COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC

Incident Narrative

ON JUNE 7TH, 2018, AN UNINTENDED RELEASE EVENT OF NATURAL GAS (MATERIAL) INTO THE ATMOSPHERE WAS REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER (NRC). THIS EVENT TOOK PLACE ON THE LEACH EXPRESS (LEX) PIPELINE THAT IS OPERATED AND MAINTAINED BY COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC (COLUMBIA). LEX PIPELINE IS A 36 INCH DIAMETER NATURAL GAS PIPELINE AND IS CLASSIFIED AS TRANSMISSION, WITH A MAXIMUM ALLOWABLE OPERATING PRESSURE OF 1,440 PSIG. LEX IS A UNIDIRECTIONAL FLOW PIPELINE THAT STARTS NEAR MAJORSVILLE , WEST VIRGINIA AND TERMINATES AT THE TIE-IN WITH R-SYSTEM REGULATOR STATION (OHIO). AT 04:16 EASTERN STANDARD TIME (EST), THE COLUMBIA GAS CONTROL PERSONNEL NOTED A LOW PRESSURE SCADA ALARM AND COLUMBIA OPERATIONS PERSONNEL WERE DISPATCHED TO INVESTIGATE THE EVENT. AT 04:37 EST, THE COLUMBIA MONITORING CENTER RECEIVED A CALL FROM THE MARSHALL COUNTY 911 REGARDING A PIPELINE FAILURE IN MARSHALL COUNTY, WV NEAR WV STATE ROUTE 21/1 (NIXON RIDGE ROAD). THE FAILURE WAS WITHIN VALVE SECTION (VS) MAINLINE VALVE LEX-500 TO MAINLINE VALVE LEX-600 (ISOLATED SEGMENT). THE MATERIAL IGNITED. LIMITED DAMAGE OCCURRED TO VEGETATION AND TREES WITHIN THE AREA OF THE PIPELINE FAILURE SITE. NO STRUCTURES WERE IDENTIFIED NEAR THE FAILURE SITE. NO FATALITIES OR INJURIES WERE REPORTED AS A RESULT OF THIS PIPELINE FAILURE. THE FAILED PIPELINE SECTION WAS ISOLATED AT APPROXIMATELY 05:20 EST. THE FAILED SECTIONS OF THE PIPELINE WERE SENT TO A METALLURGICAL LABORATORY TO DETERMINE THE PROBABLE CAUSE BEHIND THE FAILURE OF THE PIPELINE. THE 48-HR UPDATETO THE NRC WAS COMPLETED ON JUNE 8TH, 2018 WITH REPORT NO. 1214673. THE LABORATORY REPORT IDENTIFIED THE INCIDENT WAS CAUSED BY A SINGLE, OVERLOAD EVENT. OVERLOADING OF THE PIPELINE RESULTED FROM WHAT WAS LIKELY A SERIES OF LATERAL DISPLACEMENTS WITH ACCOMPANYING BENDING.