TALLGRASS PONY EXPRESS PIPELINE, LLC
hazardous_liquid Incident — — January 7, 2019
Incident Information
| Incident Date | January 7, 2019 |
| Operator | TALLGRASS PONY EXPRESS PIPELINE, LLC |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 40.64950, -103.03350 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | NON-THREADED CONNECTION FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $57,300 |
| Emergency Response | $4,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
AT 09:49 A.M. MST COMPANY PERSONNEL IDENTIFIED CRUDE OIL POOLING ON TOP OF THE FLOATING ROOF OF TANK 5255 AT THE STERLING TERMINAL. PRODUCT APPEARED TO BE EXITING THE TANK FROM THE ROOF DRAIN LINE. EMERGENCY PROCEDURES WERE IMMEDIATELY ENACTED; TANK WAS SHUT DOWN AND SUBSEQUENTLY DRAINED. ALL OF THE OIL THAT ACCUMULATED ON THE TANK ROOF WAS RECOVERED AND RETURNED TO THE TANK. LEAK WAS CONTAINED SOLELY TO THE TANK ROOF; NO OIL REACHED THE SURFACE OF THE GROUND OR ANY OTHER STRUCTURE ON SITE. ROOT CAUSE INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT WATER IN THE INTERNAL ROOF DRAIN LINE FROZE AND EXPANDED CAUSING THE PAPER GASKETS ON THE INTERNAL DRAIN LINE PIPING TO PUSH OUT AGAINST THE FLANGE BOLTS AND RUPTURE. REPAIRS WERE COMPLETED WHICH INCLUDED REPLACING THE PAPER GASKETS WITH FLEXITALLIC GASKETS.
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.