CASCADE NATURAL GAS CORP

gas_distribution Incident — BURLINGTON, WA

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorCASCADE NATURAL GAS CORP
Commodity—
Pipeline Typegas_distribution

Location

CityBURLINGTON
StateWA
CountySKAGIT
Coordinates48.49294, -122.33383

Cause

CauseEQUIPMENT FAILURE
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

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

Location Map

Incident Narrative

ON 05/10/17 AT 1141, CASCADE NATURAL GAS CORPORATION'S CUSTOMER SERVICE CENTER RECEIVED A CALL THAT THE RELIEF VALVE WAS CHATTERING AT THE R18 REGULATOR STATION. CASCADE NATURAL GAS RESPONDED TO THE SCENE AND FOUND THE SYSTEM PRESSURE ELEVATED AND THE RELIEF VALVE RELIEVING GAS TO THE ATMOSPHERE. IT WAS DETERMINED ON THE SCENE THAT THE R18 OPERATING REGULATOR FAILED TO LOCK UP DUE TO EXCESSIVE METAL SHAVINGS IN THE DIAPHRAGM. WHILE INVESTIGATING THE INCIDENT, A REVIEW OF THE PRESSURE INFORMATION FOR THE SYSTEM INDICATED THAT THE SYSTEM PRESSURE HAS BEEN ELEVATED BEGINNING MID-DAY 05/08/17 AND CONTINUED INTERMITTENTLY UNTIL R18 WAS REMEDIATED ON 05/11/17. IT WAS ALSO IDENTIFIED THAT A TAP HAD BEEN PERFORMED ON AN EXISTING PIPELINE JUST UPSTREAM OF THE R18 REGULATOR STATION ON 05/08/17. CASCADE NATURAL GAS BELIEVES THAT THE PERFORMANCE OF THE TAP RESULTED IN METAL SHAVINGS IN THE PIPELINE THAT ULTIMATELY MIGRATED IN TO THE DIAPHRAGM OF THE R18 OPERATING REGULATOR. THE REQUIRED CONFIRMATION CALL WAS MADE TO THE NRC AT 18:58 ON 12-MAY-17. THE INCIDENT REPORT NUMBER WAS 1178165.

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.

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