SAN DIEGO GAS & ELECTRIC CO — Gas transmission and gathering — incident on 2018-03-07

Gas transmission and gathering incident in SAN DIEGO, SAN DIEGO County, CA. Reported cause: EXCAVATION DAMAGE. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 0 injuries, 1324 NATURAL GAS released, $265,000 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: 20180038.

Operator ID: 18112.

Reported incident date: 3/7/2018 10:43.

Location detail: 111+88.00

Cause detail: EXCAVATION DAMAGE BY THIRD PARTY

Cause detail: EXCAVATION ISSUE

Cause detail: IMPROPER BACKFILLING PRACTICES

Cause detail: ON MARCH 7, 2018 AT APPROXIMATELY 10:43 AM, A THIRD-PARTY SUBCONTRACTOR STRUCK A 20-INCH GAS STEEL TRANSMISSION LINE WHILE PERFORMING DIRECTIONAL BORING. THIS RESULTED IN AN ESCAPE OF GAS. CREWS RESPONDED AND WERE ABLE TO CONTROL THE GAS THROUGH CLOSING VALVES AT NEARBY REGULATOR STATIONS. THERE WERE NO INJURIES THAT RESULTED FROM THIS INCIDENT. INVESTIGATION REVEALED THAT PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT, THE THIRD-PARTY SUBCONTRACTOR HAD A USA TICKET WHICH EXPIRED ON MARCH 5, 2018. THE LINE HAD BEEN PROPERLY MARKED BY AN SDG&E CONTRACTOR. AT THE TIME OF THE INCIDENT, THE THIRD-PARTY SUBCONTRACTOR DID NOT HAVE A VALID USA TICKET FOR THE EXCAVATION ACTIVITIES PERFORMED. IN ADDITION, THE THIRD-PARTY SUBCONTRACTOR FAILED TO REQUEST A STAND-BY FROM D SDG&E WHICH IS REQUIRED WHEN EXCAVATING NEAR HIGH PRESSURE GAS FACILITIES. THIS INCIDENT WAS REPORTED TO DOT AND CPUC DUE TO ESTIMATED DAMAGE AMOUNT EXCEEDING $50,000. FOR ANY FURTHER QUESTIONS, CONTACT KHOA LE AT (626) 893-4536.

PHMSA trend classification: significant incident, not serious.

PHMSA standardized cause: EXCAVATION DAMAGE — THIRD PARTY EXCAVATION DAMAGE.

PHMSA indexed costs: $411,658 reported total cost, $201,961.951 in 1984 dollars, $483,927.231 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.