Incident details
Operator, cause, commodity and consequences with raw source fields.
HL incident on 2020-08-21 — TX
Operator
Enterprise Products Operating Llc
Cause
Miscellaneous Root Causes
Commodity
Hvl Or Other Flammable Or Toxic Fluid Which Is A Gas At Ambient Conditions
Program
HL
Damage and Injuries
5 fatalities
4 injuries
Property damage (nominal)
$1,900,000
Incident datetime
2020-08-21 08:02
Report number
Location
TX
Narrative
In june 2020, enterprise became aware that orion marine group (orion) was contracted by epic midstream to construct a bulkhead and barge dock in the tule lake channel. The bulkhead construction would involve adding 5' of cover over enterprise's line 219. Through communications and conversations with orion personnel in june and july 2020, enterprise was told the dredging activities in the channel would be approximately 60' off the shoreline. On 7/16/20, enterprise and orion personnel met at the worksite. When the group arrived, cane poles installed in 2019 to mark line 219 were still present in the water. Although the current scope of work didn't involve dredging within 50' of line 219, enterprise marked line 219 as a courtesy because orion may need to place an anchor in the vicinity of line 219. Enterprise located and marked line 219 on the shoreline and, for the portions of line 219 in the water, enterprise supplemented the existing cane poles with cane poles provided by orion. The cane poles were placed ~5' to ~10' away from line 219 (closer to the work area) to provide a "buffer" between the work area and line 219. During this meeting, orion confirmed that no work would be performed near line 219, and enterprise instructed orion to contact them if there were any changes in the plans. On 8/21/20 at 8:02 am, enterprise's controller received an alarm indicating low pressure at viola station. At 8:05 am, the control valve at viola station, located downstream of meter 1004, automatically closed. At ~8:07 am, the viola meter registered no flow on the pipeline. At 8:09 am, enterprise controller called local operations technicians to investigate the cause of the loss of pressure. Between ~8:30 am and ~8:45 am, operations technicians arrived at viola station (upstream of the incident site) and origin station (downstream of the incident site) to manually close valves at both locations to isolate the pipeline. At 9:05 am, valves at cantwell station (upstream of origin station) were closed to further isolate the pipeline. At 9:47 am, pipeline control received a call from the port of corpus christi notifying them that a dredging operation had struck a pipeline and there was a fire. At ~9:53 am, local enterprise operations confirmed, based on available information, that line 219 was struck by a 3rd party. Nrc was called at 10:12 am and report taken at 10:52 am. Nrc updates: #1285319 (48-hr update) and #1285505. Trrc was notified at 10:18 am (incident #2251). On 8/24/20, an underwater inspection found evidence of mechanical damage and two punctures in the pipeline. The damaged pipeline was cut out and replaced and the pipeline returned to service on 10/22/20. Enterprise and other parties participated in the ntsb's investigation of the accident. The ntsb concluded the cause of the accident was due to orion's inadequate planning and risk management processes failed to identify the proximity of their dredging operation to enterprise's pipeline and resulted in the absence of effective controls to prevent the dredge's cutterhead from striking the pipeline. The report is available at https://www.Ntsb.Gov/investigations/pages/dca20fm026.Aspx notes: a5: surveyed on 9/24/20. A18b: this was the estimated time of arrival of the operations technician at viola station based on phone log. B11a: the depth of water over the pipeline varies based on tide levels. C6: there were two punctures at the 6 o'clock position of varying sizes (7" x 5" and 5" x 2.5"). G3.9: orion was not working for enterprise. G3.10-11: the work being performed at the time was dredging. G3.12-15: the one-call ticket was cleared by enterprise based on information provided by orion stating the work would be ~60' from the shoreline. After the ticket was cleared, enterprise agreed to courtesy mark the pipeline in response to orion's concern about the placement of anchors.
Detailed record list
Report Received Date
2020-09-18 00:00:00
Iyear
2020
Report Number
20200256
Supplemental Number
36284
Report Type
Supplemental Final
Operator Id
31618
Name
Enterprise Products Operating Llc
Operator Street Address
1100 Louisiana Street
Operator City Name
Houston
Operator State Abbreviation
TX
Operator Postal Code
77002
Local Datetime
2020-08-21 08:02:00
Location Latitude
27.816161
Location Longitude
-97.468802
Commodity Released Type
Hvl Or Other Flammable Or Toxic Fluid Which Is A Gas At Ambient Conditions
Commodity Subtype
Other Hvl
Commodity Details
Propane
Unintentional Release Bbls
6024
Intentional Release Bbls
0
Recovered Bbls
0
Fatality Ind
Yes
Num Emp Fatalities
0
Num Contr Fatalities
0
Num Er Fatalities
0
Num Worker Fatalities
5
Num Gp Fatalities
0
Fatal
5
Injury Ind
Yes
Num Emp Injuries
0
Num Contr Injuries
0
Num Er Injuries
0
Num Worker Injuries
4
Num Gp Injuries
0
Injure
4
Accident Identifier
Controller
Operator Type
Operator Employee
Incident Identified Datetime
2020-08-21 08:02:00
System Part Involved
Onshore Pipeline, Including Valve Sites
On Off Shore
Onshore
On Site Datetime
2020-08-21 08:30:00
Nrc Rpt Datetime
2020-08-21 10:12:00
Nrc Rpt Num
1285164
Ignite Ind
Yes
Explode Ind
Yes
Num Pub Evacuated
0
Pipe Fac Name
Viola To Cantwell
Segment Name
Tx219
Onshore State Abbreviation
Tx
Onshore Postal Code
78407
Onshore City Name
Corpus Christi
Onshore County Name
Nueces
Designated Location
Survey Station No.
Designated Name
171+97
Federal
No
Location Type
Pipeline Right-Of-Way
Incident Area Type
Underground
Incident Area Subtype
Other
Incident Area Details
Underwater
Depth Of Cover
Unknown
Crossing
No
Pipe Facility Type
Intrastate
Item Involved
Pipe
Pipe Type
Pipe Body
Pipe Diameter
16
Pipe Wall Thickness
0.219
Pipe Smys
46000
Pipe Specification
Api-5l
Pipe Seam Type
Erw � Unknown Frequency
Pipe Manufacturer
Unknown
Pipe Coating Type
Other
Pipe Coating Details
Coal Tar And Concrete
Installation Year
1968
Manufactured Year
Unknown
Material Involved
Carbon Steel
Release Type
Mechanical Puncture
Puncture Axial
7
Puncture Circum
5
Wildlife Impact Ind
No
Soil Contamination
No
Long Term Assessment
No
Remediation Ind
No
Water Contam Ind
No
Could Be Hca
Yes
Commodity Reached Hca
Yes
Commercially Nav Ind
Yes
Commercially Nav Yes No
Yes
High Pop Ind
Yes
High Pop Yes No
Yes
Other Pop Ind
Yes
Other Pop Yes No
Yes
Usa Ecological Ind
Yes
Usa Ecological Yes No
Yes
Est Cost Oper Paid
0
Est Cost Gas Released
123000
Est Cost Prop Damage
1900000
Est Cost Emergency
0
Est Cost Environmental
0
Est Cost Other
0
Est Cost Other Details
0
Prpty
2023000
Accident Psig
257
Mop Psig
787
Accident Pressure
Pressure Did Not Exceed Mop
Pressure Restriction Ind
No
Internal Inspection Ind
Yes
Operation Complications Ind
No
Pipeline Function
> 20% Smys Regulated Transmission
Scada In Place Ind
Yes
Scada Operating Ind
Yes
Scada Functional Ind
Yes
Scada Detection Ind
Yes
Scada Conf Ind
Yes
Cpm In Place Ind
Yes
Cpm Operating Ind
Yes
Cpm Functional Ind
Yes
Cpm Detection Ind
Yes
Cpm Conf Ind
Yes
Investigation Status
Yes, specify investigation result(s): (select all that apply)
Invest Schedule Ind
Yes
Invest No Control Room Ind
Yes
Invest No Controller Ind
Yes
Employee Drug Test Ind
Yes
Contractor Drug Test Ind
No
Num Employees Tested
1
Num Employees Failed
0
Cause
Excavation Damage
Cause Details
Excavation Damage By Third Party
Ex Party Type
Excavation Damage By Third Party
Prior Notification Ind
Yes
One Call System Ind
Yes
Excavator Ind
Yes
Notify Cga Dirt
No
Public Row Ind
Yes
Public Subtype
Other
Private Row Ind
Yes
Private Subtype
Private Easement
Pipeline Easement Row Ind
Yes
Excavator Type
Contractor
Excavator Equipment
Unknown/other
Work Performed
Unknown/other
One Call Notified Ind
Yes
One Call Ticket Num
Tx2067555147
One Call Center Name
Texas811
Locator Type
Utility Owner
Visible Marks
Yes
Service Interruption
Yes
Service Interruption Hours
1488
Root Cause Category
Miscellaneous Root Causes
Root Cause Type
Root Cause Not Listed (Comment Required)
Root Cause Type Other
Orion Dredged Too Close To Enterprise's Pipeline
Preparer Name
N*** T*****
Preparer Title
Senior Manager Compliance
Preparer Email
N*******@e****.com
Prepared Date
2022-01-31 00:00:00
Authorizer Name
N*** T*****
Authorizer Telephone
713-381-2493
Authorizer Title
Senior Manager Compliance
Authorizer Email
N*******@e****.com
Narrative
In june 2020, enterprise became aware that orion marine group (orion) was contracted by epic midstream to construct a bulkhead and barge dock in the tule lake channel. The bulkhead construction would involve adding 5' of cover over enterprise's line 219. Through communications and conversations with orion personnel in june and july 2020, enterprise was told the dredging activities in the channel would be approximately 60' off the shoreline. On 7/16/20, enterprise and orion personnel met at the worksite. When the group arrived, cane poles installed in 2019 to mark line 219 were still present in the water. Although the current scope of work didn't involve dredging within 50' of line 219, enterprise marked line 219 as a courtesy because orion may need to place an anchor in the vicinity of line 219. Enterprise located and marked line 219 on the shoreline and, for the portions of line 219 in the water, enterprise supplemented the existing cane poles with cane poles provided by orion. The cane poles were placed ~5' to ~10' away from line 219 (closer to the work area) to provide a "buffer" between the work area and line 219. During this meeting, orion confirmed that no work would be performed near line 219, and enterprise instructed orion to contact them if there were any changes in the plans. On 8/21/20 at 8:02 am, enterprise's controller received an alarm indicating low pressure at viola station. At 8:05 am, the control valve at viola station, located downstream of meter 1004, automatically closed. At ~8:07 am, the viola meter registered no flow on the pipeline. At 8:09 am, enterprise controller called local operations technicians to investigate the cause of the loss of pressure. Between ~8:30 am and ~8:45 am, operations technicians arrived at viola station (upstream of the incident site) and origin station (downstream of the incident site) to manually close valves at both locations to isolate the pipeline. At 9:05 am, valves at cantwell station (upstream of origin station) were closed to further isolate the pipeline. At 9:47 am, pipeline control received a call from the port of corpus christi notifying them that a dredging operation had struck a pipeline and there was a fire. At ~9:53 am, local enterprise operations confirmed, based on available information, that line 219 was struck by a 3rd party. Nrc was called at 10:12 am and report taken at 10:52 am. Nrc updates: #1285319 (48-hr update) and #1285505. Trrc was notified at 10:18 am (incident #2251). On 8/24/20, an underwater inspection found evidence of mechanical damage and two punctures in the pipeline. The damaged pipeline was cut out and replaced and the pipeline returned to service on 10/22/20. Enterprise and other parties participated in the ntsb's investigation of the accident. The ntsb concluded the cause of the accident was due to orion's inadequate planning and risk management processes failed to identify the proximity of their dredging operation to enterprise's pipeline and resulted in the absence of effective controls to prevent the dredge's cutterhead from striking the pipeline. The report is available at https://www.Ntsb.Gov/investigations/pages/dca20fm026.Aspx notes: a5: surveyed on 9/24/20. A18b: this was the estimated time of arrival of the operations technician at viola station based on phone log. B11a: the depth of water over the pipeline varies based on tide levels. C6: there were two punctures at the 6 o'clock position of varying sizes (7" x 5" and 5" x 2.5"). G3.9: orion was not working for enterprise. G3.10-11: the work being performed at the time was dredging. G3.12-15: the one-call ticket was cleared by enterprise based on information provided by orion stating the work would be ~60' from the shoreline. After the ticket was cleared, enterprise agreed to courtesy mark the pipeline in response to orion's concern about the placement of anchors.
| Report Received Date | 2020-09-18 00:00:00 |
|---|---|
| Iyear | 2020 |
| Report Number | 20200256 |
| Supplemental Number | 36284 |
| Report Type | Supplemental Final |
| Operator Id | 31618 PHMSA Enforcement |
| Name | Enterprise Products Operating Llc |
| Operator Street Address | 1100 Louisiana Street |
| Operator City Name | Houston |
| Operator State Abbreviation | TX |
| Operator Postal Code | 77002 |
| Local Datetime | 2020-08-21 08:02:00 |
| Location Latitude | 27.816161 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Location Longitude | -97.468802 Google Maps OpenStreetMap |
| Commodity Released Type | Hvl Or Other Flammable Or Toxic Fluid Which Is A Gas At Ambient Conditions |
| Commodity Subtype | Other Hvl |
| Commodity Details | Propane |
| Unintentional Release Bbls | 6024 |
| Intentional Release Bbls | 0 |
| Recovered Bbls | 0 |
| Fatality Ind | Yes |
| Num Emp Fatalities | 0 |
| Num Contr Fatalities | 0 |
| Num Er Fatalities | 0 |
| Num Worker Fatalities | 5 |
| Num Gp Fatalities | 0 |
| Fatal | 5 |
| Injury Ind | Yes |
| Num Emp Injuries | 0 |
| Num Contr Injuries | 0 |
| Num Er Injuries | 0 |
| Num Worker Injuries | 4 |
| Num Gp Injuries | 0 |
| Injure | 4 |
| Accident Identifier | Controller |
| Operator Type | Operator Employee |
| Incident Identified Datetime | 2020-08-21 08:02:00 |
| System Part Involved | Onshore Pipeline, Including Valve Sites |
| On Off Shore | Onshore |
| On Site Datetime | 2020-08-21 08:30:00 |
| Nrc Rpt Datetime | 2020-08-21 10:12:00 |
| Nrc Rpt Num | 1285164 NRC Report How to search |
| Ignite Ind | Yes |
| Explode Ind | Yes |
| Num Pub Evacuated | 0 |
| Pipe Fac Name | Viola To Cantwell |
| Segment Name | Tx219 |
| Onshore State Abbreviation | Tx |
| Onshore Postal Code | 78407 |
| Onshore City Name | Corpus Christi |
| Onshore County Name | Nueces |
| Designated Location | Survey Station No. |
| Designated Name | 171+97 |
| Federal | No |
| Location Type | Pipeline Right-Of-Way |
| Incident Area Type | Underground |
| Incident Area Subtype | Other |
| Incident Area Details | Underwater |
| Depth Of Cover | Unknown |
| Crossing | No |
| Pipe Facility Type | Intrastate |
| Item Involved | Pipe |
| Pipe Type | Pipe Body |
| Pipe Diameter | 16 |
| Pipe Wall Thickness | 0.219 |
| Pipe Smys | 46000 |
| Pipe Specification | Api-5l |
| Pipe Seam Type | Erw � Unknown Frequency |
| Pipe Manufacturer | Unknown |
| Pipe Coating Type | Other |
| Pipe Coating Details | Coal Tar And Concrete |
| Installation Year | 1968 |
| Manufactured Year | Unknown |
| Material Involved | Carbon Steel |
| Release Type | Mechanical Puncture |
| Puncture Axial | 7 |
| Puncture Circum | 5 |
| Wildlife Impact Ind | No |
| Soil Contamination | No |
| Long Term Assessment | No |
| Remediation Ind | No |
| Water Contam Ind | No |
| Could Be Hca | Yes |
| Commodity Reached Hca | Yes |
| Commercially Nav Ind | Yes |
| Commercially Nav Yes No | Yes |
| High Pop Ind | Yes |
| High Pop Yes No | Yes |
| Other Pop Ind | Yes |
| Other Pop Yes No | Yes |
| Usa Ecological Ind | Yes |
| Usa Ecological Yes No | Yes |
| Est Cost Oper Paid | 0 |
| Est Cost Gas Released | 123000 |
| Est Cost Prop Damage | 1900000 |
| Est Cost Emergency | 0 |
| Est Cost Environmental | 0 |
| Est Cost Other | 0 |
| Est Cost Other Details | 0 |
| Prpty | 2023000 |
| Accident Psig | 257 |
| Mop Psig | 787 |
| Accident Pressure | Pressure Did Not Exceed Mop |
| Pressure Restriction Ind | No |
| Internal Inspection Ind | Yes |
| Operation Complications Ind | No |
| Pipeline Function | > 20% Smys Regulated Transmission |
| Scada In Place Ind | Yes |
| Scada Operating Ind | Yes |
| Scada Functional Ind | Yes |
| Scada Detection Ind | Yes |
| Scada Conf Ind | Yes |
| Cpm In Place Ind | Yes |
| Cpm Operating Ind | Yes |
| Cpm Functional Ind | Yes |
| Cpm Detection Ind | Yes |
| Cpm Conf Ind | Yes |
| Investigation Status | Yes, specify investigation result(s): (select all that apply) |
| Invest Schedule Ind | Yes |
| Invest No Control Room Ind | Yes |
| Invest No Controller Ind | Yes |
| Employee Drug Test Ind | Yes |
| Contractor Drug Test Ind | No |
| Num Employees Tested | 1 |
| Num Employees Failed | 0 |
| Cause | Excavation Damage |
| Cause Details | Excavation Damage By Third Party |
| Ex Party Type | Excavation Damage By Third Party |
| Prior Notification Ind | Yes |
| One Call System Ind | Yes |
| Excavator Ind | Yes |
| Notify Cga Dirt | No |
| Public Row Ind | Yes |
| Public Subtype | Other |
| Private Row Ind | Yes |
| Private Subtype | Private Easement |
| Pipeline Easement Row Ind | Yes |
| Excavator Type | Contractor |
| Excavator Equipment | Unknown/other |
| Work Performed | Unknown/other |
| One Call Notified Ind | Yes |
| One Call Ticket Num | Tx2067555147 |
| One Call Center Name | Texas811 |
| Locator Type | Utility Owner |
| Visible Marks | Yes |
| Service Interruption | Yes |
| Service Interruption Hours | 1488 |
| Root Cause Category | Miscellaneous Root Causes |
| Root Cause Type | Root Cause Not Listed (Comment Required) |
| Root Cause Type Other | Orion Dredged Too Close To Enterprise's Pipeline |
| Preparer Name | N*** T***** |
| Preparer Title | Senior Manager Compliance |
| Preparer Email | N*******@e****.com |
| Prepared Date | 2022-01-31 00:00:00 |
| Authorizer Name | N*** T***** |
| Authorizer Telephone | 713-381-2493 |
| Authorizer Title | Senior Manager Compliance |
| Authorizer Email | N*******@e****.com |
| Narrative | In june 2020, enterprise became aware that orion marine group (orion) was contracted by epic midstream to construct a bulkhead and barge dock in the tule lake channel. The bulkhead construction would involve adding 5' of cover over enterprise's line 219. Through communications and conversations with orion personnel in june and july 2020, enterprise was told the dredging activities in the channel would be approximately 60' off the shoreline. On 7/16/20, enterprise and orion personnel met at the worksite. When the group arrived, cane poles installed in 2019 to mark line 219 were still present in the water. Although the current scope of work didn't involve dredging within 50' of line 219, enterprise marked line 219 as a courtesy because orion may need to place an anchor in the vicinity of line 219. Enterprise located and marked line 219 on the shoreline and, for the portions of line 219 in the water, enterprise supplemented the existing cane poles with cane poles provided by orion. The cane poles were placed ~5' to ~10' away from line 219 (closer to the work area) to provide a "buffer" between the work area and line 219. During this meeting, orion confirmed that no work would be performed near line 219, and enterprise instructed orion to contact them if there were any changes in the plans. On 8/21/20 at 8:02 am, enterprise's controller received an alarm indicating low pressure at viola station. At 8:05 am, the control valve at viola station, located downstream of meter 1004, automatically closed. At ~8:07 am, the viola meter registered no flow on the pipeline. At 8:09 am, enterprise controller called local operations technicians to investigate the cause of the loss of pressure. Between ~8:30 am and ~8:45 am, operations technicians arrived at viola station (upstream of the incident site) and origin station (downstream of the incident site) to manually close valves at both locations to isolate the pipeline. At 9:05 am, valves at cantwell station (upstream of origin station) were closed to further isolate the pipeline. At 9:47 am, pipeline control received a call from the port of corpus christi notifying them that a dredging operation had struck a pipeline and there was a fire. At ~9:53 am, local enterprise operations confirmed, based on available information, that line 219 was struck by a 3rd party. Nrc was called at 10:12 am and report taken at 10:52 am. Nrc updates: #1285319 (48-hr update) and #1285505. Trrc was notified at 10:18 am (incident #2251). On 8/24/20, an underwater inspection found evidence of mechanical damage and two punctures in the pipeline. The damaged pipeline was cut out and replaced and the pipeline returned to service on 10/22/20. Enterprise and other parties participated in the ntsb's investigation of the accident. The ntsb concluded the cause of the accident was due to orion's inadequate planning and risk management processes failed to identify the proximity of their dredging operation to enterprise's pipeline and resulted in the absence of effective controls to prevent the dredge's cutterhead from striking the pipeline. The report is available at https://www.Ntsb.Gov/investigations/pages/dca20fm026.Aspx notes: a5: surveyed on 9/24/20. A18b: this was the estimated time of arrival of the operations technician at viola station based on phone log. B11a: the depth of water over the pipeline varies based on tide levels. C6: there were two punctures at the 6 o'clock position of varying sizes (7" x 5" and 5" x 2.5"). G3.9: orion was not working for enterprise. G3.10-11: the work being performed at the time was dredging. G3.12-15: the one-call ticket was cleared by enterprise based on information provided by orion stating the work would be ~60' from the shoreline. After the ticket was cleared, enterprise agreed to courtesy mark the pipeline in response to orion's concern about the placement of anchors. |
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