COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC

gas_transmission Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorCOLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC
Commodity—
Pipeline Typegas_transmission

Location

State
Coordinates37.56111, -82.22610

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 SEPTEMBER 8, 2015, A COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC (COLUMBIA) PIPELINE WAS INSPECTED BY COLUMBIA OPERATIONS PERSONNEL AND WAS FOUND TO HAVE A GRADE 1 LEAK IN A RURAL AREA NEAR THE CITY OF PIKEVILLE, PIKE COUNTY, KENTUCKY. LINE KA-WEST IS A 20 INCH IN DIAMETER TRANSMISSION PIPELINE THAT IS OPERATED AND MAINTAINED BY COLUMBIA. THE AREA WAS MADE SAFE BY ISOLATING THE AFFECTED SEGMENT UPON CLOSING THE UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM CRITICAL VALVES. A NEAR-BY COMPRESSOR STATION WAS UTILIZED TO HELP CONTROL THE FLOW OF NATURAL GAS THROUGH THE LEAK AREA. COLUMBIA OPERATIONS PERSONNEL RESPONDED TO THE SITE, MOBILIZED EQUIPMENT AND PREPARED THE AREA TO INITIATE A PIPELINE REPLACEMENT WITH PRE-TESTED JOINTS OF PIPE. THE LINE WAS REPAIRED AND RETURNED TO SERVICE ON SEPTEMBER 13TH, 2015. THE RESULTS OF THE METALLURGICAL FAILURE ANALYSIS REPORT AS PRESENTED BY THE METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS CONSULTANT INDICATED THE FOLLOWING: THE FAILURE OF THE PIPELINE SECTION WAS INITIATED AT AN OVERBEND CONTAINING A BUCKLE THAT WAS LIKELY THE RESULT OF DUCTILE OVERLOAD FROM BENDING STRESSES SUCH AS THOSE CAUSED BY LAND/SOIL MOVEMENT. THERE WAS NO EVIDENCE OF PRE-EXISTING DEFECTS OR IN-SERVICE GROWTH ON THE FRACTURE SURFACE.

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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