COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

Incident Narrative

ON JUNE 5, 2015, THE OPERATOR ARRIVED TO PERFORM TANK LOADING PROCEDURE FOR FSII. UPON CONDUCTING THE YARD INSPECTION, HE NOTICED A STRONG ODOR OF GASOLINE AND DISCOVERED THE DRIP FROM THE COOLING TUBING OF UNIT 2 PUMP. THE OPERATOR NOTIFIED THE LEAD OPERATOR AND OPERATIONS MANAGER OF FINDING AT 08:30. INITIAL NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE TO STATE AND LOCAL AGENCIES AT 10:00. BASED ON THE RATE OF THE DRIP, IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT THE LEAK STARTED ABOUT 36 HOURS PRIOR TO THE 08:20 FINDING ON JUNE 5, 2015. THE COOLING TUBING IS USED TO DIVERT A SMALL VOLUME OF PRODUCT THROUGH A 5/8"" TUBING TO COOL THE UNIT MOTOR BEARINGS AND RE-INJECT THE PRODUCT INTO THE MAIN LINE. UNIT 2 WAS ISOLATED BY LOCAL OPERATOR AND THE TECHNICIAN REPLACED THE TUBING WITH FLEXIBLE STEEL HOSE AS DIRECTED BY ENGINEERING. FINAL CLEANUP ENDED AROUND 18:00 ON THE JUNE 5, 2015. COLONIAL'S OIL SPILL RESPONSE ORGANIZATION (OSRO) AND CONTRACTORS WERE IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED AND THEY RESPONDED WITH MEN, EQUIPMENT, SORBENT PADS, HAND TOOLS AND EMPTY WASTE CONTAINMENT DRUMS. THE PRODUCT THAT LEAKED WAS FULLY CONTAINED IN AN EXCAVATION AREA CREATED ON APRIL 27, 2015. APPROXIMATELY 27 GALLONS OF FREE PRODUCT WAS COLLECTED BY ABSORBENTS OFF WATER IN THE EXCAVATION AREA. A TOTAL OF 871 GALLONS OF WATER WAS REMOVED FROM THE EXCAVATION AREA AND TRANSPORTED TO RECO BIOTECHNOLOGY IN RICHMOND, VA FOR RECYCLING. APPROXIMATELY 2400 POUNDS OF SOIL WAS EXCAVATED TO SIX WASTE COLLECTION DRUMS FOR OFF-SITE DISPOSAL AT RECO BIOTECHNOLOGIES. BASED ON LABORATORY ANALYSIS, APPROXIMATELY ONE HALF OF A GALLON OF PRODUCT WAS RECOVERED IN THE SOIL. ONE DRUM OF PETROLEUM CONTAMINATED ABSORBENTS WAS COLLECTED FOR OFF-SITE DISPOSAL AT RECO BIOTECHNOLOGY IN RICHMOND, VA (RECO). IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE TUBING FAILED BECAUSE IT WAS SUBJECT TO HIGH AMPLITUDE LOW CYCLE FATIGUE. THE INTERIM REPAIR OF THE FLEXIBLE STEEL HOSE WILL BE FINAL SOLUTION AS REPLACEMENT FOR THE TUBING