BELLE FOURCHE PIPELINE CO

Incident Narrative

ON DECEMBER 5, 2016 THE OPERATOR WAS NOTIFIED FROM THE LANDOWNER THAT HE HAD FOUND OIL. OPERATOR PERSONNEL IMMEDIATELY HAD THE PIPELINE SHUTDOWN AND INITIATED SPILL RESPONSE ACTIONS. PERSONNEL ARRIVED ON SITE AND DETERMINED THE LEAK WAS THAT OF THE COMPANY AND IMMEDIATELY TOOK ACTION TO PREVENT FURTHER CONTAMINATION THROUGH THE INSTALLATION OF ABSORBENT BOOM, BOOM, AND EARTHEN ""UNDERFLOW"" DAMS. CONTINUED EFFORTS TO REMEDIATE THE SOIL IMPACTS RESULTING FROM THE INCIDENT ARE UNDERWAY. THE COMPANY HAS REMOVED APPROXIMATELY 9,355 BARRELS FROM THE ENVIRONMENT, THROUGH VARIOUS METHODS INCLUDING SKIMMING AND VACUUMING, IN SITU BURNING AND EXCAVATION OF CONTAMINATED DIRT. A REPORT SUBMITTED BY A THIRD PARTY GEOTECHNICAL PROFESSIONAL ENGINEER DETERMINED THAT THE AREA OF THE FAILURE IS NOT SAFE TO EXCAVATE THE FAILED PORTION OF PIPELINE. BELLE FOURCHE SUBMITTED A PLAN TO EXCAVATE AND REMOVE A PORTION OF THE PIPELINE WITH LIKE PROPERTIES. THIS WAS COMPLETED MID SEPTEMBER 2017 AND A METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS OF THE SPECIMEN TOOK PLACE ON OCTOBER 11, 2017. UTILIZING THE METALLURGICAL ANALYSIS AND OTHER COMPANY DATA A ROOT CAUSE FAILURE ANALYSIS WAS COMPLETED AND DETERMINED THAT THE ROOT CAUSE OF THE INCIDENT WAS THE PIPELINE BEING SUBJECTED TO COMPRESSIVE AND/OR BENDING FORCES DUE TO THE LANDSLIDE. THE LANDSLIDE WAS CAUSED BY EXCESSIVE MOISTURE WITHIN THE HILLSIDE THUS CREATING UNSTABLE SOIL CONDITIONS. THE PIPELINE SEGMENT THAT FAILED REMAINS SHUTDOWN AND THERE ARE NO PLANS TO BRING THAT PORTION OF THE PIPELINE BACK INTO SERVICE. THE TOTAL BARRELS RELEASED TO WATER IS AN ESTIMATE BASED ON THE NUMBER OF BARRELS RECOVERED FROM THE WATER AND THE AMOUNT REMOVED BY IN-SITU BURNS, BOTH OF WHICH ARE ESTIMATES, BUT ARE THE BEST ESTIMATES AVAILABLE.