"PLAINS PIPELINE, L.P."
hazardous_liquid Incident — — May 15, 2020
Incident Information
| Incident Date | May 15, 2020 |
| Operator | "PLAINS PIPELINE, L.P." |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 31.98311, -104.21370 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | OTHER EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $5,000 |
| Emergency Response | $9,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"APPROXIMATELY 2 BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL WERE RELEASED WITHIN FACILITY BOUNDARIES AT OWL DRAW STATION FROM A 2"" DRAIN VALVE ASSOCIATED WITH THE PIG TRAP. THE DATE AND TIME OF THE RELEASE (05/15/2020 AT 15:00), THIS BEING INDICATIVE OF THE EARLIEST POSSIBLE TIME THE RELEASE COULD HAVE STARTED, BECAUSE IT WAS THE LAST TIME THE INCIDENT LOCATION HAD BEEN VISITED BY A PLAINS OPERATOR, AND THE OPERATOR CONFIRMED NO CRUDE OIL WAS BEING RELEASED. THE CAUSE OF THE INCIDENT WAS DETERMINED TO BE EQUIPMENT FAILURE OF THE 2"" BALL VALVE FROM AN IMPROPER SEAL, LIKELY DUE TO A WORN STEM. TO STOP ANY FURTHER RELEASE OF CRUDE OIL, THE INCIDENT LOCATION WAS ISOLATED, AND THE VALVE WAS REPLACED. SUPPLEMENTAL NARRATIVE: REGARDING USE OF THE TERM ""IMPROPER"" ABOVE, NATURAL WEAR ON THE VALVE THROUGH REPETITIVE USE CAUSED THE STEM AND HANDLE TO MISALIGN, CAUSING THE VALVE TO NOT FULLY SEAT, WHICH RESULTED IN AN IMPROPER SEAL."
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.