Incidenthistorical
PHMSA Report 19980151
EXPLORER PIPELINE CO — Hazardous liquid — incident on 1998-09-23
Current as of 1998-09-23 Government source
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Hazardous liquid incident in FANNIN County, TX. Reported cause: FAILED PIPE. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 0 injuries, 20 OIL AND GASOLINE released, $120,000 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: 19980151.
Operator ID: 4805.
Reported incident date: 19980923.
Location detail: 2 MILES NORTH AND 1/2 MILE WEST OF INTERSECTION OF HIGHWAY 69 AND COUNTY ROAD 896, NEAR LEONARD, TEXAS.
Cause detail: ON SEPTEMBER 23, 1998 EXPLORER'S MAINTENANCE CONTRACTOR BEGAN EXCAVATION ALONGTHE 28" PIPELINE FOLLOWING DISCOVERY OF REFINED PRODUCT IN AN OLD ABANDONEDHAND-DUG WATER WELL LOCATED 75 FEET EAST OF THE PIPELINE NEAR LEONARD, TEXAS.THERE WERE NO OTHER VISIBLE SIGNS OF RELEASED PRODUCT IN THE VICINITY, SOEXCAVATION ALONG THE PIPELINE RIGHT-OF-WAY WAS STARTED TO LOCATE A POSSIBLELEAK. AT APPROXIMATELY 1015 HOURS ON SEPTEMBER 23, 1998 PRODUCT WASDISCOVERED AT A LOCATION 150 FEET SOUTH OF THE ABANDONED WATER WELL SIT.VACUUM TRUCKS WERE ON SITE WHILE EXCAVATION CONTINUED UNTIL THE SOURCE OF THELEAK WAS DETERMINED TO BE A SMALL CRACK ON THE BOTTOM OF THE 28" PIPE WHERE ITWAS RESTING ON ROCK. THE LINE WAS SHUT DOWN AT 1040 HOURS SEPTEMBER 24, 1998,A FULL ENCIRCLEMENT BOLT-ON PLIDCO SPLIT SLEEVE INSTALLED AND THE LINE PLACEDBACK IN OPERATION AT 1412 HOURS THE SAME DAY. AT 24-FOOT SECTION OF THEDEFECTIVE PIPE WAS REMOVED AND REPLACED ON OCTOBER 15, 1998. CLEANUPACTIVITIES ARE BEING COORDINATED WITH THE TNRCC.
PHMSA trend classification: significant incident, not serious.
PHMSA standardized cause: MATERIAL/WELD/EQUIP FAILURE — UNSPECIFIED PIPE BODY OR SEAM.
PHMSA indexed costs: $120,000 reported total cost, $83,813.818 in 1984 dollars, $206,407.638 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.
This material provides agency context. It does not replace binding regulatory text, and its legal effect depends on the underlying authority and facts.