Incident Narrative
ON FEBRUARY 17, 2018, AT 23:13, A POTENTIAL LEAK ON THE SLAUGHTER TO CUSHING SYSTEM #1 PIPELINE (EL RENO TO CUSHING #1 SEGMENT) WAS IDENTIFIED BY THE CENTURION PIPELINE, L.P. (CPL) CONTROL CENTER. FOUR MINUTES LATER, AT 23:17, SHUTDOWN OF THE EL RENO TO CUSHING SYSTEM #1 SEGMENT WAS INITIATED. AT 23:47, ALL VALVES WERE CLOSED ON THE SEGMENT EXCEPT FOR VALVE 0912, WHICH WAS LEFT OPEN TO ALLOW FOR DRAIN DOWN TO THE TANKS AT CPL'S CUSHING STATION NEAR CUSHING, OKLAHOMA. ON FEBRUARY 18, 2018, AT 02:50, THE LEAK WAS LOCATED AT MP 67.99 IN OKLAHOMA CITY, OKLAHOMA, BY A CPL EMPLOYEE. THE LEAK WAS THEN REPORTED TO CPL'S CONTROL CENTER AT 02:55. THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER (NRC) WAS NOTIFIED OF THE LEAK AT 03:36 ON FEBRUARY 18, 2018. THE FAILED PIPE IS LOCATED UNDER A POND AT MP 67.99; APPROXIMATELY 3,376 BARRELS OF CRUDE OIL WAS RECOVERED OF THE 3,381 BARRELS RELEASED. NO PRODUCT WAS LEFT IN THE RIGHT-OF-WAY. ALL CONTAMINATED SURFACE WATER, SOIL, VEGETATION, AND WILDLIFE IS IN THE PROCESS OF BEING REMEDIATED ONSITE. UPON SUBSEQUENT PRELIMINARY INVESTIGATION, CPL DETERMINED THE LIKELY CAUSE OF THE LEAK TO BE EXCAVATION DAMAGE, ALTHOUGH IT HAS NOT BEEN DETERMINED IF THE DAMAGE WAS CAUSED BY SECOND OR THIRD PARTY. ONCE THIS HAS BEEN DETERMINED A SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT, INCLUDING UPDATED COSTS, IF ANY, WILL BE FILED. A SECOND NRC TELEPHONE UPDATE WAS MADE ON FEBRUARY 19, 2018, AT 8:51PM. THIS REPORT NUMBER IS 1204730. SUPPLEMENTAL FINAL REPORT FILED ON DECEMBER 6, 2018: THE FOLLOWING UPDATES HAVE BEEN INCLUDED IN THIS SUPPLEMENTAL/FINAL REPORT: 1. DUE TO THE DELAYED NATURE OF THE FAILURE, CPL SELECTED ""PREVIOUS DAMAGE DUE TO EXCAVATION ACTIVITY"" AS THE EXCAVATION DAMAGE - SUB-CAUSE IN QUESTION G3; HOWEVER, STRONG CIRCUMSTANTIAL EVIDENCE AND THE CONCLUSION OF THE INDEPENDENT INVESTIGATION INDICATE A HIGH LIKELIHOOD THAT THE DAMAGE WAS CAUSED IN NOVEMBER 2016 BY AN EXCAVATION CONTRACTOR ADDRESSING A PIPE FLAW FOUND DURING PIPE INSPECTION ACTIVITIES. THE DAMAGE DID NOT MANIFEST IMMEDIATELY SINCE THE INVESTIGATION CONCLUDED THE MECHANICAL DAMAGE CAUSED HEATING TO THE PARENT METAL DUE TO FRICTION AND CHANGED THE METALLIC STRUCTURE OF THE STEEL, WHICH RESULTED IN CRACK GROWTH UNTIL THE CRACK BECAME CRITICAL AND FAILED. 2. THE VOLUME OF PRODUCT RECOVERED IN QUESTION A11 IS UPDATED TO REFLECT THAT, SINCE THE PRIOR SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT, ALL OIL HAS BEEN RECOVERED FROM THE ENVIRONMENT THROUGH FURTHER REMEDIATION EFFORTS. THESE FINAL FIVE BARRELS OF PRODUCT RECOVERED ARE REFLECTED IN THIS SUPPLEMENTAL/FINAL REPORT. 3. THE TIME IN QUESTION A18B IS UPDATED TO REFLECT THE CORRECT DATE WHEN RESOURCES ARRIVED ONSITE, AND THE NARRATIVE SUBMITTED IN THE ORIGINAL FILING IS UPDATED TO NOTE THAT RESOURCES ARRIVED ON 02/18/2018, NOT 03/18/2018 AS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED. ADDITIONALLY, THE ORIGINAL NARRATIVE IS UPDATED TO CLARIFY THAT RESOURCES ARRIVED AT 02:50, NOT 2:50 AS PREVIOUSLY REPORTED. 4. THE COSTS REFLECTED IN QUESTION D8 ARE UPDATED. 5. QUESTION G3-1 IS UPDATED TO CLARIFY A COMBINATION INLINE INSPECTION TOOL WAS IMPLEMENTED IN 2013, WHICH INCLUDED MAGNETIC FLUX LEAKAGE, GEOMETRY, AND MAPPING TECHNOLOGIES. 6. QUESTION G3-3 IS UPDATED TO REFLECT THE CORRECT PRESSURE OF THE HYDROSTATIC TEST CONDUCTED IN 2009. 7. QUESTION G3-5A IS UPDATED BY REMOVING THE NON-DESTRUCTIVE TESTING COMPLETED IN 2016 SINCE THESE TESTS ACTUALLY OCCURRED NEAR THE FAILURE LOCATION BUT NOT IN LIKE PIPE. 8. QUESTIONS G3-9 THROUGH G3-17 ARE UPDATED TO INCLUDE THE INVESTIGATION REPORT'S CONCLUSION THAT THE ROOT CAUSE IS ""PREVIOUS DAMAGE"" AND TO REMOVE ANY ONE-CALL INFORMATION DUE TO THE LACK OF ABSOLUTE CERTAINTY THAT THE ONE-CALL ASSOCIATED WITH THE NOVEMBER 2016 REPAIR COINCIDED WITH THE EXCAVATION DAMAGE THAT ULTIMATELY RESULTED IN THIS ACCIDENT. THE INCIDENT INVESTIGATION REPORT OF THIS ACCIDENT HAS BEEN TRANSMITTED VIA EMAIL TO THE PHMSA ACCIDENT INVESTIGATION DIVISION. ALL CONTAMINATED WATER AND SOIL HAVE BEEN COMPLETELY REMEDIATED.
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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