SUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorSUNOCO PIPELINE L.P.
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates32.07110, -96.47409

Cause

CauseINCORRECT OPERATION
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

ON 5/28/15 AT APPROXIMATELY 07:00 CONSTRUCTION CREWS DISCOVERED A CRUDE OIL SPILL FROM A VENT VALVE ON THE 8-16"" FILL LINE. THE VENT VALVE WAS IMMEDIATELY CLOSED AND THE RELEASE WAS STOPPED. PERSONNEL WERE MOBILIZED TO CONTAIN AND RECOVER ANY FREE CRUDE AND CLEAN UP THE IMPACTED AREA. APPROXIMATELY 20BBLS WAS RELEASED AND 17BBLS WERE RECOVERED. CONTAMINATED SOIL WAS REMOVED FOR ONSITE REMEDIATION. CONSTRUCTION WORK WAS BEING CARRIED OUT TO TIE IN A NEW 16"" LINE INTO THE EXISTING 8-16"" FILL LINE. ON 5/26/15 THE 8-16"" FILL LINE WAS DRAINED AND BLINDED AND BELIEVED TO BE COMPLETELY ISOLATED FROM ANY SOURCE OF PRODUCT. ROOT CAUSE ANALYSIS OF THE EVENT DETERMINED THAT A SMALL DIAMETER BALL VALVE ASSOCIATED WITH A THERMAL RELIEF SYSTEM HAD NOT BEEN IDENTIFIED VIA THE LO/TO PRE-PLAN PROCESS PRIOR TO THE BEGINNING OF CONSTRUCTION WORK ON THE 8-16"" FILL LINE. THIS OPEN VALVE ALLOWED CRUDE TO FLOW AT A SLOW RATE THROUGH THE THERMAL RELIEF TUBING FROM A SEPARATE SUCTION LINE AND INTO THE 8-16"" FILL LINE AND EVENTUALLY OUT OF THE VENT VALVE.

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.

Back to All Incidents More Incidents in