NORTHERN NATURAL GAS CO

gas_transmission Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorNORTHERN NATURAL GAS CO
Commodity—
Pipeline Typegas_transmission

Location

State
Coordinates42.34868, -94.04083

Cause

CauseNATURAL FORCE DAMAGE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage
Lost Commodity
Public/Private Damage
Emergency Response
Environmental Remediation
Other Costs

Location Map

Incident Narrative

ON MARCH 20, 2019, THE OGDEN (IOWA) FIELD OPERATIONS TEAM WAS NOTIFIED BY THE COUNTY SHERIFF OF GAS BLOWING UNDER THE FLOOD WATERS OF THE DES MOINES RIVER NEAR THE TOWN OF LEHIGH, IOWA. THE LEHIGH TAKE-OFF VALVE SETTING IS LOCATED IN THIS AREA AND WAS COMPLETELY SUBMERGED BY THE FLOOD WATERS OF THE DES MOINES, RIVER. THE LEAK WAS SMALL ENOUGH THAT NO LOSS OF SERVICE OCCURRED. THE FIELD OPERATIONS TEAM INSPECTED THE SITE DAILY TO MONITOR THE LEAK AND CHECK ON FLOOD WATER LEVELS. THE SITE WAS STILL UNDER WATER AS OF APRIL 12, 2019 BUT THE LEAK WAS VISIBLE FROM SHORE. THE BUTT WELD BELOW THE BLOW OFF VALVE BETWEEN THE WELD NECK FLANGE AND TEE IS CRACKED PROBABLY DUE TO BEING STRUCK BY FLOATING ICE. THE WELD QUALITY IS NOT SUSPECTED SO IT WON'T BE SENT TO A LABORATORY FOR ANY FURTHER ANALYSIS. THE TAKE-OFF SETTING WAS TOTALLY BYPASSED TO ELIMINATE THE LEAK. THE SECTION OF A-LINE WAS ISOLATED, BLOWN DOWN AND CAPPED. THE TOWN OF LEHIGH, IA IS BEING FED FROM THE B-LINE.

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.

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