BUCKEYE PARTNERS, LP

Incident Narrative

ON THURSDAY, DECEMBER 15TH, 2016 AT 13:12, BUCKEYE CONTROL CENTER ADVISE LIMA STATION OPERATORS OF A TANK DEVIATION ALARM RECEIVED FOR ULSD TANK 410. LIMA OPERATOR INVESTIGATION FOUND THAT ULSD HAD BEEN RELEASING FROM A CRACK AT THE BASE OF THE T410 DEEP WELL BOOSTER. THE TANK SHELL VALVE WAS SAFELY ISOLATED AND NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE TO THE OPERATIONS MANAGER AND LOCAL CREW. BASED ON CALCULATIONS OF THE TANK GAUGE DEVIATION, RELEASE VOLUME ESTIMATED TO BE APPROXIMATELY 150 BARRELS OF ULSD. INITIAL INSPECTION INDICATES THAT ALL PRODUCT HAS BEEN CONTAINED ON SITE INSIDE SHARED TANK DIKE, AND THE TANK SHELL VALVE CLOSURE HAS STOPPED THE RELEASE OF ADDITIONAL PRODUCT. CLEAN UP EFFORTS ARE ON GOING AT THIS TIME. AFTER EXAMINING THE FAILED PUMP, IT IS CLEAR THAT WATER INTRUSION LED TO ICE EXPANSION BETWEEN THE WELL AND THE CAN OF THE DEEP WELL PUMP, CAUSING THE FLANGE TO FAIL. 3/21/2017 UPON REMOVAL OF TANK 410 DEEP WELL PUMP AND CAN, THERE WAS AN ICE RING ON THE INSIDE CAVITY OF THE CAN APPROXIMATELY 1 3/4 INCHES THICK. THE ROTATING ELEMENT WAS ATTACHED TO THE INNER CAVITY USING STUDS THROUGH THE ROTATING ELEMENT AND TAPPED INTO THE INNER CAVITY BASE PLATE. INSPECTION OF THE OUTER CAVITY WALLS SHOWED RUST AND WATER MARKS CAUSED FROM THE THREADED STUDS BEING TURNED INTO THE BASE PLATE ACTING AS A JACKING BOLT THAT CREATED A GAP BETWEEN THE GASKET AND THE TWO PLATES. WATER INTRUSION OCCURRED BETWEEN THE TWO FACES WHICH LEAD TO ICE FORMING BETWEEN THE INNER CAN AND THE WELL OF THE PUMP. DUE TO A LOW TEMPERATURE OF 3 DEGREES, ICE EXPANSION RESULTED IN ADDITIONAL STRESSES THAT RESULTED IN THE FLANGE BREAKING AT THE BASE OF THE PUMP. 6/5/2017 REMEDIATION OF THE AFFECTED AREA WAS COMPLETED BY REMOVING ALL OF THE AFFECTED SOIL AND STONE FOR DISPOSAL. A TOTAL OF (5) 20 YARD ROLL-OFF CONTAINERS WITH LINERS WERE REMOVED FROM THE FACILITY. THE SURFACE WATER REMEDIATION WAS COMPLETED BY REMOVING A TOTAL OF 27,000 GALLONS OF PETROLEUM CONTACT WATER FROM THE RETENTION POND ON SITE FOR DISPOSAL. THE INVESTIGATION OF THE PUMP DESIGN WAS DISTRIBUTED COMPANY-WIDE AS A LESSONS LEARNED TO PREVENT THIS FROM HAPPENING AGAIN. LOCAL OPERATIONS HAVE INSPECTED SIMILAR PUMP DESIGNS TO ENSURE THERE WERE NO OTHER PUMPS HAVING THE SAME DESIGN.