NORTHERN NATURAL GAS CO
gas_transmission Incident — — April 19, 2023
Incident Information
| Incident Date | April 19, 2023 |
| Operator | NORTHERN NATURAL GAS CO |
| Commodity | NATURAL GAS |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 40.62880, -96.94096 |
Cause
| Cause | EXCAVATION DAMAGE |
| Subcause | PREVIOUS DAMAGE DUE TO EXCAVATION ACTIVITY |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $375,000 |
| Emergency Response | $10,000 |
| Other Costs | $25,000 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"AT 1347 HOURS, APRIL 19, 2023, A PIPELINE TECHNICIAN WAS PERFORMING A LEAK DETECTION SURVEY ON THE NEB42801 CRETE, NE, BRANCH LINE WHEN THE LEAK WAS DETECTED. THE GRADE 2 LEAK WAS WITHIN 220 YARDS OF THE CRETE HIGH SCHOOL, CRETE MIDDLE SCHOOL, AND SOME HOUSES. IT HAD A HIGH PROBABILITY OF GETTING MEDIA ATTENTION AND SO THE CALL TO THE NRC TO REPORT THE EVENT AS A POTENTIAL SAFETY RELATED CONDITION WAS JUSTIFIED. BECAUSE OF THE HIGH FLOW RATE DUE TO INDUSTRIAL LOAD ON THE LINE, THE DECISION TO INSTALL LINE STOPS WITH A BYPASS WAS MADE. THE USE OF A CONTRACTOR LINE STOP SERVICE CAUSED THE COST OF THE EVENT TO EXCEED THE $129,300 THRESHOLD, MAKING THE LEAK EVENT AN INCIDENT."
About This Pipeline Incident
Pipeline incident data is reported to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA). All significant incidents involving fatalities, injuries, or property damage over $50,000 must be reported.