PLAINS PIPELINE, L.P.

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorPLAINS PIPELINE, L.P.
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates31.98311, -104.21370

Cause

CauseEQUIPMENT FAILURE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage
Lost Commodity
Public/Private Damage
Emergency Response
Environmental Remediation
Other Costs

Location Map

Incident Narrative

APPROXIMATELY 2 BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL WERE RELEASED WITHIN FACILITY BOUNDARIES AT OWL DRAW STATION FROM A 2"" DRAIN VALVE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PIG TRAP. THE DATE AND TIME OF THE RELEASE (05/15/2020 AT 15:00), THIS BEING INDICATIVE OF THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE TIME THE RELEASE COULD HAVE STARTED, BECAUSE IT WAS THE LAST TIME THE INCIDENT LOCATION HAD BEEN VISITED BY A PLAINS OPERATOR, AND THE OPERATOR CONFIRMED NO CRUDE OIL WAS BEING RELEASED. THE CAUSE OF THE INCIDENT WAS DETERMINED TO BE EQUIPMENT FAILURE OF THE 2"" BALL VALVE FROM AN IMPROPER SEAL, LIKELY DUE TO A WORN STEM. TO STOP ANY FURTHER RELEASE OF CRUDE OIL, THE INCIDENT LOCATION WAS ISOLATED, AND THE VALVE WAS REPLACED. SUPPLEMENTAL NARRATIVE: REGARDING USE OF THE TERM ""IMPROPER"" ABOVE, NATURAL WEAR ON THE VALVE THROUGH REPETITIVE USE CAUSED THE STEM AND HANDLE TO MISALIGN, CAUSING THE VALVE TO NOT FULLY SEAT, WHICH RESULTED IN AN IMPROPER SEAL.

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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