WESTERN REFINING SOUTHWEST, INC
hazardous_liquid Incident — — December 21, 2013
Incident Information
| Incident Date | December 21, 2013 |
| Operator | WESTERN REFINING SOUTHWEST, INC |
| Commodity | CRUDE OIL |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 36.43090, -107.06200 |
Cause
| Cause | EQUIPMENT FAILURE |
| Subcause | MALFUNCTION OF CONTROL/RELIEF EQUIPMENT |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $0 |
| Emergency Response | $0 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
11:20 WESTERN REFINING OPERATOR ARRIVED AND FOUND A LEAK OF CRUDE OIL ON THE STAR LAKE BOOSTER PUMP #1 PADDLE SWITCH. THE CONTROL ROOM WAS NOTIFIED TO SHUT DOWN BOOSTER PUMP #1 AND TO START UP BOOSTER PUMP #2. THE OPERATOR THEN CLOSED THE VALVES ON BOOSTER PUMP #1 TO STOP THE LEAK. DIKES WERE THEN BUILT WITH A SHOVEL TO CONTAIN THE SPILL. THE TIME OF THE SPILL OCCURRING IS SOMETIME BEFORE 11:20. 13:17 MOUNTAIN TIME ZONE AND OCCURRENCE TIME FOR THE NRC REPORT SUBMITTAL. THE NRC REPORT TIME WAS USED, IN ERROR ON THE PHMSA F 7000-1 REPORT AND APPEARS TO BE AN EASTERN TIME ZONE. 14:02 ADDITIONAL PIPELINE PERSONNEL ARRIVED ON SITE TO CLEAN UP THE SPILL AND RECOVER 13 BARRELS. THE ESTIMATION OF THE ENTIRE SPILL WAS 15 BARRELS. 16:51 CLEANUP WAS FINISHED WITH ALL THAT COULD BE DONE UNTIL FINAL ENVIRONMENTAL REMEDIATION COULD BE LATER SCHEDULED. THIS FAILURE OCCURRED IN A PADDLE SWITCH DEVICE BETWEEN THE BOOSTER PUMP AND THE MAINLINE PUMP DURING NORMAL OPERATIONS. BOOSTER PUMP #1 WAS SHUT DOWN AND ISOLATED. THE FAILED DEVICE WAS REMOVED.
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.