COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

hazardous_liquid Incident — — September 19, 2022

Incident Information

Incident DateSeptember 19, 2022
OperatorCOLONIAL PIPELINE CO
CommodityREFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates29.71902, -95.17920

Cause

CauseINCORRECT OPERATION
Subcause"VALVE LEFT OR PLACED IN WRONG POSITION, BUT NOT RESULTING IN A TANK, VESSEL, OR SUMP/SEPARATOR OVERFLOW OR FACILITY OVERPRESSURE"

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage$1,000
Emergency Response$5,000
Other Costs$500

Location Map

Incident Narrative

"WHILE SAMPLING PRODUCT ON BOTH LINES 1 AND 2, AN OPERATOR TURNED ON BOTH HYDROMETER WELLS TO LOOK AT THE PRODUCT HAZE. AFTER OBTAINING THE SAMPLES THE LINE 2 HYDROMETER WAS INADVERTENTLY LEFT ON. SOME TIME AFTER THE OPERATOR LEFT THE SAMPLE HOUSE THE LINE 2 SINK DRAIN STARTED TO BACK UP, OVERFLOWING THE SINK AND SPILLING OUT ONTO THE FLOOR. A TECHNICIAN GOING TO THE SAMPLE HOUSE TO PERFORM UNRELATED WORK SMELLED PRODUCT AND UPON OPENING THE DOOR NOTICED ULSD ON THE FLOOR AND IMMEDIATELY NOTIFIED THE HOUSTON CONTROL ROOM. WHILE STARTING TO CLEAN UP THE PRODUCT IT WAS DISCOVERED A SMALL AMOUNT OF ULSD HAD GOTTEN THROUGH THE SEAL BETWEEN THE WALL AND FLOOR AND DRIPPED ON THE ROCKS. UPON FURTHER INVESTIGATION IT WAS DETERMINED THAT 26 GALLONS OF PRODUCT WAS RELEASED."

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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