Incident details
Operator, cause, commodity and consequences with raw source fields.
GTG incident on 2015-11-26 — TX
Operator
Columbia Gas Transmission, Llc
Cause
Equipment Failure
Commodity
Natural Gas
Program
GTG
Damage and Injuries
0 fatalities
0 injuries
Property damage (nominal)
$0
Incident datetime
2015-11-26 12:37
Report number
Location
TX
Narrative
On november 26, 2015, a columbia gas transmission, llc (columbia) facility was subject to an event due to an unintended activation of an intermediate 4-in relief valve (rv) that exceeded 3,000 mcf of natural gas (material). This rv is located on the discharge line of unit no. 2 in artemas compressor station (cs). This facility is located near the town of artemas in bedford county, pennsylvania. Columbia owns, operates and maintains this transmission facility. After receiving a call from columbia s monitoring center about a fault at unit no. 2, columbia operations personnel responded to this event to address the faulted unit. Upon reaching the site and identifying the source of the blowing noise, columbia personnel isolated the pipeline to prevent additional flow of material through this rv where the area was made safe and secured. There was no presence of fire or explosion in lieu of the material release. The initial assessment of this incident indicated that a contributing factor was a check valve located upstream of the rv had failed to operate. Hence, providing continuous flow to the rv, which in turn continued to relieve the additional flow (as it was designed to). Unit no. 2 and the associated piping were kept isolated pending further investigations, whereas the rest of the facility was kept running in its normal operational mode. The failure analysis investigation report identified an elevated level of vibration may have been a contributing factor that triggered the failure of the header check valve (cv), hence initiating the chain of events. The cv funcitons as aseparator between the intermediate discharge header from the high pressure discharge header. As a corrective action, additional bracing was introduced to the suspect subject piping to attenuate the vibration.
Detailed record list
Report Received Date
2015-12-22 00:00:00
Iyear
2015
Report Number
20150152
Supplemental Number
17270
Report Type
Supplemental Final
Operator Id
2616
Name
Columbia Gas Transmission, Llc
Operator Street Address
700 Louisiana St. Suite 700
Operator City Name
Houston
Operator State Abbreviation
TX
Operator Postal Code
77002
Local Datetime
2015-11-26 12:37:00
Location Latitude
39.72573
Location Longitude
-78.4217
Nrc Rpt Num
1134349
Nrc Rpt Datetime
2015-11-26 15:16:00
Commodity Released Type
Natural Gas
Unintentional Release
2618
Intentional Release
0
Accompanying Liquid
0
Fatality Ind
No
Fatal
0
Injury Ind
No
Injure
0
Shutdown Due Accident Ind
No
Shutdown Explain
Unit No. 2 Faulted And Was Isolated
Ignite Ind
No
Explode Ind
No
Num Pub Evacuated
0
Incident Identified Datetime
2015-11-26 12:37:00
On Site Datetime
2015-11-26 13:10:00
On Off Shore
Onshore
Onshore State Abbreviation
Pa
Onshore Postal Code
17211
Onshore City Name
Artemas
Onshore County Name
Bedford County
Designated Location
Milepost
Designated Name
Relief Valve
Pipe Fac Name
Artemas Compressor Station
Segment Name
C58-84
Federal
No
Location Type
Operator-Controlled Property
Incident Area Type
Aboveground
Incident Area Subtype
Typical Aboveground Facility Piping Or Appurtenance
Crossing
No
Pipe Facility Type
Interstate
System Part Involved
Onshore Compressor Station Equipment And Piping
Item Involved
Valve
Valve Type
Relief Valve
Installation Year
1970
Material Involved
Carbon Steel
Release Type
Leak
Leak Type
Other
Leak Type Other
Failed Upstream Check Valve
Class Location Type
Class 1 Location
Could Be Hca
No
Pir Radius
113
Heat Damage Ind
No
Non Heat Damage Ind
No
Hca Fatalities Ind
No
Est Cost Oper Paid
0
Est Cost Unintentional Release
4922
Est Cost Intentional Release
0
Est Cost Prop Damage
0
Est Cost Emergency
0
Est Cost Other
0
Est Cost Other Details
No Additional Costs
Prpty
4922
Accident Psig
1280
Mop Psig
1650
Mop Cfr Section
192.619(A)(1)
Accident Pressure
Pressure Did Not Exceed Maop
Pressure Restriction Ind
No
Pipeline Function
Transmission System
Scada In Place Ind
Yes
Scada Operating Ind
Yes
Scada Functional Ind
Yes
Scada Detection Ind
Yes
Scada Conf Ind
Yes
Accident Identifier
Controller
Operator Type
Operator Employee
Investigation Status
No, the operator did not find that an investigation of the controller(s) actions or control room issues was necessary due to: (provide an explanation for why the operator did not investigate)
Investigation Status Details
There was no investigation into the actions of the controller since the failure was identified due to a failure in the equipment.
Employee Drug Test Ind
No
Contractor Drug Test Ind
No
Cause
Equipment Failure
Cause Details
Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment
Eq Failure Type
Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment
Check Valve Ind
Yes
Eq Additional Other Ind
Yes
Eq Additional Other Details
Failed Check Valve
Preparer Name
G***** H*****
Preparer Title
Engineer
Preparer Email
G************@t**********.com
Preparer Telephone
(304) 357-3728
Authorizer Name
L** R*****
Authorizer Title
Manager Us Regulatory Compliance
Authorizer Telephone
(832) 320-5315
Authorizer Email
L*********@t**********.com
Narrative
On november 26, 2015, a columbia gas transmission, llc (columbia) facility was subject to an event due to an unintended activation of an intermediate 4-in relief valve (rv) that exceeded 3,000 mcf of natural gas (material). This rv is located on the discharge line of unit no. 2 in artemas compressor station (cs). This facility is located near the town of artemas in bedford county, pennsylvania. Columbia owns, operates and maintains this transmission facility. After receiving a call from columbia s monitoring center about a fault at unit no. 2, columbia operations personnel responded to this event to address the faulted unit. Upon reaching the site and identifying the source of the blowing noise, columbia personnel isolated the pipeline to prevent additional flow of material through this rv where the area was made safe and secured. There was no presence of fire or explosion in lieu of the material release. The initial assessment of this incident indicated that a contributing factor was a check valve located upstream of the rv had failed to operate. Hence, providing continuous flow to the rv, which in turn continued to relieve the additional flow (as it was designed to). Unit no. 2 and the associated piping were kept isolated pending further investigations, whereas the rest of the facility was kept running in its normal operational mode. The failure analysis investigation report identified an elevated level of vibration may have been a contributing factor that triggered the failure of the header check valve (cv), hence initiating the chain of events. The cv funcitons as aseparator between the intermediate discharge header from the high pressure discharge header. As a corrective action, additional bracing was introduced to the suspect subject piping to attenuate the vibration.
| Report Received Date | 2015-12-22 00:00:00 |
|---|---|
| Iyear | 2015 |
| Report Number | 20150152 |
| Supplemental Number | 17270 |
| Report Type | Supplemental Final |
| Operator Id | 2616 PHMSA Enforcement |
| Name | Columbia Gas Transmission, Llc |
| Operator Street Address | 700 Louisiana St. Suite 700 |
| Operator City Name | Houston |
| Operator State Abbreviation | TX |
| Operator Postal Code | 77002 |
| Local Datetime | 2015-11-26 12:37:00 |
| Location Latitude | 39.72573 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Location Longitude | -78.4217 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Nrc Rpt Num | 1134349 NRC Report How to search |
| Nrc Rpt Datetime | 2015-11-26 15:16:00 |
| Commodity Released Type | Natural Gas |
| Unintentional Release | 2618 |
| Intentional Release | 0 |
| Accompanying Liquid | 0 |
| Fatality Ind | No |
| Fatal | 0 |
| Injury Ind | No |
| Injure | 0 |
| Shutdown Due Accident Ind | No |
| Shutdown Explain | Unit No. 2 Faulted And Was Isolated |
| Ignite Ind | No |
| Explode Ind | No |
| Num Pub Evacuated | 0 |
| Incident Identified Datetime | 2015-11-26 12:37:00 |
| On Site Datetime | 2015-11-26 13:10:00 |
| On Off Shore | Onshore |
| Onshore State Abbreviation | Pa |
| Onshore Postal Code | 17211 |
| Onshore City Name | Artemas |
| Onshore County Name | Bedford County |
| Designated Location | Milepost |
| Designated Name | Relief Valve |
| Pipe Fac Name | Artemas Compressor Station |
| Segment Name | C58-84 |
| Federal | No |
| Location Type | Operator-Controlled Property |
| Incident Area Type | Aboveground |
| Incident Area Subtype | Typical Aboveground Facility Piping Or Appurtenance |
| Crossing | No |
| Pipe Facility Type | Interstate |
| System Part Involved | Onshore Compressor Station Equipment And Piping |
| Item Involved | Valve |
| Valve Type | Relief Valve |
| Installation Year | 1970 |
| Material Involved | Carbon Steel |
| Release Type | Leak |
| Leak Type | Other |
| Leak Type Other | Failed Upstream Check Valve |
| Class Location Type | Class 1 Location |
| Could Be Hca | No |
| Pir Radius | 113 |
| Heat Damage Ind | No |
| Non Heat Damage Ind | No |
| Hca Fatalities Ind | No |
| Est Cost Oper Paid | 0 |
| Est Cost Unintentional Release | 4922 |
| Est Cost Intentional Release | 0 |
| Est Cost Prop Damage | 0 |
| Est Cost Emergency | 0 |
| Est Cost Other | 0 |
| Est Cost Other Details | No Additional Costs |
| Prpty | 4922 |
| Accident Psig | 1280 |
| Mop Psig | 1650 |
| Mop Cfr Section | 192.619(A)(1) View CFR 49 §192 |
| Accident Pressure | Pressure Did Not Exceed Maop |
| Pressure Restriction Ind | No |
| Pipeline Function | Transmission System |
| Scada In Place Ind | Yes |
| Scada Operating Ind | Yes |
| Scada Functional Ind | Yes |
| Scada Detection Ind | Yes |
| Scada Conf Ind | Yes |
| Accident Identifier | Controller |
| Operator Type | Operator Employee |
| Investigation Status | No, the operator did not find that an investigation of the controller(s) actions or control room issues was necessary due to: (provide an explanation for why the operator did not investigate) |
| Investigation Status Details | There was no investigation into the actions of the controller since the failure was identified due to a failure in the equipment. |
| Employee Drug Test Ind | No |
| Contractor Drug Test Ind | No |
| Cause | Equipment Failure |
| Cause Details | Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment |
| Eq Failure Type | Malfunction Of Control/relief Equipment |
| Check Valve Ind | Yes |
| Eq Additional Other Ind | Yes |
| Eq Additional Other Details | Failed Check Valve |
| Preparer Name | G***** H***** |
| Preparer Title | Engineer |
| Preparer Email | G************@t**********.com |
| Preparer Telephone | (304) 357-3728 |
| Authorizer Name | L** R***** |
| Authorizer Title | Manager Us Regulatory Compliance |
| Authorizer Telephone | (832) 320-5315 |
| Authorizer Email | L*********@t**********.com |
| Narrative | On november 26, 2015, a columbia gas transmission, llc (columbia) facility was subject to an event due to an unintended activation of an intermediate 4-in relief valve (rv) that exceeded 3,000 mcf of natural gas (material). This rv is located on the discharge line of unit no. 2 in artemas compressor station (cs). This facility is located near the town of artemas in bedford county, pennsylvania. Columbia owns, operates and maintains this transmission facility. After receiving a call from columbia s monitoring center about a fault at unit no. 2, columbia operations personnel responded to this event to address the faulted unit. Upon reaching the site and identifying the source of the blowing noise, columbia personnel isolated the pipeline to prevent additional flow of material through this rv where the area was made safe and secured. There was no presence of fire or explosion in lieu of the material release. The initial assessment of this incident indicated that a contributing factor was a check valve located upstream of the rv had failed to operate. Hence, providing continuous flow to the rv, which in turn continued to relieve the additional flow (as it was designed to). Unit no. 2 and the associated piping were kept isolated pending further investigations, whereas the rest of the facility was kept running in its normal operational mode. The failure analysis investigation report identified an elevated level of vibration may have been a contributing factor that triggered the failure of the header check valve (cv), hence initiating the chain of events. The cv funcitons as aseparator between the intermediate discharge header from the high pressure discharge header. As a corrective action, additional bracing was introduced to the suspect subject piping to attenuate the vibration. |
External Resources
PHMSA pipeline safety insights.
Product
Features
Company
All rights reserved. Copyright © by ClearPHMSA