ATMOS PIPELINE - TEXAS — Gas transmission and gathering — incident on 2017-11-15

Gas transmission and gathering incident in BOGATA, RED RIVER County, TX. Reported cause: EXCAVATION DAMAGE. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 0 injuries, 4537 NATURAL GAS released, $0 reported property damage. Operator-reported incident data submitted to PHMSA, generally within 30 days. Records may be supplemented or corrected and do not represent final agency causal findings.

Report number: 20170122.

Operator ID: 31978.

Reported incident date: 11/15/2017 8:51.

Location detail: 92+07

Cause detail: EXCAVATION DAMAGE BY OPERATOR'S CONTRACTOR (SECOND PARTY)

Cause detail: LOCATING ISSUE

Cause detail: FACILITY NOT MARKED DUE TO INCOMPLETE MARKS AT DAMAGE LOCATION

Cause detail: ADDITIONAL NRC REPORT NO. 1197541 ON NOVEMBER 15, 2017, AN ATMOS ENERGY CONTRACTOR HIT THE LINE AT THE JOHNTOWN BLOCK VALVE/JOHNTOWN TAP YARD. THE CONTRACTOR WAS HIRED BY ATMOS ENERGY TO DO THE BORES ON THE LINE O38-1 LINE REPLACEMENT. THE CONTRACTOR DRILLED A 2.5 INCH HOLE IN THE LINE AT THE STATION LISTED. AS PART OF ITS NORMAL OPERATIONS, ATMOS ENERGY HAS A PROGRAM IN PLACE TO MONITOR AND TAKE APPROPRIATE ACTION AS NEEDED WITH CONTRACTORS WHO DAMAGE COMPANY ASSETS DURING EXCAVATION. THIS DAMAGE PREVENTION PROGRAM IS APPLICABLE TO THIS CONTRACTOR AND WAS FOLLOWED AND APPLIED WITH REGARD TO THIS INCIDENT. THE PROGRAM INVOLVES, AMONG OTHER ACTIONS: (1) AUDITS OF CURRENT EXCAVATION PROJECTS OF 2ND PARTY CONTRACTORS TO REVIEW COMPLIANCE WITH PIPELINE LOCATING AND DAMAGE PREVENTION PROCEDURES; (2) MEETINGS WITH 2ND PARTY CONTRACTORS TO DISCUSS AT-FAULT DAMAGES AND DEVELOP ROOT-CAUSE ANALYSIS OF THE DAMAGES; (3) PROVISION OF COACHING TO CONTRACTORS OF DAMAGE PREVENTION MEASURES REGARDING THE IMPORTANCE OF PROPER LOCATING PROCEDURES AND SAFE EXCAVATION PRACTICES WITHIN THE TOLERANCE ZONE; AND (4) PUBLIC LIAISON MEETINGS AND MOCK LINE STRIKES CONDUCTED ANNUALLY FOR EMERGENCY RESPONDERS AND EXCAVATORS WITHIN OUR SERVICE AREA, EMPHASIZING PROPER USE OF THE 811 NOTIFICATION SYSTEM, SAFE EXCAVATION PRACTICES, AND RESPONSE ACTIONS TO TAKE IN THE EVENT OF A PIPELINE INCIDENT.

PHMSA trend classification: not significant, not serious.

PHMSA standardized cause: EXCAVATION DAMAGE — OPERATOR/CONTRACTOR EXCAVATION DAMAGE.

PHMSA indexed costs: $79,121 reported total cost, $44,507.239 in 1984 dollars, $94,766.023 in current-year dollars.

PHMSA trend flags, standardized causes, and indexed costs are analytical fields added to operator-reported incident data. They do not represent final agency causal findings.