COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorCOLONIAL PIPELINE CO
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates29.88761, -93.99638

Cause

CauseNATURAL FORCE DAMAGE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

HURRICANE HARVEY MADE LANDFALL ON 25 AUGUST 2017 AND REMAINED IN THE AREA CREATING UNPRECEDENTED LEVELS OF RAINFALL AND FLOODING. DURING THE STORM, ON TUESDAY, 29 AUGUST AT 20:32, THE CONTROL ROOM RECEIVED A HIGH LEVEL/MAX FILL ALARM FOR THE PORT ARTHUR INJECTION LINE 1PA SUMP #1. A CREW WAS ON SITE TO PUMP THE SUMP DOWN BUT COULD NOT ACCESS THE SUMP CONTROLS DUE TO TORRENTIAL RAIN AND LIGHTNING. ON 02 SEPTEMBER AFTER THE FLOOD WATERS RECEDED, A CREW WAS ABLE TO ACCESS THE FACILITY AND FOUND THE SUMP FLOODED WITH WATER. FOLLOWING A REVIEW OF FACILITY RECORDS AND DRAWINGS IT WAS DETERMINED THAT A REPORTABLE VOLUME OF PRODUCT HAD BEEN RELEASED BUT HAD BEEN CONTAINED WITHIN THE FACILITY, WITH SOME OF THE PRODUCT RECOVERED IN ABSORBENTS PLACED AROUND THE SUMP PRIOR TO THE STORM. AN INCIDENT ANALYSIS IS PLANNED FOR THIS EVENT. FINAL REPORT UPDATE: CHANGED ESTIMATED COST OF COMMODITY TO $78, AND CHANGED QUESTION E.8. FROM ""OPERATOR EMPLOYEE"" TO ""CPM"". INCIDENT ANALYSIS COMPLETED 2/5/2018. CORRECTIVE ACTION PLAN DEVELOPED TO PREPARE SUMPS PRIOR TO FORECASTED FLOODING TO MINIMIZE ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT.

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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