COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorCOLONIAL PIPELINE CO
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates29.89559, -89.72553

Cause

CauseINCORRECT OPERATION
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

A CONSTRUCTION CREW WAS PREPARING A TIE-IN POINT TO A NEWLY CONSTRUCTED SEGMENT OF PIPE ON LAKE BORGNE IN LOUISIANA. WHILE PUMPING WATER INTO THE EXISTING PIPE TO REMOVE AN AIR POCKET AND REDUCE BUOYANCY, A SLUG OF WATER AND RESIDUAL KEROSENE WERE RELEASED FROM THE OPEN END OF THE PIPE INTO THE LAKE. THE PIPE WAS RAISED TO PREVENT ANY ADDITIONAL RELEASE OF PRODUCT-CONTAMINATED WATER. CONTAINMENT BOOMS THAT HAD BEEN DEPLOYED AROUND THE WORK BARGES AND PIPE FLOATS PRIOR TO THE INCIDENT CONTAINED THE SPILL. CONSTRUCTION WORKERS AND ON-SITE OSRO PERSONNEL IMMEDIATELY DEPLOYED SPILL KITS AND BEGAN CLEAN UP AND SPILL PREVENTION ACTIVITIES. THE AFFECTED AREA WAS APPROXIMATELY 25 X 25 FEET ON THE WATER. ALL CLEAN UP ACTIVITY WAS COMPLETED THE FOLLOWING DAY.

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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