TORRANCE VALLEY PIPELINE COMPANY LLC

Incident Narrative

ON APRIL 24, 2023, AT APPROXIMATELY 18:55 HRS. PDT, TORRANCE VALLEY PIPELINE (TVP), PIPELINE CONTROL CENTER (PCC) WAS CONTACTED BY A THIRD-PARTY PIPELINE OPERATOR COMMUNICATING A CRUDE OIL RELEASE NEAR 2800 S. SEPULVEDA BLVD. LOS ANGELES, IN THE GENERAL AREA WHERE THIS OPERATOR'S PIPELINE AND TVP'S ACTIVE M70 PIPELINE ARE LOCATED. PCC CONTROLLER CONTACTED FIELD PERSONNEL WHO WERE DISPATCHED TO THIS LOCATION. TVP'S OPERATIONS SUPERVISOR CONTACTED THE PCC AND REQUESTED SHUTDOWN OF THE PIPELINE AND ISOLATION OF UPSTREAM AND DOWNSTREAM VALVES OF THIS LOCATION. PCC SHUTDOWN THE PIPELINE AT APPROXIMATELY 19:55 HRS., PDT. TVP PERSONNEL ARRIVED ON SITE AT 20:23 HRS. AND OBSERVED CRUDE OIL AND WATER SEEPING OUT OF THE GROUND FROM AN UNKNOWN SOURCE OFF SOUTH SEPULVEDA BLVD AND THE I-10 HIGHWAY (2642 S. SEPULVEDA BLVD). LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT WAS ON SITE WITH AN OSRO WORKING ON CONTAINMENT OF THE RELEASED MATERIALS. WHILE THE SOURCE OF THE RELEASE WAS NOT CONFIRMED, TVP COMMENCED EMERGENCY RESPONSE EFFORTS AND MADE APPROPRIATE INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS. ON APRIL 24, 2023, AT APPROXIMATELY 21:20 HRS. PDT, NRC WAS NOTIFIED (#1365560). AT APPROXIMATELY 21:23 HRS. PDT, THE LOS ANGELES CITY FIRE DEPARTMENT MADE NOTIFICATION TO CAL OES (CONTROL #23-2814). CLEANUP AND EXCAVATION EFFORTS CONTINUED INTO APRIL 25, 2023. AT APPROXIMATELY 18:15 HRS. PDT, TVP CONFIRMED THE SOURCE OF THE RELEASE TO BE FROM THE M70 PIPELINE AND SUBSEQUENTLY SUBMITTED RESPONSIBLE PARTY UPDATES TO NRC AT APPROXIMATELY 19:15 HRS. PDT, (#1365631), AND AT 19:32 HRS. PDT, TO CAL OES (#23-2814). ON APRIL 27, 2023, AT 13:00 HRS. PDT, TVP UPDATED CAL OES WITH 110 BARRELS RELEASED. A 48-HOUR UPDATE WAS MADE TO NRC AT APPROXIMATELY 13:15 HRS. PDT (#1365823) WITH THE SAME VOLUME. THE SOURCE OF THE RELEASE WAS FOUND TO BE CIRCULAR METAL LOSS EROSION BY NON-DESTRUCTIVE FIELD EXAMINATION, SUBJECT TO PENDING INVESTIGATION AND LABORATORY CONFIRMATION. THERE WAS AN ACTIVELY LEAKING WATER LINE DIRECTLY ABOVE THE 16-INCH PIPELINE; THE WATER LEAK WAS FROM THE 6 O'CLOCK POSITION DIRECTED AT THE 12 O'CLOCK POSITION OF THE PIPE WHERE THE FAILURE OCCURRED. CORRECTIVE ACTIONS TAKEN INCLUDE: ON APRIL 25, 2023, THE LOS ANGELES DEPARTMENT OF WATER AND POWER (L.A. DWP) ISOLATED AND BYPASSED THE LEAKING WATER LINE FOLLOWED BY TVP REMOVING THE LEAKING WATER LINE OVER M70. ON APRIL 26, 2023, THE FAILED 16-INCH PIPE AREA WAS PERMANENTLY REPAIRED WITH A PLIDCO SPLIT SLEEVE CLAMP, AND THE PIPELINE RESUMED OPERATION ON APRIL 26, 2023. TORRANCE VALLEY PIPELINE WILL CONDUCT A ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION TO DETERMINE POTENTIAL CAUSES OF THE FAILURE AND WILL SUBMIT ITS FINDINGS IN A SUPPLEMENTAL 7000-1 REPORT. ____________________________________________________________ SUPPLEMENTAL/FINAL UPDATE: PART A, 7/9 PART B, 11 PART D, 8A-8F PART G PART PART H NARRATIVE: LABORATORY INVESTIGATION OF BOTH THE 1.5"" WATER LINE AND THE 16"" M-70 CARRIER PIPE CONCLUDED THAT THE PRIMARY CAUSE OF THE M-70 RELEASE WAS DUE TO THE FAILURE OF THE 1.5-INCH WATER LINE WHICH FAILED DUE TO INTERNAL CORROSION. THE FAILURE OF THE WATER LINE CREATED A PIN HOLE AT THE BOTTOM OF THE PIPE DIRECTLY OVER THE M-70 CRUDE LINE THAT CREATED A HIGH-PRESSURE WATER JET STREAM THAT COMBINED WITH THE SURROUNDING SOIL, ERODED THE COATING AND METAL OF THE 16-INCH CRUDE LINE UNTIL IT FAILED. IT IS ESTIMATED THAT THE WATER LEAK AND SUBSEQUENT EROSION OCCURRED BETWEEN FEBRUARY 7, 2023 AND APRIL 24, 2023, WHICH IS SUPPORTED BY THE CONCLUSIONS OF THE LABORATORY ANALYSIS. THIS CONCLUDES THE INVESTIGATION AND ACTIONS TAKEN FOR THIS INCIDENT.