COLONIAL PIPELINE CO
hazardous_liquid Incident — — August 5, 2022
Incident Information
| Incident Date | August 5, 2022 |
| Operator | COLONIAL PIPELINE CO |
| Commodity | REFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 36.07123, -79.93687 |
Cause
| Cause | INCORRECT OPERATION |
| Subcause | "TANK, VESSEL, OR SUMP/SEPARATOR ALLOWED OR CAUSED TO OVERFILL OR OVERFLOW" |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $140,000 |
| Emergency Response | $65,300 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"ON 8/3/2022 TANK 837 AT GREENSBORO JUNCTION EXPERIENCED A COMMUNICATION ISSUE RESULTING IN THE LOSS OF THE SAAB (RADAR GAUGING SYSTEM FOR THE TANK). A REQUIRED READING WAS ISSUED TO LOCAL OPERATIONS ON AUGUST 2020, WHICH MADE APPROVAL FROM LEADERSHIP MANDATORY TO RECEIVE PRODUCT INTO A TANK WITH A STANDING COMMUNICATION ERROR. ON 8/5/2022 THE LOCAL OPERATOR ON SHIFT WAS PREPARING FOR A BATCH CHANGE DURING LINE 01 RECEIVING AND SWITCHED INTO TANK 837 WITHOUT LEADERSHIP APPROVAL. THE OPERATOR MISREAD THAT TANK HAD 9,000 BBLS OF PRODUCT WHEN IN REALITY IT HAD 9,000 BBLS OF AVAILABLE SPACE TO THE SAFE FILL LEVEL. AT 15:10 GASOLINE REACHED THE OVERFLOW PORTS AND AN ESTIMATE OF 2.5 BBLS WAS RELEASED DOWN THE SIDE OF THE TANK. THE MAX FILL ALARM WAS NEVER RECEIVED. LOCAL OPERATIONS RESPONDED IMMEDIATELY IN COORDINATION WITH LOCAL FIRST RESPONDERS. THE OPERATOR WAS REMOVED FROM THE DESK, AND HIS OQ QUALIFICATIONS WERE REVOKED. CONTRACTORS REMAINED ON SITE TO COMPLETE ADDITIONAL SOIL DELINEATION. THE MAX-FILL ALARM, AS WELL AS THE SAAB HEAD HAVE BEEN REPLACED."
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.