NORTHERN BORDER PIPELINE COMPANY
gas_transmission Incident — — February 25, 2016
Incident Information
| Incident Date | February 25, 2016 |
| Operator | NORTHERN BORDER PIPELINE COMPANY |
| Commodity | — |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 46.51460, -100.80066 |
Cause
| Cause | INCORRECT OPERATION |
| Subcause | OTHER INCORRECT OPERATION |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $291,906 |
| Emergency Response | $949 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
REPAIRS TO A BUILDING ROOF VENT WERE BEING CARRIED OUT BY COMPANY PERSONNEL. THE WORK INVOLVED GRINDING AND WELDING. IN SPITE OF SAFETY PRECAUTIONS IN PLACE, SPARKS FROM THE WORK STARTED A FIRE IN OILY RESIDUE IN A COVERED TRENCH DESIGNED TO CATCH OIL, WATER, AND OTHER LIQUIDS. THE FIRE CAUSED DAMAGE TO ELECTRICAL WIRING AND CABLE SUPPORTS. DAMAGE TO THE WIRING CAUSED THE UNIT RECYCLE VALVE TO OPEN AND GAS CIRCULATING THROUGH THE COMPRESSOR HEATED UP TO THE POINT WHERE THE UNIT SHUT DOWN AUTOMATICALLY ON HIGH COMPRESSOR DISCHARGE TEMPERATURE. PERSONNEL ON SITE SAW SMOKE COMING FROM THE COMPRESSOR BUILDING AND INITIATED A STATION EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN. THIS ACTION ISOLATED THE COMPRESSOR STATION PIPING FROM THE MAINLINE AND VENTED GAS WITHIN THE STATION. PERSONNEL CALLED THE FIRE DEPARTMENT WHICH RESPONDED AND EXTINGUISHED THE FIRE. THE EVENT IS CONSIDERED AN INCIDENT BECAUSE TRANSCANADA JUDGES IT TO BE SIGNIFICANT IN THAT THE COST TO REPAIR THE DAMAGE IS CONSIDERABLE, THE COMPRESSOR UNIT IS OUT OF SERVICE FOR AN EXTENDED TIME PERIOD, AND THE UNAVAILABILITY OF THE COMPRESSION FACILITIES RESULTED IN A RESTRICTION TO THROUGHPUT CAPACITY THAT IMPACTS DOWNSTREAM CUSTOMERS.
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.