PHMSA Report 20180099
PHMSA Report 20180099
Gas transmission and gathering incident in WINCHESTER, FRANKLIN County, TN. Reported cause: EQUIPMENT FAILURE. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 0 injuries, 6739 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: 20180099.
Operator ID: 4070.
Reported incident date: 9/11/2018 19:50.
Location detail: 109.14
Cause detail: MALFUNCTION OF CONTROL/RELIEF EQUIPMENT
Cause detail: ORIGINAL REPORT: AT 7:50 PM CENTRAL TIME SEPTEMBER 11, 2018, GAS CONTROL PERSONNEL ADVISED FIELD OPERATION PERSONNEL A "CALL ATTENDANT" ALARM HAD BEEN RECEIVED FOR THE ESTILL COMPRESSOR STATION NEAR WINCHESTER, TENNESSEE. THE STATION OPERATOR ARRIVED ON SITE TO FIND SUCTION AND DISCHARGE BLOCK VALVES OPEN FOR A COMPRESSOR UNIT AND THE UNIT CASE VENT VALVE OPEN WHICH WAS VENTING GAS THROUGH THE STATION BLOWDOWN SILENCER. THE OPERATOR MANUALLY CLOSED THE UNIT SUCTION AND DISCHARGE VALVES, ALLOWING THE CASE TO COMPLETELY BLOW DOWN, CLEARING THE ALARM AND RETURNING THE UNIT TO NORMAL OPERATING STATUS. THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE EVENT IS UNDER INVESTIGATION. SUPPLEMENTAL/FINAL REPORT: 48 HR NRC REPORT 1224528 THE CAUSE WAS LOOSE WIRING AND FAULTY RELAYS. TWO UNIT VALVE CONTROL RELAYS WERE INSPECTED AND REPLACED. IN ADDITION, LOOSE WIRE CONNECTIONS WERE TIGHTENED. THE UNIT VALVES WERE THEN OPERATED THROUGH SEVERAL AUTOMATIC AND MANUAL CYCLES WITH NO ISSUES. SUPPLEMENTAL/FINAL REPORT 10/14/19: THE CAUSE WAS FAULTY CELLS IN THE BATTERY WHICH RESULTED IN A DROP IN VOLTAGE WHICH PREVENTED VALVES FROM OPENING.
PHMSA trend classification: not significant, not serious.
PHMSA standardized cause: EQUIPMENT FAILURE — MALFUNCTION OF CONTROL/RELIEF EQUIPMENT.
PHMSA indexed costs: $20,217 reported total cost, $18,878.759 in 1984 dollars, $23,180.248 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.