"COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC"
gas_transmission Incident — — April 18, 2018
Incident Information
| Incident Date | April 18, 2018 |
| Operator | "COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC" |
| Commodity | NATURAL GAS |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 38.82099, -79.83571 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | OTHER EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $0 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"ON APRIL 18, 2018, AN UNINTENDED RELEASE OF NATURAL GAS (MATERIAL) EVENT INTO ATMOSPHERE WAS REPORTED TO THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER (NRC). THIS EVENT TOOK PLACE AT FILES CREEK COMPRESSOR STATION (CS) IN RANDOLPH COUNTY, WEST VIRGINIA. THIS CS IS OPERATED AND MAINTAINED BY COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC (COLUMBIA). AT 11:42 AM EST, A 15-AMP ELECTRICAL FUSE FAILED CAUSING (4) FIRE VALVES TO OPEN ON THE EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN (ESD) SYSTEM. THE FIRE VALVES (3-8"" & 1-4"") BLEW FOR 3 1/2 MINUTES RELEASING 4000 MCF OF GAS TO THE ATMOSPHERE THROUGH THE ASSOCIATED BLOW-OFF PIPING BEFORE BEING ISOLATED AND SHUT IN BY ON-SITE EMPLOYEES. THE PRELIMINARY MATERIAL LOSS CALCULATIONS WAS DETERMINED TO BE GREATER THAN 3,000 MCF, HENCE, THE EVENT WAS REPORTED TO NRC AS AN INCIDENT. A 48-HR UPDATE NOTICE WAS CALLED-IN TO THE NRC WHERE THE UPDATE REPORT NO. WAS 1209832. THE ELECTRICAL SYSTEM CONTROLLING THESE VALVES WAS EVALUATED AND DETERMINED TO BE OVERLOADED, THUS CAUSING THE FUSE TO FAIL. TO RESOLVE THE ISSUE, THE CURRENT LOAD WAS SPLIT INTO TWO CIRCUITS, THUS REDUCING THE CURRENT LOAD"
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.