COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

Incident Narrative

AT APPROXIMATELY 1920 PIPELINE TIME, WHILE PERFORMING A FACILITY CHECK OF THE TANK FARM, THE OPERATOR DISCOVERED STAINING ON THE TANK FOUNDATION RING AND A SMALL AREA OF GRAVEL AT TANK 270. IT WAS ESTIMATED THAT THERE WERE APPROXIMATELY 2 GALLONS OF PRODUCT IMPACTING THE VISIBLE AFFECTED GRAVEL AREA WHICH MEASURED APPROXIMATELY 15 FEET BY 3 FEET. OPERATIONS MANAGER WAS NOTIFIED AT 1930, TANK WAS IMMEDIATELY EVACUATED, ISOLATED AND LOCKED OUT. NO OTHER NOTIFICATIONS WERE REQUIRED AT THAT TIME. FURTHER INVESTIGATION AND CLEAN-UP BEGAN IN THE FOLLOWING MORNING. EXCAVATION AND ANALYSIS OF THE CONTAMINATED SOIL DETERMINED THAT LESS THAN A GALLON OF PRODUCT (.23) WAS IN THE VISIBLE AFFECTED AREA. NO FREE PHASE PRODUCT WAS FOUND IN THE EXCAVATION. THE TANK WAS CLEANED AND AN INVESTIGATION BEGAN TO DISCOVER THE SOURCE OF THE LEAK. WELDS ON TANK FLOOR WERE VACUM TESTED AND NO DEFECT WAS DETECTED. A HELIUM TEST WAS PERFORMED WHICH INDICATED THE POTENTIAL AREA OF THE LEAK. MAGNETIC PARTICAL EXAMANINATION OF THE AREA,DISCOVERED A CRACK IN THE TANK FLOOR. ON 4/24/13, COUPONS WERE CUT IN THE TANK FLOOR TO PROVIDE OBSERVATION HOLES TO DETERMINE CONDITIONS UNDER THE FLOOR. THE MAJORITY OF OBSERVATION HOLES CONTAINED CLEAR WATER. ON THE EVENING OF 4/24/13, A THIN LAYER OF PRODUCT (LESS THAN 1/8-INCH THICK) WAS OBSERVED FLOATING ON TOP OF THE WATER UNDER THE TANK FLOOR NEAR THE SUMP. APPROXIMATELY 142 GALLONS OF WATER AND 1 GALLON OF PRODUCT WAS REMOVED BY VACUUM TRUCK. NO MEASUREABLE THICKNESS OF PRODUCT REAPPEARED IN ANY OF THE OBSERVATION HOLES. THE MORNING OF 4/25/13 THE PROJECT MANAGER AND DISTRICT ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGER (DEM) DETERMINED THAT, DUE TO THE EXTENSIVE INVESTIGATION, THE $50,000 THRESHOLD WOULD BE MET. THE RELEASE VOLUME OF 20 GALLONS WAS ESTIMATED AT THAT TIME BASED UPON OBSERVED CONDITIONS, THE AMOUNT RECOVERED,AND AN ESTIMATE AS TO WHAT MIGHT BE CONTAINED IN THE SAND LAYER BELOW THE FLOOR, AND THE ABSENCE OF CONTAMINATION OR PRODUCT DETECTED WITHIN SOIL BORINGS ADVANCED BELOW THE CLAYMAX LINER UNDER THE TANK. AT 8:56 ON 4/25/2013 AN NRC NOTIFICATION WAS MADE BY THE CONTROL CENTER DUE TO THE ESTIMATED COST OF $50,000 OR MORE. AT 9:52 DEM NOTIFIED ADEM. ADDITIONAL INVESTIGATIVE ACTIVITIES WERE CONDUCTED UNDER THE TANK FLOOR TO CONFIRM THE EXTENT OF CONTAMINATION AND THE ESTIMATED RELEASE VOLUME. APPROXIMATELY 128 TONS OF IMPACTED SOIL WERE REMOVED FROM BELOW THE TANK FLOOR AND SENT OFF SITE FOR DISPOSAL IN FEBRUARY 2014. LABORATORY RESULTS INDICATE THAT 2 GALLONS OF THE RELEASED PRODUCT WERE CONTAINED IN THE IMPACTED SOIL. THE UPDATED RELEASE VOLUME OF 3 GALLONS IS BASED ON THE VOLUME OF PRODUCT CONTAINED IN IMPACT SOIL AND THE 1 GALLON OF FREE PRODUCT RECOVERED DURING THE INITIAL RESPONSE.