BOARDWALK LOUISIANA MIDSTREAM, LLC

Incident Narrative

CONTRACTOR INSTALLING PIPING IN PIPE RACK NEAR THE ANALYZER BUILDING WAS GRINDING ON PIPING IN PREPARATION FOR WELDING AND SPARKS HIT A NEARBY VENT ON TOP OF THE ANALYZER BUILDING CAUSING A SMALL FLAME. THE FLAME WAS EXTINGUISHED IMMEDIATELY BY THE FIRE WATCH. THERE WERE NO DAMAGES OR INJURIES AND WORK WAS STOPPED TO FURTHER ASSESS THE SITUATION. WELDING AREA WAS 28' NORTH OF THE VENT LINE ON THE BUILDING. WINDS WERE FROM THE NORTH AT AN ESTIMATED 6-8 MPH. BEFORE WORK RESUMED, THE AREA WAS SNIFFED TO ENSURE IT WAS SAFE AND ADDITIONAL MECHANISMS (FIRE BLANKETS) AND METHODS WERE IMPLEMENTED TO CONTROL THE SPARKS FROM GRINDING THAT WAS OCCURRING ON THE NEW PIPELINE INSTALLATION. THE RESPONSE TO QUESTION A8 IS ETHYLENE, ETHANE, AND ETHANE PROPANE MIX BUT WE CANNOT SPECIFY DUE TO MULTIPLE ANALYZERS IN THE BUILDING. ALSO, THE AMOUNT OF PRODUCT LOSS IS SHOWN AS .1 BARRELS BECAUSE THAT IS THE MINIMUM AMOUNT THE PORTAL WILL APPARENTLY ACCEPT. HOWEVER, THERE WAS ACTUALLY NO RELEASE OF PRODUCT. THE FLAME OCCURRED DUE TO PRODUCT PROPERLY VENTING FROM AN ANALYZER BUILDING. 5-7-20 UPDATE PER PHMSA REQUEST. THE COST OF THIS ACCIDENT WAS SHOWN AS $1 BECAUSE THAT IS THE MINIMAL AMOUNT THOUGHT TO BE ACCEPTED BY THE PHMSA PORTAL. THERE WAS NO COST ASSOCIATED WITH THIS ACCIDENT BECAUSE THERE WAS NO DAMAGE NOR ANY PRODUCT LOSS. THE CAUSE HAS BEEN UPDATED TO REFLECT INCORRECT OPERATIONS - OTHER AS DIRECTED BY PHMSA. HOWEVER, THE SELECTION FOR SUB-CAUSE IS FAILURE TO FOLLOW PROCEDURES RATHER THAN INADEQUATE PROCEDURES. THE PROCEDURES DO REQUIRE FIRE BLANKETS, FIRE-PROOF SHIELDS, OR SEALS TO BE USED TO PROPERLY GUARD SUCH IMMOVABLE HAZARDS AS VENTS AND DUCTS. WHEN THIS ACCIDENT OCCURRED, ALL WORK STOPPED TO FURTHER ASSESS THE SITUATION AND THE PROCEDURES WERE REVIEWED AND FIRE BLANKETS WERE UTILIZED.