ENBRIDGE PIPELINES (OZARK) L.L.C.
hazardous_liquid Incident — — January 14, 2017
Incident Information
| Incident Date | January 14, 2017 |
| Operator | ENBRIDGE PIPELINES (OZARK) L.L.C. |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 37.24862, -93.70026 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | OTHER EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $4,800,000 |
| Emergency Response | $1,000,000 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
ON JANUARY 14, 2017 AT 10:18 CST, AN EDMONTON CONTROL CENTER (ECC) OPERATOR RECEIVED A LEAK DETECTION ALARM ON OZARK PIPELINE (L-51). THE ECC OPERATOR SHUTDOWN AND ISOLATED THE PIPELINE AT 10:22 CST AND AN ON-SITE ENBRIDGE EMPLOYEE CONFIRMED THE RELEASE OF CRUDE OIL FROM THE PIPELINE SYSTEM. AT THIS TIME ADDITIONAL EMPLOYEES AND CONTRACTORS WERE MOBILIZED TO THE SITE. THE ORIGINAL RELEASE AMOUNT WAS ESTIMATED AT 10 BARRELS AND WAS REPORTED AS CONTAINED ON ENBRIDGE PROPERTY. THE NRC WAS NOTIFIED AT 12:25 CST (REPORT #1168590), AS WELL AS THE MISSOURI DEPARTMENT OF NATURAL RESOURCES AT 12:42 CST (REPORT #170114-1242-ADC). THE NRC WAS UPDATED THAT THE RELEASE AMOUNT WAS CHANGED TO 365 BARRELS ON JANUARY 15, 2017 AT 22:19 CST (REPORT #1168685) AND PRODUCT WAS OFF ENBRIDGE PROPERTY BUT CONTAINED. TO-DATE, THE RELEASE IS CONFIRMED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 450 BARRELS WITH NO RETURN OF PRODUCT TO THE SYSTEM. THE DISCREPANCY IN THE AMOUNT OF PRODUCT RELEASED WAS DUE TO FIRST RESPONDER NOT BEING ABLE TO SAFELY ASSESS THE MAGNITUDE OF THE PROBLEM FROM HIS ORIGINAL VANTAGE POINT. ONCE ADDITIONAL PERSONNEL WERE ON HAND AND THE ENTIRE SCOPE OF THE RELEASE COULD BE REVIEWED IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE MAGNITUDE OF THE RELEASE WAS LARGER THAN ORIGINALLY REPORTED. THE NRC WAS THEN CONTACTED TO REVISE THE ORIGINAL AMOUNT OF PRODUCT RELEASED. THE CAUSE OF THE RELEASE WAS DUE TO A CIRCUMFERENTIAL CRACK IN THE BODY OF THE FLANGE ADJACENT TO THE GIRTH WELD BETWEEN THE FLANGE AND THE PIPELINE LOCATED ON THE UPSTREAM SIDE OF MAINLINE VALVE (FW-196.22-51-V). THE FAILED FLANGE HAS BEEN SENT IN FOR A METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS. THE REPAIR OF THE PIPELINE CONSISTED OF INSTALLING AN APPROXIMATE 6' LONG FLANGED SPOOL PIECE IMMEDIATELY UPSTREAM OF MAINLINE VALVE (FW-196.22-51-V). THIS FABRICATED ASSEMBLY WAS HYDRO-TESTED PRIOR TO INSTALLATION. THE PIPELINE WAS RETURNED TO SERVICE ON JANUARY 19, 2017. SITE RESTORATION IS COMPLETE. A REMEDIAL INVESTIGATION OF SUBSURFACE IMPACTS IS UNDERWAY AND WILL BE COMPLETED BY MARATHON (MPLX) WITH OVERSIGHT FROM THE MISSOURI DNR.
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.