COLONIAL PIPELINE CO

Incident Narrative

AT APPROXIMATELY 5:30 A.M. CST ON THE MORNING OF MARCH 4, 2010, A LAKE CHARLES STATION OPERATOR ARRIVED AT THE LINE 1 DYNATROL UPSTREAM OF LAKE CHARLES STATION TO ISOLATE THE SYSTEM IN PREPARATION OF A PIG PASSAGE. AS HE WAS TURNING OFF HIS VEHICLE, THE OPERATOR SMELLED GASOLINE, NOTICED A FOG ALONG THE GROUND AND HEARD A HISSING NOISE. FURTHER INSPECTION REVEALED PUDDLES OF GASOLINE IN THE AREA AND THE DYNATROL AND SLAB WERE COVERED WITH ICE AND THERE WERE VAPOR CLOUDS OF GASOLINE. THE OPERATOR MOVED AWAY FROM THE AREA AND CONTACTED THE CONTROL CENTER TO HAVE THE LINE SHUTDOWN. THE CONTROLLER BLOCKED THE LINE UPSTREAM AND PULLED THE LINE FLAT WITH A DOWNSTREAM STATION. THE OPERATOR NOTIFIED THE OPERATIONS MANAGER AT 5:37 A.M. CST AND THE OPERATIONS MANAGER NOTIFIED THE DIRECTOR OF OPERATIONS AT APPROXIMATELY 5:47 A.M. CST. THE STATE OF LOUISIANA AND LOCAL PARISH NOTIFICATIONS WERE MADE AT 7:00 AND 7:25 A.M. CST. AFTER THE LINE WAS SHUTDOWN, THE OPERATOR AND A LOCAL CONTRACTOR ISOLATED THE DYNATROL SITE BY CLOSING 1/2"" VALVES ON EITHER SIDE OF THE SYSTEM. SHORTLY AFTERWARDS, THE CONTROL CENTER WAS INFORMED THAT THE AREA HAD BEEN ISOLATED AND IT WAS OK TO RETURN THE LINE TO OPERATIONS. AN ASSESSMENT OF THE AREA SHOWED THAT GASOLINE HAD SETTLED ON POOLED RAIN WATER ALONG A SHARED ROW COVERING AN AREA APPROXIMATELY 200' X 50'. SOME WATER AND GASOLINE HAD LEFT THE ROW VIA A LOW LYING AREA AND WAS ISOLATED IN A DEPRESSION IN A WOODED AREA JUST SOUTH OF THE ROW. CONTRACT CREWS ARRIVED WITHIN AN HOUR AND BEGAN THE RECOVERY AND CLEAN-UP PROCESS. APPROXIMATELY, 6.5 BBLS OF FREE PRODUCT WERE RECOVERED AND IT WAS CALCULATED THAT AN ESTIMATED .8 BBLS EVAPORATED DURING THE RELEASE AND RECOVERY PROCESS. OVER THE NEXT SEVERAL DAYS APPROXIMATELY 100 CUBIC YARDS OF CONTAMINATED SOIL WERE REMOVED AND REPLACED WITH CLEAN SOIL. THE LABORATORY ANALYSIS OF THE CONTAMINATED SOIL DETERMINED THERE WERE 24.62 GALLONS OF PRODUCT CONTAINED IN THE CONTAMINATED SOIL, BRINGING THE TOTAL VOLUME RELEASED TO 7.88 BARRELS. THE FINAL COST ESTIMATE OF $65,000 TRIGGERED AN NRC NOTIFICATION MADE ON 7-1-10. (SUBMITTAL OF THIS FINAL REPORT WAS DELAYED BY APPROXIMATELY ONE WEEK DUE TO INABILITY TO LOGIN TO THE PHMSA ON-LINE SYSTEM.)