FRONT RANGE PIPELINE, LLC.
hazardous_liquid Incident — — March 4, 2019
Incident Information
| Incident Date | March 4, 2019 |
| Operator | FRONT RANGE PIPELINE, LLC. |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 46.75569, -109.85751 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | NON-THREADED CONNECTION FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $15,000 |
| Emergency Response | $200,000 |
| Other Costs | $1,000 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
AT 17:08 ON 3/4/19 THE PILOT CONTACTED LOCAL OPERATING PERSONNEL/CONTROL ROOM TO NOTIFY THEM OF A POTENTIAL RELEASE NEAR JUDITH GAP PUMP STATION. THE CONTROLLER SHUTDOWN THE PIPELINE AT 17:12 AND DID NOT RECEIVE ANY SCADA OR LEAK DETECTION ALARMS RELATED TO THE RELEASE. THE LEAK DETECTION DID NOT ALARM DUE TO LEAK RATE TRIGGERS NOT BEING MET. DUE TO POOR WEATHER CONDITIONS AND DRIFTING SNOW, FIELD PERSONAL ARRIVED ON-SITE AT 19:25. THE RELEASE ORIGINATED FROM FAILURE OF A GASKET IN A BOLTED FLANGE ON A CHECK VALVE. THE GASKET WAS REPLACED AND THE PIPELINE WAS RETURNED TO FULL OPERATION AT 15:11 ON 3/6. THE INCIDENT INVESTIGATION CONCLUDED THAT A SPIRAL WOUND GASKET THAT WAS NOT EQUIPPED WITH AN INNER RING CAME UNWOUND. THE VALVE VAULT CONTRIBUTED TO THE SEVERITY OF THE RELEASE BY IMPACTING THE DETECTION TIME.
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.