COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorCOLONIAL PIPELINE CO
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates29.97497, -94.05624

Cause

CauseEXCAVATION DAMAGE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

ON 11/19/18 AT APPROXIMATELY 0915 CST, A CONTRACTOR WAS BACKFILLING AN EXCAVATION IN CLOSE PROXIMITY TO THE HEBERT L1 1250 BOOSTER. A LARGE CLUMP OF DIRT/CLAY FELL FROM THE BACKHOE BUCKET STRIKING A 3/8' TUBING CONNECTED TO A 1/2' NIPPLE ON THE BOOSTER DISCHARGE LINE. THIS ACTION CAUSED THE NIPPLE TO BREAK RELEASING PRODUCT IN THE FORM OF A MIST. AT 09:18 CST THE OPERATOR WAS NOTIFIED AND THE LINE WAS IMMEDIATELY SHUT DOWN. AT 09:22 CST THE BOOSTER SUCTION AND DISCHARGE VALVES WERE CLOSED AND DRAIN VALVES WERE OPENED TO REDUCE PRESSURE. AT APPROXIMATELY 9:24 CST THE DRAIN-UP OF THE DISCHARGE LINE WAS COMPLETE AND PRODUCT STOPPED LEAKING FROM THE CRACKED NIPPLE. SORBENTS WERE DEPLOYED TO CONTAIN THE FREE PRODUCT. THE VOLUME OF THE SPILL WAS APPROXIMATELY 67 GALLONS AND WAS CONTAINED ON CPC PROPERTY. NO IMMEDIATE STATE OR NRC NOTIFICATION WAS REQUIRED. AN INCIDENT ANALYSIS WILL BE CONDUCTED TO FACILITATE LESSONS LEARNED.

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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