PHMSA 18-16
Friday, July 29, 2016
Contact: Artealia Gilliard
Tel: 202-366-4831
PHMSA Proposes $1.6M in Civil Penalties for Safety Violations Following
Fatal 2015 Louisiana Compressor Station Explosion
WASHINGTON – The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) today proposed $1.6 million in civil penalties and issued a Notice of Probable Violation (NOPV) and a Proposed Compliance Order to the Transcontinental Pipeline Company (Transco) for violations of the Federal pipeline safety regulations.
The actions are related to an October 8, 2015 incident resulting in the deaths of four workers due to a series of explosions and a fire. Nearby residences were also evacuated and a state highway was closed. The Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Company, LLC is a subsidiary of Williams Partners L.P., which owns and operates more than 33,000 miles of pipelines nationwide.
PHMSA’s investigation into the cause of the October incident near Bayou Black, Louisiana, uncovered five alleged instances of noncompliance with Federal pipeline safety regulations. The instances of noncompliance include failing to report all significant facts when reporting the incident to the National Response Center and performing welding on pipeline components that contain a combustible mixture of gas and air. The Proposed Compliance Order incorporates remedial actions that correspond to each alleged violation to ensure compliance with pipeline safety regulations and improve safety.
The Transco Compressor Station 62 facility is located between Gibson and Houma, LA near Bayou Black, where it receives unprocessed natural gas via pipelines from offshore producers in the Gulf of Mexico.
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The mission of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is to protect people and the environment by advancing the safe transportation of energy and other hazardous materials that are essential to our daily lives. PHMSA develops and enforces regulations for the safe operation of the nation's 2.6 million mile pipeline transportation system and the nearly one million daily shipments of hazardous materials by land, sea, and air. Please visit http://phmsa.dot.gov or https://twitter.com/PHMSA_DOT for more information.