\namended procedures, and it appears that the inadequacies outlined in this Notice of Amendment\nhave been corrected.\nThis letter is to inform you no further action is necessary and this case is now closed. Thank you\nfor your cooperation.\nSincerely,\nDustin Hubbard\nDirector, Western Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\n\n\n\ncc: PHP-60 Compliance Registry\nPHP-500 J. Dunphy (#22-239213)\nRandy Seman, Director Gas Control – Randy.Seman@blackhillscorp.com\n\n52023032NOA_Notice of Amendment_07192023_(22-239213)_text.pdf\n\nNOTICE OF AMENDMENT\nVIA ELECTRONIC MAIL TO MR. JOHN HILL:\nJuly 19, 2023\nMr. John Hill\nVP of Natural Gas System Safety\nBlack Hills Energy\n7001 Mt. Rushmore Road\nPO Box 1400\nRapid City, SD 57709\nCPF 5-2023-032-NOA\nDear Mr. Hill:\nFrom April 25 through 29, 2022, a representative of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety\nAdministration (PHMSA), pursuant to Chapter 601 of 49 United States Code, inspected Black\nHills Shoshone Pipeline, LLC (Black Hills) procedures for control room management in Council\nBluffs, Iowa.\nOn the basis of the inspection, PHMSA has identified the apparent inadequacies found within\nBlack Hills plans or procedures, as described below:\n1. § 192.631 Control room management.\n(a) . . . .\n(c) Provide adequate information. Each operator must provide its controllers with\nthe information, tools, processes and procedures necessary for the controllers to\ncarry out the roles and responsibilities the operator has defined by performing each\nof the following:\n(1) . . . .\n\n\n\n(3) Test and verify an internal communication plan to provide adequate means for\nmanual operation of the pipeline safely, at least once each calendar year, but at\nintervals not to exceed 15 months;\nBlack Hills procedures were inadequate to assure the safe operation of a pipeline facility.\nSpecifically, Black Hills Operations & Maintenance 135 Control Room Management, Section\n6.4 Internal Communications Plan, did not contain procedures or references to procedures for the\nactual manual operation of the pipeline. Section 6.4 B.1.b simply stated \"[i]f required, notice of\npotential manual operation of affected area.\" Black Hills must amend its procedure to provide\ninstructions on how to operate the pipeline manually or provide references to the procedures so\nthat the controllers will know how to operate the pipeline manually.\n2. § 192.631 Control room management.\n(a) . . . .\n(b) Roles and responsibilities. Each operator must define the roles and\nresponsibilities of a controller during normal, abnormal, and emergency operating\nconditions. To provide for a controller's prompt and appropriate response to\noperating conditions, an operator must define each of the following:\n(1) . . . .\n(3) A controller's role during an emergency, even if the controller is not the first to\ndetect the emergency, including the controller's responsibility to take specific\nactions and to communicate with others;\nBlack Hills procedures were inadequate to assure the safe operation of a pipeline facility. Black\nHills Operations & Maintenance 135 Control Room Management, Section 5 Roles and\nResponsibilities, did not contain instructions for controllers in the event of evacuation of the\ncontrol room. Black Hills must amend its procedure to provide instructions on controller actions\nin the event of evacuation of the control room.\n3. § 192.631 Control room management.\n(a) . . . .\n(c) Provide adequate information. Each operator must provide its controllers with\nthe information, tools, processes and procedures necessary for the controllers to\ncarry out the roles and responsibilities the operator has defined by performing each\nof the following:\n(1) …\n(5) Establish and implement procedures for when a different controller assumes\nresponsibility, including the content of information to be exchanged…\nBlack Hills procedures were inadequate to assure the safe operation of a pipeline facility. Black\nHills O&M 135 Control Room Management, Section 6.6 Shift Change, failed to establish and\nimplement procedures for when a different controller assumes responsibility, including the\ncontent of information to be exchanged. Section 6.6 shift change simply stated \"[a]ll shift\nchange documentation shall be communicated in writing (electronically or handwritten if\n\n\n\nrequired) and may also be communicated verbally.” In practice, Black Hills uses two electronic\nshift change logging systems, one for the transmission pipelines console and one for the\ndistribution pipelines console. Black Hills must amend its procedure to provide instructions on\nthe use of the two electronic shift change logging systems including the content of information to\nbe exchanged.\n4. § 192.631 Control room management.\n(a) . . . .\n(e) Alarm management. Each operator using a SCADA system must have a written\nalarm management plan to provide for effective controller response to alarms. An\noperator's plan must include provisions to:\n(1) Review SCADA safety-related alarm operations using a process that ensures\nalarms are accurate and support safe pipeline operations;\nBlack Hills procedures are inadequate to assure the safe operation of a pipeline facility. Black\nHills Operations & Maintenance 135 Control Room Management, Section 8, did not specify\nprocedures and practices for managing stale or unreliable data. Black Hills must amend its\nprocedure to provide instructions and guidance for managing stale or unreliable data.\n5. § 192.631 Control room management.\n(a) . . . .\n(e) Alarm management. Each operator using a SCADA system must have a written\nalarm management plan to provide for effective controller response to alarms. An\noperator's plan must include provisions to:\n(1) . . . .\n(3) Verify the correct safety-related alarm set-point values and alarm descriptions\nat least once each calendar year, but at intervals not to exceed 15 months;\nBlack Hills procedures were inadequate to assure the safe operation of a pipeline facility. Black\nHills Operations & Maintenance 135 Control Room Management, Section 8, did not have\nprocedures to clearly address how and to what degree controllers can change alarm limits or\nsetpoints, inhibit alarms or take points off-scan. In practice Black Hills has a good\ndocumentation and monitoring system for changing alarm limits or setpoints, inhibiting alarms,\nor taking points off-scan. Black Hills must amend its procedure to provide instructions and\nguidance on the documentation and monitoring system for changing alarm limits or setpoints, or\ninhibit alarms, or take points off-scan.\n6. § 192.631 Control room management.\n(a) . . . .\n(e) Alarm management. Each operator using a SCADA system must have a written\nalarm management plan to provide for effective controller response to alarms. An\noperator's plan must include provisions to:\n(1) . . . .\n\n\n\n(5) Monitor the content and volume of general activity being directed to and\nrequired of each controller at least once each calendar year, but at intervals not to\nexceed 15 months, that will assure controllers have sufficient time to analyze and\nreact to incoming alarms;\nBlack Hills procedures were inadequate to the assure safe operation of a pipeline facility. Black\nHills Operations & Maintenance 135 Control Room Management, Section 8.4 Activity Review,\nfailed to address the full content and volume of general activity of the controller. Specifically,\nthe process did not address phone calls, administrative activities, training time and other non-\npipeline control activities a controller may conduct during a shift. Black Hills must amend its\nprocedure to provide instructions and guidance on the documentation and monitoring of general\nactivity being directed to and required of each controller.\n7. § 192.631 Control room management.\n(a) . . . .\n(h) Training. Each operator must establish a controller training program and\nreview the training program content to identify potential improvements at least\nonce each calendar year, but at intervals not to exceed 15 months. An operator's\nprogram must provide for training each controller to carry out the roles and\nresponsibilities defined by the operator. In addition, the training program must\ninclude the following elements:\n(1) Responding to abnormal operating conditions likely to occur simultaneously or\nin sequence;\nBlack Hills procedures were inadequate to assure safe operation of a pipeline facility. Black\nHills Operations & Maintenance 135 Control Room Management, Section 11 Controller\nTraining, failed to identify abnormal operating conditions that are likely to occur simultaneously\nor in sequence. Additionally, Section 11 failed to adequately describe the Black Hills controller\ntraining program. Section 11 provided a general training policy but did not contain the details of\nthe controller training or reference other documents that do. In practice, the Black Hills training\nprogram follows a training syllabus that uses computer based training, reading of individual\nsystem description manuals, 1to1 training on the console and exams. Black Hills must amend its\nprocedure to identify abnormal operating conditions that are likely to occur simultaneously or in\nsequence and document its controller training practices and documentation methods.\n8. § 192.631 Control room management.\n(a) . . . .\n(h) Training. Each operator must establish a controller training program and\nreview the training program content to identify potential improvements at least\nonce each calendar year, but at intervals not to exceed 15 months. An operator's\nprogram must provide for training each controller to carry out the roles and\nresponsibilities defined by the operator. In addition, the training program must\ninclude the following elements:\n(1) . . . .\n\n\n\n(6) Control room team training and exercises that include both controllers and\nother individuals, defined by the operator, who would reasonably be expected to\noperationally collaborate with controllers (control room personnel) during normal,\nabnormal or emergency situations. Operators must comply with the team training\nrequirements under this paragraph by no later than January 23, 2018.\nBlack Hills procedures were inadequate to the assure safe operation of a pipeline facility. Black\nHills Operations & Maintenance 135 Control Room Management, Section 11 Controller\nTraining, failed to identify individuals, defined by the operator, who would reasonably be\nexpected to operationally collaborate with controllers (control room personnel) during normal,\nabnormal or emergency situations. Specifically, Section 11.2 A contained a general list of\nfunctional groups within Black Hills but failed to identify the specific positions within those\nfunctional groups that would collaborate with the controllers. Additionally, Section 11 failed to\ndefine the frequency of new and recurring team training. Black Hills must amend its procedure\nto identify individuals who would reasonably be expected to operationally collaborate with\ncontrollers during normal, abnormal or emergency situations and define the frequency with\nwhich the team training will take place.\nResponse to this Notice\nThis Notice is provided pursuant to 49 U.S.C. § 60108(a) and 49 C.F.R. § 190.206. Enclosed as\npart of this Notice is a document entitled Response Options for Pipeline Operators in\nCompliance Proceedings.\nPlease refer to this document and note the response options. Be advised that all material you\nsubmit in response to this enforcement action is subject to being made publicly available. If you\nbelieve that any portion of your responsive material qualifies for confidential treatment under 5\nU.S.C. 552(b), along with the complete original document you must provide a second copy of\nthe document with the portions you believe qualify for confidential treatment redacted and an\nexplanation of why you believe the redacted information qualifies for confidential treatment\nunder 5 U.S.C. 552(b).\nFollowing the receipt of this Notice, you have 30 days to submit written comments, revised\nprocedures, or a request for a hearing under § 190.211. If you do not respond within 30 days of\nreceipt of this Notice, this constitutes a waiver of your right to contest the allegations in this\nNotice and authorizes the Associate Administrator for Pipeline Safety to find facts as alleged in\nthis Notice without further notice to you and to issue an Order Directing Amendment. If your\nplans or procedures are found inadequate as alleged in this Notice, you may be ordered to amend\nyour plans or procedures to correct the inadequacies (49 C.F.R. § 190.206). If you are not\ncontesting this Notice, we propose that you submit your amended procedures to my office within\n30 days of receipt of this Notice. This period may be extended by written request for good\ncause. Once the inadequacies identified herein have been addressed in your amended\nprocedures, this enforcement action will be closed.\n\n\n\nIt is requested (not mandated) that Black Hills maintain documentation of the safety\nimprovement costs associated with fulfilling this Notice of Amendment (preparation/revision of\nplans, procedures) and submit the total to Dustin Hubbard, Director, Western Region, Pipeline\nand Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. In correspondence concerning this matter,\nplease refer to CPF 5-2023-032-NOA and, for each document you submit, please provide a copy\nin electronic format whenever possible.\nSincerely,\nDustin Hubbard\nDirector, Western Region\nPipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration\nEnclosure: Response Options for Pipeline Operators in Enforcement Proceedings\ncc: PHP-60 Compliance Registry\nPHP-500 J. Dunphy (#22-239213)\nRandy Seman, Director Gas Control – Randy.Seman@blackhillscorp.com","truncated":false,"body_characters":15885}