CONSUMERS ENERGY CO
gas_transmission Incident —
Incident Information
| Report Date | — |
| Operator | CONSUMERS ENERGY CO |
| Commodity | — |
| Pipeline Type | gas_transmission |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 42.20832, -83.96842 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | — |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | — |
| Lost Commodity | — |
| Public/Private Damage | — |
| Emergency Response | — |
| Environmental Remediation | — |
| Other Costs | — |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
AT APPROXIMATELY 3:01 AM, BLOWDOWN VALVE 613 AT FREEDOM COMPRESSOR STATION TRAVELED OPEN AND VENTED GAS TO ATMOSPHERE THROUGH THE STATION EMERGENCY SHUT-DOWN VENT FOR APPROXIMATELY 35 MINUTES. IN TOTAL, 15MMCF VENTED TO ATMOSPHERE. CONTACT WITH THE VENDOR (WILSON VALVE SPECIALTIES), PREVIOUSLY INITIATED DUE TO A SIMILAR INCIDENT ABOUT TEN DAYS BEFOREHAND (NRC REPORT #1022457), WAS RESUMED TO DETERMINE WHETHER THEY WERE AWARE OF SUCH INCIDENTS ON SIMILAR BLOWDOWN VALVES. THEY INDICATED ONE SUCH VENTING INCIDENT IN WISCONSIN, AND INDICATED THAT A MODIFICATION HAD BEEN SUBSEQUENTLY MADE TO THE VALVE IN QUESTION TO HOUSE THE PILOT VALVE IN A WEATHER-TIGHT ENCLOSURE IN ORDER TO PROTECT IT FROM WEATHER CONDITIONS. NEW VALVE ASSEMBLIES, WITH WEATHER ENCLOSURES PROTECTING THE PILOT VALVE AS WELL AS THE CONTROLLER, WERE THEN ORDERED FOR VALVE 613 AND THREE OTHER SIMILAR VALES AT THE STATION. THESE ASSEMBLIES HAVE BEEN INSTALLED AND ALL VALVES APPEAR TO BE FUNCTIONING AS DESIGNED. TESTING OF THE REPLACED VALVE 613 ASSEMBLY BY WILSON HAS SINCE REVEALED A SMALL SEAL LEAK ON THE BIFFI 745 PILOT CONTROL VALVE, AS WELL AS PLUGGED VENTS, WHICH LIKELY CONTRIBUTED TO THE VENTING INCIDENTS.
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.