ATLANTA GAS LIGHT CO

Incident Narrative

"A THIRD-PARTY PARTY EXCAVATOR (BALFOUR BEATTY CONSTRUCTION) STRUCK AND DAMAGED AN ATLANTA GAS LIGHT COMPANY (AGLC) 6-INCH STEEL GAS MAIN WHILE VERTICALLY DRILLING FOR A NEW BUILDING FOUNDATION NEAR THE INTERSECTION OF PIEDMONT AVENUE SE AT MLK JR DRIVE SW, ATLANTA. THE DAMAGE OCCURRED WITHIN CLOSE PROXIMITY OF A CSX RAILROAD RIGHT-OF-WAY AND A MARTA COMMUTER TRAIN RIGHT-OF-WAY WHERE BOTH RAIL COMPANIES WERE CONTACTED AT 10:40 HOURS TO STOP ANY TRAINS SCHEDULED TO COME THROUGH. BOTH RAIL COMPANIES RESUMED OPERATION AT 16:10 HOURS. IN ADDITION, DUE TO THE DURATION OF THE LEAK, APPROXIMATELY 5,261,061 SCF OF NATURAL GAS WAS EMITTED TO THE ATMOSPHERE WHICH EXCEEDED THE THREE MILLION CUBIC FEET OR MORE FOR REPORTING. DUE TO THE INCIDENT BEING NEAR THE GEORGIA STATE CAPITOL AND OCCURRING THE MORNING AFTER A FEDERAL ELECTION, IT WAS DECIDED TO NOTIFY THE NRC AT 10:10 HOURS OUT OF THE ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION ALTHOUGH NO TRIGGERS FOR REPORTING WERE PRESENT AT THAT TIME. THE NRC WAS LATER UPDATED OF THESE EVENTS DURING THE 48 HOUR UPDATE. UPON ARRIVAL, AGLC PERSONNEL WORKED WITH EMERGENCY RESPONDERS TO SECURE THE AREA AND MONITOR THE SURROUNDING AREA FOR GAS. GAS WAS SHUT-OFF TO THE DAMAGED AREA BY PERFORMING THREE SQUEEZE-OFF OPERATIONS. A LARGE PROJECT MARKING ' UTILITY FACILITY LOCATING AGREEMENT ('LARGE PROJECT AGREEMENT') WAS SIGNED ON AUGUST 13, 2024, WITH BALFOUR BEATTY CONSTRUCTION TO LOCATE THE AREA AS A LARGE PROJECT EXCAVATION. AGL'S CONTRACT LOCATOR LAST MARKED AGL'S FACILITIES LOCATED WITHIN THIS SPECIFIC WORK SITE ON SEPTEMBER 16, 2024, AS SET FORTH IN THE LARGE PROJECT AGREEMENT. AS TO THE DATE AND LOCATION OF THIS INCIDENT, THE EXCAVATOR WHO WAS PERFORMING THE EXCAVATION ACTIVITIES DID NOT NOTIFY AGL'S CONTRACT LOCATOR PRIOR TO COMMENCING EXCAVATION ACTIVITIES AS REQUIRED BY THE LARGE PROJECT AGREEMENT TO ENSURE THE SPECIFIC WORK SITE WAS MARKED OR RE-MARKED AS NECESSARY. POTHOLING ACTIVITIES CONDUCTED BY THE EXCAVATOR WITH A HYDRO-VAC TRUCK EXCAVATING APPROXIMATELY 8 FEET DEEP DID NOT REVEAL THE LOCATION OF THE GAS MAIN ALONG THE MARKS PROVIDED. UPON FURTHER REVIEW, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE GAS MAIN WAS MISMARKED BY APPROXIMATELY 20 FEET FROM WHERE THE DAMAGE OCCURRED. AGLC INITIALLY NOTIFIED THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER (NRC) UNDER NRC REPORT NUMBER 1415700. ADDITIONAL NRC REPORT NUMBER 1415878 WAS CREATED FOR THE SAME EVENT AFTER A SUPPLEMENTAL CALL WAS PLACED WITH THE NRC TO UPDATE THE INITIAL TELEPHONIC NOTICE."