"COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC"
gas_transmission Incident — — March 25, 2015
Incident Information
| Incident Date | March 25, 2015 |
| Operator | "COLUMBIA GAS TRANSMISSION, LLC" |
| Commodity | NATURAL GAS |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 38.87583, -78.86056 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | MALFUNCTION OF CONTROL/RELIEF EQUIPMENT |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $0 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"ON MARCH 25TH, 2015, AN 8-IN BLOW-OFF VALVE RELEASED INADVERTENTLY MATERIAL INTO ATMOSPHERE AT LOST RIVER COMPRESSOR STATION LOCATED IN THE TOWN OF MATHIAS, HARDY COUNTY, WV. THE COMPRESSOR STATION HEADER WAS ISOLATED AND THE SECTION WAS BLOWN DOWN TO STOP THE UNINTENDED RELEASE. PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATIONS INDICATED THAT THE SUPPLY TUBING HAD A LOW POINT THAT ALLOWED FOR THE COLLECTION OF MOISTURE WHICH, APPARENTLY, FROZE AND ISOLATED THE ACTUATOR FROM THE EMERGENCY SHUTDOWN (ESD) TRIGGER AIR SUPPLY. THEN, A NUISANCE LEAK WAS FOUND IN THE LAST TUBING CONNECTION TO THE ACTUATOR. THE COMBINATION OF THESE TWO FINDINGS, ALLOWED THE ESD TRIGGER PRESSURE ON THIS VALVE ACTUATOR TO LEAK DOWN TO THE POINT THE VALVE ACTUATED INADVERTENTLY, RELEASING MATERIAL INTO ATMOSPHERE. AS A RECOMMENDATION, (I) AN INSPECTION TO ESD VALVES WITH SIMILAR INSTALLATIONS WAS TO BE PERFORMED, (II) RE-ROUTING TO THE TUBING WAS INTRODUCED TO PREVENT THE COLLECTION OF THIS MOISTURE COLLECTION AND (III) RESEARCH THE INTRODUCTION OF AN ALARM WHENEVER ANY UPSET CONDITIONS DO EXIST TO SIMILAR VALVE INSTALLATIONS. THESE STEPS WILL NOT ALLOW THE CHAIN OF EVENTS LEADING TO THE ACTIVATION OF THE BLOW-OFF VALVE FROM FUTURE RE-OCCURRENCE."
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.