ENBRIDGE ENERGY, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorENBRIDGE ENERGY, LIMITED PARTNERSHIP
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates41.51690, -87.45059

Cause

CauseNATURAL FORCE DAMAGE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

ON APRIL 30, 2020 AT 07:53 CDT, GRIFFITH TERMINAL PERSONNEL NOTIFIED THE EDMONTON CONTROL CENTER (ECC) OF A SUSPICIOUS ODOR AND THE TERMINAL WAS SHUTDOWN. AN INVESTIGATION OF THE FACILITY WAS INITIATED REQUIRING ALL TANKS TO BE CLIMBED. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE ODOR ORIGINATED FROM AN OPEN VENT ON TANK 76 DUE TO HIGH WATER ON THE ROOF WHILE IT WAS AT WORKING BOTTOMS. THE REMAINDER OF THE TANKS WERE CLIMBED IN ORDER TO GIVE ECC APPROVAL TO RESTART THE TERMINAL. AT APPROXIMATELY 09:00 CDT, A GRIFFITH TERMINAL MAINTAINER CLIMBED TANK 71 AND DISCOVERED AN ACTIVE RELEASE ON THE TANK ROOF. FOLLOWING SEVERAL HEAVY RAINS, THE WATER ON THE EXTERNAL FLOATING TANK ROOF DISPLACED THE ROOF CAUSING THE PIN HOLES ON THE TOP OF THE CENTER TANK LEGS TO DROP BELOW THE PRODUCT LEVEL IN THE TANK SPILLING OIL ONTO THE ROOF. THE TANK WAS ISOLATED AND LOCKED OUT, AND THE APPROVAL TO RESTART THE TERMINAL WAS GIVEN TO ECC. PIPELINE MAINTENANCE PERSONNEL WERE ONSITE AND INITIATED CLEANUP OF THE TANK ROOF. A TRIPLE FILTER SYSTEM WAS INSTALLED ON THE ROOF DRAIN TO SAFELY DRAIN WATER FROM THE ROOF. AFTER CLEANUP WAS COMPLETE, TANK 71 WAS RETURNED TO SERVICE.

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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