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COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

hazardous_liquid Incident —

Incident Information

Report Date—
OperatorCOLONIAL PIPELINE CO
Commodity—
Pipeline Typehazardous_liquid

Location

State
Coordinates33.59872, -85.82542

Cause

CauseINCORRECT OPERATION
Subcause—

Casualties

Fatalities0
Injuries0

Costs

Property Damage—
Lost Commodity—
Public/Private Damage—
Emergency Response—
Environmental Remediation—
Other Costs—

Location Map

Incident Narrative

AT 0349 CST 12/6/11, THE CONTROL CENTER WAS NOTIFIED BY OXFORD AL FIRE DEPARTMENT THAT DIESEL FUEL WAS LEAKING FROM A FLANGE AT OXFORD STATION. THE CONTROL CENTER IMMEDIATELY INITIATED THE SAFE AND CONTROLLED SHUT DOWN OF THE PIPELINE. COLONIAL AND CONTRACT PERSONNEL RESPONDED TO THE SITE. AT 0430 PERSONNEL ONSITE REPORTED THAT THE LEAK WAS CONTAINED. NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE TO NRC, ADEM AND PHMSA BASED ON ESTIMATED VOLUME RELEASED AND ESTIMATED CLEAN-UP COSTS. A FOLLOW UP NOTIFICATION WAS MADE TO THE NRC ON 12/8/11 WITH UPDATED COST AND VOLUME ESTIMATES. THE LEAK SOURCE WAS FOUND TO BE A BLIND FLANGE INSTALLED WHEN LINE 2 UNIT 4 PUMP WAS REMOVED AS PART OF THE ONGOING PUMP PROJECT. ONSITE INVESTIGATION DETERMINED THAT THE BOLTS ON THE FLANGE WERE NOT SUFFICIENTLY TORQUED WHICH ALLOWED THE GASKET TO FAIL. FLANGE WAS REMOVED, A NEW GASKET INSTALLED AND FLANGE REINSTALLED WITH THE BOLTS TORQUED TO SPEC. AN ESTIMATED 69 BARRELS OF PRODUCT SPRAYED FROM THE FLANGE. THE PRODUCT SPRAY EXTENDED OUTSIDE THE STATION AND ACROSS FRIENDSHIP ROAD ONTO CPC AND ALABAMA POWER RIGHTS OF WAYS WITHIN A WOODED LOT. CONTAMINATED SOIL EXCAVATION AND SITE RESTORATION ACTIVITIES HAVE BEEN COMPLETED WITHIN THE STATION AND ON IMPACTED OFF-SITE PROPERTIES. A TOTAL OF 2,852 GALLONS (APPROXIMATELY 68 BARRELS) OF PRODUCT HAVE BEEN RECOVERED AT THE SITE TO DATE. OF THAT TOTAL, 626 GALLONS ARE ESTIMATED TO HAVE BEEN RECOVERED WITHIN 2,049 TONS OF IMPACTED SOILS THAT WERE EXCAVATED AND TRANSPORTED OFF SITE FOR DISPOSAL. A TOTAL OF 2,225 GALLONS OF FREE PHASE PRODUCT WAS RECOVERED VIA PUMPS, VAC TRUCKS, AND ABSORBENTS FROM THE GROUND SURFACE, STATION ACCESS WELLS, AND A REMEDIATION WELL INSTALLED AT THE POINT OF RELEASE. FREE PHASE PRODUCT IS NO LONGER PRESENT IN STATION ACCESS WELLS OR THE REMEDIATION WELL AND IT APPEARS THAT THE MAJORITY OF THE RELEASED PRODUCT HAS BEEN RECOVERED. AN ESTIMATED 1 BARREL OF PRODUCT REMAINS WITHIN IMPACTED SOILS THAT WERE NOT ACCESSABLE TO EXCAVATION. A REPORT HAS BEEN SUBMITTED TO ALABAMA DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT DOCUMENTING EMERGENCY RESPONSE, ASSESSMENT, AND REMEDIATION ACTIVITIES. THE COST ESTIMATE TO ADDRESS IMPACTS FROM THE RELEASE HAS BEEN INCREASED TO $833,200.

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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