COLONIAL PIPELINE CO
hazardous_liquid Incident — — February 7, 2014
Incident Information
| Incident Date | February 7, 2014 |
| Operator | COLONIAL PIPELINE CO |
| Commodity | REFINED AND/OR PETROLEUM PRODUCT (NON-HVL) WHICH IS A LIQUID |
| Pipeline Type | hazardous_liquid |
Location
| State | |
| Coordinates | 30.71126, -91.28299 |
Cause
| Cause | INCORRECT OPERATION |
| Subcause | "VALVE LEFT OR PLACED IN WRONG POSITION, BUT NOT RESULTING IN A TANK, VESSEL, OR SUMP/SEPARATOR OVERFLOW OR FACILITY OVERPRESSURE" |
Casualties
| Fatalities | 0 |
| Injuries | 0 |
Costs
| Property Damage | $0 |
| Emergency Response | $2,800 |
| Other Costs | $0 |
Location Map
Incident Narrative
"DURING AN INJECTION OF TRANSMIX, A MAINLINE UPSET OCCURRED THAT CAUSED PRESSURE TO INCREASE BACK INTO THE STATION. THE CONTROLLER DIRECTED THE LOCAL OPERATOR TO SHUT DOWN THE INJECTION AND THE OPERATOR CLOSED THE INJECTION VALVE CREATING A BLOCKED LINE CONDITION. LATER THE OPERATOR NOTED HIGH LEVEL ALARMS FOR THE INJECTION SUMP AND SENT A SECOND OPERATOR TO PUMP IT DOWN. AS THE SECOND OPERATOR HEADED TOWARD THE INJECTION SUMP, HE OBSERVED PRODUCT SPRAYING NEAR A METER. AT ABOUT THAT TIME, THE CONTROLLER DIRECTED THE FIRST OPERATOR TO RESTART THE INJECTION. WHEN THE INJECTION VALVE REOPENED THE PRODUCT STOPPED SPRAYING. IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE PRODUCT HAD SPRAYED FROM A LOOSE INSPECTION CAP ON A CHECK VALVE FOR THE METER RUN THERMAL RELIEF DRAIN LINE. PRESSURE FROM THE TRANSMIX PUMP DURING THE BLOCKED LINE CONDITION HAD CAUSED THE THERMAL RELIEF TO ACTIVATE AND SEND PRODUCT TO THE INJECTION SUMP AS WELL AS VIBRATING THE CAP LOOSE WHICH ALLOWED THE RELEASE. THE CAP WAS TIGHTENED AND THE AREA CLEANED UP BY 18:00 THAT DAY."
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.