COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

Incident Narrative

ON AUGUST 11TH, 2018, AT APPROXIMATELY 0745 CST, AN OPERATOR NOTED A RELEASE OF TRANSMIX ON THE SURFACE OF COLLECTED RAINWATER FROM AN EARLIER RAIN EVENT. THE OPERATOR FOUND THE RELEASE TO BE ORIGINATING FROM PIPING CONNECTED TO THE POSITIVE DISPLACEMENT (PD PUMP). THE OPERATOR SHUT DOWN THE PUMP TO STOP THE RELEASE, FACILITATED INTERNAL NOTIFICATIONS, DEPLOYED SPILL CONTAINMENT MATERIALS AND IMPLEMENTED A CONTROLLED ACCESS BLOCKADE. AT APPROXIMATELY 0750 CST, A PROJECT INSPECTOR ORGANIZED THE RESPONSE OF AN OIL SPILL REMOVAL ORGANIZATION (OSRO), TO INCLUDE THE DISPATCH OF VACUUM TRUCKS AND RECOVERY EFFORTS. AT APPROXIMATELY 1033 CST, A TECHNICIAN COMPLETED OPERATIONAL REPAIRS OF THE PUMP. THE TECHNICIAN NOTED A A CRACK ON THE THREADED PORTION OF A 1' PIPING NIPPLE HAD FAILED, THUS, RESULTING IN THE RELEASE. AN INCIDENT ANALYSIS (IA) INVESTIGATION HAS BEEN ASSIGNED TO FURTHER DETERMINE ROOT CAUSE AND CONTRIBUTING FACTORS TO MITIGATE FUTURE REOCCURRENCE. THE VOLUME OF THE SPILL WAS APPROXIMATELY 250 GALLONS AND WAS CONTAINED TO CPC PROPERTY. AS PART OF THE OVERALL REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES, 250 GALLONS OF PRODUCT WAS RECOVERED THROUGH VAC TRUCK RECOVERY, SOIL FLUSHING AND SOIL REMOVAL LOUISIANA STATE POLICE WERE NOTIFIED AT 1007 CST (REPORT NUMBER: 18-03834) AND THE EAST FELICIANA LPEC WERE NOTIFIED AT 1011 CST. THE DETAILS ASSOCIATED TO RESPONSE WERE INDICATIVE OF BEING LESS THAN $50,000. ON AUGUST 13TH, 2018, AT 1540 CST, AN ENVIRONMENTAL SPECIALIST DETERMINED THE SCOPE OF REMEDIATION ACTIONS WOULD PLACE THE OVERALL RESPONSE ACTIVITIES TO MEET, OR MARGINALLY EXCEED $50,000. THEREFORE, ON AUGUST 13, 2018, UPON COST DISCOVERY, AT 1617 CST, AN NRC NOTIFICATION WAS MADE (NRC REPORT NO: 1221424). ADDITIONALLY, A FOLLOW-UP NRC NOTIFICATION WAS MADE WITH NO CHANGES RELATIVE TO INITIAL REPORT. A FINAL REPORT WILL BE SUBMITTED FOLLOWING CONCLUSION OF THE IA. THE IA WAS COMPLETED TO INCLUDE A REVIEW OF SIMILAR INCIDENTS AND A VIBRATION STUDY. THE IA CONCLUDED THE NIPPLE WAS LIKELY DAMAGED OR CRACKED DURING INSTALLATION AND WITH THE NORMAL PUMP VIBRATIONS, LED TO FAILURE. THE NIPPLE WAS REPLACED. THE STATE OF INCIDENT WAS CORRECTED TO REFLECT LOUISIANA, NOT TEXAS. THIS CONCLUDES PHMSA REPORTING FOR THIS INCIDENT.