TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE CO (EL PASO) — Gas transmission and gathering — incident on 2011-09-21

Gas transmission and gathering incident in WINCHESTER, CLARK County, KY. Reported cause: EXCAVATION DAMAGE. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 0 injuries, 50000 NATURAL GAS released, $600 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: 20110377.

Operator ID: 19160.

Reported incident date: 9/21/2011 0:09.

Location detail: 3.70

Cause detail: PREVIOUS DAMAGE DUE TO EXCAVATION ACTIVITY

Cause detail: MISCELLANEOUS ROOT CAUSES

Cause detail: PREVIOUS DAMAGE

Cause detail: TENNESSEE GAS PIPELINE (TGP) COMPANY'S GAS CONTROL BEGAN RECEIVING PHONE CALLS FROM LAND OWNERS ABOUT A PIPELINE RUPTURE IN THE COMMUNITY OF TRAPP NEAR CLAY CITY, KY, SHORTLY AFTER MIDNIGHT ON SEPTEMBER 21, 2011. RESPONDING TGP PERSONNEL DISCOVERED THAT A FAILURE HAD OCCURRED IN THE HOWARD CREEK CROSSING ON LINE 100-2 AT 105-2+3.70. POST INCIDENT INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT EXCAVATION EQUIPMENT HAD BEEN USED A FEW DAYS PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT AT THE CREEK CROSSING. MARKS ON THE PIPE INDICATED STRIKES BY THE EXCAVATION EQUIPMENT, LEAVING GOUGES ON THE PIPE'S SURFACE. METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS CONFIRMED THE INITIAL FIELD CONCLUSION THAT THE FAILURE RESULTED FROM MECHANICAL DAMAGE TO THE PIPE. THE FAILED PIPELINE HAS NOT BEEN REPAIRED. SINCE IT IS NOT NEEDED FOR MAINTAINING SERVICE UNDER CURRENT LOAD DEMANDS, REPAIR IS DELAYED UNTIL OPPORTUNITY FOR FAVORABLE WEATHER.

PHMSA trend classification: significant incident, not serious.

PHMSA standardized cause: EXCAVATION DAMAGE — PREVIOUS DAMAGE DUE TO EXCAVATION.

PHMSA indexed costs: $198,100 reported total cost, $138,557.044 in 1984 dollars, $171,849.019 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.