KINDER MORGAN LIQUID TERMINALS, LLC

Incident Narrative

ON JANUARY 10, 2020 AT 9:30 A.M, A KINDER MORGAN EMPLOYEE DISCOVERED APPROXIMATELY 15 GALLONS OF ULSD IN COLONIAL MONITORING WELL #4. THE KM LABS TESTED THE PRODUCT AND COMPARED AGAINST TANKS IN THE AREA TO DETERMINE THE SOURCE OF THE PRODUCT. STARTED USING HYDRO EXCAVATION TO LOCATE THE SOURCE. A PRESSURE TEST OF TANK 170-5 TANK LINE, USING WATER, WAS CONDUCTED ON FEBRUARY 5, 2020. DURING THE TEST THE BURIED FLANGES WERE FOUND TO BE LEAKING, HOWEVER, DUE TO FLANGES BEING KNOWN TO BE THE WEAKEST PART OF THE LINE, IT WAS UNDETERMINED IF THE PRESSURE TEST CAUSED THE LEAK OR IF THE FLANGES WERE THE ACTUAL SOURCE. ON MARCH 17, 2020, FLANGED PORTION OF 170-5 THAT LEAKED DURING THE HYDROTEST ON FEBRUARY 5, 2020 WAS REPLACED. ON APRIL 21, 2020, A SECOND HYDROTEST WAS CONDUCTED HOWEVER, THE LINE FAILED AGAIN AT AN UNDETERMINED LOCATION. THE FINAL VOLUME RELEASED IS 101BBLS FROM THE EXCAVATION AND MONITORING WELLS. NO ADDITIONAL PRODUCT HAS BEEN FOUND SINCE MARCH 6, 2020. THE LINE HAS BEEN ISOLATED AND OUT OF SERVICE SINCE JANUARY 12, 2020. THE CAUSE OF THE LEAK WAS DETERMINED TO BE A CRACK IN A WELD OF 170-5 TANK LINE. THE WELD WAS SENT OFF FOR METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS AND THE RESULTS DETERMINED A CRACK DEVELOPED DUE TO EXCESSIVE POROSITY IN THE ROOTS OF THE TOP AND BOTTOM WELD BEADS. THE POROSITY ACTED AS A STRESS CONCENTRATION SITE AND AN INITIATION SITE FOR CRACKING IN THE WELDMENT. A CRACK HAD INITIATED AND PROPAGATED BETWEEN TWO VERY LARGE MIDWALL PORES AND THEN THE CRACK CONTINUED TO PROPAGATE TO FINAL FAILURE BY CYCLIC FATIGUE (A TIME-DEPENDENT CRACK MECHANISM). PLAN FOR PREVENTION: CURRENT WELD PROCEDURES WILL PREVENT THIS SITUATION FROM OCCURRING IN THE FUTURE.