TORRANCE BASIN PIPELINE COMPANY LLC

Incident Narrative

ON NOVEMBER 5, 2019, A CONSTRUCTION CREW WAS ONSITE PERFORMING EXCAVATION AND SHORING PREPARATION ACTIVITIES FOR AN OUT-OF-SERVICE PIPELINE REMOVAL PROJECT AT BREA CANYON OIL FACILITY. IN THE NORTHWEST CORNER OF THE TRENCH AN 18 INCH STRAIGHT BAR BUCKET WAS USED TO REMOVE LOOSE DIRT FROM THE EXCAVATION IN PREPARATION FOR SHORING. AT APPROXIMATELY 0818 HRS. PST, CREWS HEARD A LOUD HISSING SOUND, FOLLOWED BY A CRUDE PRODUCT SPRAY COMING INTO THE EXCAVATION FROM THE NORTH WALL. THE CONSTRUCTION CREW EVACUATED THE EXCAVATION UNTIL SAFE TO RETURN. UPON RETURN TO THE EXCAVATION, IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT APPROXIMATELY 16 BARRELS OF PRODUCT WAS RELEASED FROM A 2 INCH BALL VALVE ATTACHED TO THE END OF THE PIPE. INTERNAL AND EXTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE; AT APPROXIMATELY 0845 HRS. PST, THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER WAS NOTIFIED (REPORT #1263129) AND AT APPROXIMATELY 0854 HRS. PST, CAL OES WAS NOTIFIED (CONTROL #19-7097). THE SOURCE OF THE RELEASE WAS PROMPTLY SECURED BY PLACING A BALL VALVE ON THE FLANGE WHERE THE PIPE WAS LEAKING. AT APPROXIMATELY 1025 HRS. PST, CLEANUP CREWS ARRIVED ONSITE AND BEGAN RECOVERY OF PRODUCT, CLEANUP OF ASPHALT AND REMOVAL OF CONTAMINATED SOIL. ALL RECOVERED CRUDE OIL PRODUCT WAS REINJECTED INTO SYSTEM AT TORRANCE METERS. CLEANUP OF SITE WAS COMPLETED SAME DAY AT 1700 HRS. PST. THE INVESTIGATION FOR THIS INCIDENT INDICATES THE BALL VALVE ON THE END OF THE FLANGE ALONG WITH THE PIPE DETAIL HAD THREAD DAMAGE AND WERE MISS-SHAPED. WHILE IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE BACKHOE BUCKET DID NOT TOUCH THE VALVE, IT IS BELIEVED THE LATERAL FORCE OF THE SOIL EXERTED BY THE BACKHOE WAS THE CAUSE FOR THE VALVE TO BREAK AWAY FROM THE FLANGE SINCE THE BACKHOE BUCKET WAS OPERATING NEXT TO THE FLANGE AND VALVE WHEN THE RELEASE OCCURRED. FURTHERMORE, DEVIATIONS FROM EXCAVATION PROCEDURES WERE FOUND. THE CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION CREW SHOULD HAVE PROBED AND HAND DUG THE TRENCH RATHER THAN USING THE BACKHOE BUCKET. MITIGATIVE ACTIONS TAKEN FOR THIS INCIDENT INCLUDE REPLACING THE DAMAGED VALVE; A NEW BALL VALVE AND PIPE DETAIL WERE INSTALLED, WHICH ALLOWED WORK TO PROCEED. FURTHER, THE CONTRACT CONSTRUCTION CREW HAS REVIEWED EXCAVATION PROCEDURES; CONTRACT PERSONNEL WAS RETRAINED AND LESSONS LEARNED WERE COMPILED BEFORE RESUMING THIS TYPE OF TASK. ON NOVEMBER 7, 2019, DUE TO THIS INCIDENT NOT MEETING THE TELEPHONIC NOTIFICATION REQUIREMENTS, AN ATTEMPT WAS MADE TO CORRECT THE INCIDENT REPORT WITH NRC; HOWEVER, NRC INDICATED THEY WERE UNABLE TO MAKE AN UPDATE TO THE REPORT DUE TO THE WAY IT WAS INPUTTED INTO THE DATABASE (INPUTTED AS AN INCIDENT FROM A FIXED STRUCTURE VERSUS A PIPELINE). ON NOVEMBER 8, 2019 A NEW REPORT WAS MADE WITH NRC TO CORRECT THE INITIAL INCIDENT AS A TELEPHONIC NON-REPORTABLE INCIDENT (REPORT #1263492). THIS CONCLUDES THE CAUSES, INVESTIGATION AND MITIGATION ACTIONS FOR THIS ACCIDENT. ____________________________________________________________________________ THIS NARRATIVE INCLUDES A CORRECTION TO THE ORIGINAL NARRATIVE: ...PRODUCT WAS REINJECTED INTO THE SYSTEM AT TORRANCE METER STATION SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT UDPDATES: PART A, ITEM 4, LOCAL TIME AND DATE OF ACCIDENT - TIME UPDATED FROM 08:24 TO 08:18