KINDER MORGAN TEXAS PIPELINE CO

Incident Narrative

ON OCTOBER 4, 2020 THE KINDER MORGAN TEXAS PIPELINE (KMTP) 24-INCH INDEX 85 PIPELINE EXPERIENCED AN IN-SERVICE FAILURE RESULTING IN A PIPELINE RUPTURE WITH NO FIRE. THE SEQUENCE OF EVENTS IS BELOW. 7:41AM LANDOWNER 1 CALLED OPERATOR 1 SPEAKING ABOUT NOISE 7:44AM OPERATOR 1 BEGAN DISPATCH PROCESS 7:44AM LOW ALARM RECEIVED AT PIN 42680 4367 REGULATOR 7:47AM OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR CALLED OPERATOR 1 7:50AM LOW LOW PRESSURE ALARM RECEIVED AT NELSON CS, GAS CONTROL NOTIFIED OPERATOR 1 7:51AM OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR DISPATCHED OPERATOR 2 TO MLV 4364 7:52AM OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR DISPATCHED OPERATOR 3 TO THE PLANT 7:53AM OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR DISPATCHED OPERATOR 4 TO THE PLANT 7:54AM OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR DISPATCHED OPERATOR 5 TO MLV 4367 7:55AM OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR NOTIFIED OPERATIONS MANAGER 7:55AM GAS CONTROL RECEIVED NOTIFICATION FROM LANDOWNER 2 OF A RUPTURE NEAR NELSON CS/GOODRICH AREA 8:00AM OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR INITIATED ERL (EMERGENCY RESPONSE LINE) PROCESS. GAS CONTROL SENT ERL CALL @8:10 POSSIBLE LEAK AND NOTIFIED GAS CONTROL MANAGER ON CALL 8:01AM OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR DIRECTED OPERATOR 6 TO SHUT IN ALL VALVES TIED TO INDEX 85 AT THE PLANT 8:05AM OPERATOR 1 ARRIVED AT TRINITY RIVER BRIDGE. GAS WAS BLOWING FROM THE NORTH RIVER BANK. DPS TROOPER AND GOODRICH FIRE CHIEF WERE ON SITE. DPS HAD STOPPED ALL TRAFFIC ON US 59. 8:10AM OPERATOR 1 NOTIFIED OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR THAT DPS HAD SHUT DOWN BOTH SIDES OF HWY 59 AND RESIDENTS WERE BEING EVACUATED. (KMTP HAS NOT BEEN ABLE TO CONFIRM THAT EVACUATIONS WERE IN FACT ORDERED, SEE ANSWER TO A23.) 8:13AM GAS CONTROL SHUT IN DAYTON STORAGE 200 MMBTU INJECTION. 8:17AM OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR DISPATCHED PERSONNEL TO GOODRICH PLANT (OPERATOR 6), GOODRICH STATION (OPERATOR 1), HWY 223 MLBV (OPERATOR 5), AND PELICAN RD. MLBV (OPERATOR 2). 8:22AM GAS CONTROL NOTIFIED NGPL, MIDCOASTAL, AND TEJAS THAT THEY WERE GOING TO HAVE TO SHUT IN 8:24AM MLV 4367 AND REGULATOR 10IN BYPASSES CLOSED 8:27AM INITIAL REPORT MADE TO NRC (#1288965) 8:31AM GAS CONTROL SENT ERL+ CALL @ 8:40AM KMTP LINE RUPTURE 8:41AM PIN 41835 WELL CONNECT SUPPLYING GAS TO INDEX 85 SHUT IN BY OPERATOR 6 8:43AM OPERATOR 6 REPORTED INDEX 85 SHUT IN AT PLANT 8:51AM INDEX 85 BLOWN DOWN PER ONSITE FIELD PERSONNEL (OPERATOR 1) 9:40AM OPERATIONS CONFIRMED KMTP INDEX 85 24IN LINE RUPTURE LOCATED ON THE NORTH BANK OF THE TRINITY RIVER AND SOUTH OR SUCTION SIDE OF NELSON CS. OPERATIONS SHUT IN MLBV HWY 223 AND NELSON CS SHUT IN. 9:47AM GAS CONTROL SENT ERL + UPDATE INFO ONLY, LINE ISOLATED, INVESTIGATION UNDERWAY. REPORTABLE TO NRC AND TRRC GAS VOLUME LOSS. ALL THE PIECES OF PIPE SURROUNDING THE ORIGIN PIPE WERE FOUND, ANALYZED, AND WERE WITHIN APPLICABLE SPECIFICATIONS. IN ADDITION THERE WERE NO OPERATING OR MAINTENANCE DEFICIENCIES IDENTIFIED. A DEFINITIVE METALLURGICAL ROOT CAUSE OF THE FAILURE COULD NOT BE DETERMINED BECAUSE THE PIECE OF PIPE CONTAINING THE ORIGIN OF THE RUPTURE WAS NOT FOUND DESPITE AN EXTENSIVE SEARCH. WHILE NO DEFINITIVE ROOT CAUSE WAS DETERMINED, USING THE GEOLOGICAL, METEOROLOGICAL, SITE-GATHERED DATA AND HISTORICAL DATA, KINDER MORGAN TEXAS PIPELINE (KMTP) CONDUCTED EXTENSIVE COMPUTER MODELING AND IDENTIFIED EARTH MOVEMENT OF THE SOIL SURROUNDING THE PIPE AS THE MOST PLAUSIBLE CAUSE OF THE RUPTURE. ALTHOUGH EVIDENCE OF CIRCUMFERENTIAL SCC WAS NOT OBSERVED IN THE ILI DATA REVIEW OR METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS PERFORMED ON THE AVAILABLE PIPE, IT CANNOT BE DEFINITIVELY RULED OUT AS A PLAUSIBLE CONTRIBUTING FACTOR OR CAUSE OF THE FAILURE. THE REPAIR AND REPLACEMENT TEAM HAS DETERMINED THAT THE REPAIR OF THE KMTP INDEX 85 PIPE BY THE HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING METHOD (HDD) SHOULD PREVENT A REOCCURRENCE OF THE FAILURE DUE TO POTENTIAL EARTH MOVEMENT. THE HDD WAS COMPLETED ON APRIL 12, 2021 AND THE PIPELINE WAS RETURNED TO SERVICE ON APRIL 14, 2021.