PLAINS PIPELINE, L.P.

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date
OperatorPLAINS PIPELINE, L.P.
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates34.47886, -120.01477

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

APPROXIMATELY 0.26 BBLS OF CRUDE OIL WERE RELEASED ON SITE AS A RESULT OF A MECHANICAL FAILURE OF A SUMP PUMP. THIS PUMP FAILURE AND RELEASE OCCURRED WHEN A PLAINS EMPLOYEE WAS PREPARING TO LAUNCH A CLEANING PIG. WHEN THE PLAINS MECHANIC WAS DRAINING CRUDE OIL FROM THE LAUNCHER INTO THE SUMP IN ORDER TO LOAD THE CLEANING PIG, THE SUMPS HIGH LEVEL SWITCHED STARTED THE SUMP PUMP. THE PUMP PACKING FAILED CAUSING THE RELEASE OF CRUDE OIL. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE PACKING LEAKED DUE TO THE FAILURE OF A CERAMIC PLUNGER IN THE PUMP. THE CERAMIC PLUNGER WAS REPLACED WITH A STEEL PLUNGER AND OPERATIONS RESUMED.

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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