The US Department of Transportation has fined El Paso Corp. and its Colorado Interstate Gas Co. subsidiary a record US$ 2.3 million for violating federal pipeline safety regulations.
The civil penalty was the largest ever assessed against a pipeline under the government鈥檚 administrative authority. 鈥淧ipeline and other underground facility damage is almost entirely preventable,鈥� said PHSMA Administrator Cynthia L. Quartermain. 鈥淧ipeline operators must be the first line of defence in protecting the public from incidents related to their systems.鈥�
The case
El Paso and its Colorado Interstate Gas Co. unit received the civil penalty after an investigation into a 2006 pipeline explosion that killed a construction worker in Laramie, Wyoming.
The explosion occurred on 11th November 2006, when the a 36 in. gas transmission pipeline in Laramie County, Wyo., which a second El Paso subsidiary, Wyoming Interstate Co. Ltd., owned and CIG operated, was struck by a bulldozer as its operator tried to grade land nearby to build a right-of-way for the Rockies Express Pipeline, PHMSA said. The contact with the high-pressure line released gas, which ignited in an explosion and fire, killing the bulldozer鈥檚 operator.
Investigation
The Transportation Department determined that El Paso hadn鈥檛 followed regulations for locating and marking buried pipelines.聽These regulations require pipeline operators to establish and follow procedures properly locating and marking their underground systems before excavation begins to prevent accidental contact and safety risks. The agency鈥檚 compliance order requires the companies to revise corporate procedures for making construction records, maps, and operating history available to appropriate personnel. The order also specifies that El Paso and CIG will develop and implement training for all supervisors and manages to assure that they understand El Paso surveillance procedures and will be able to intervene in unsafe or hazardous situations, PHMSA said.
El Paso鈥檚 response
The fine is the largest ever against a pipeline company by the Transportation Department鈥檚 Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. El Paso said it will comply with the order, which also includes requirements to revise procedures for making construction records and maps available and to improve training for managers.
鈥淭he department will hold pipeline operators accountable for the safety of those who live and work in the vicinity of their systems and negligence will not be tolerated,鈥� Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood said in the statement.
El Paso doesn鈥檛 agree with all of the government鈥檚 findings, as the 鈥渃omplexity of the facts鈥� of the explosion weren鈥檛 all considered, said聽Richard Wheatley, a company spokesman.聽鈥淚t essentially fails to take into account the serious errors of the constructing pipeline company and its contractors,鈥� he said.
Construction agreement
El Paso developed and implemented a construction agreement following the accident to provide guidelines on marking pipelines, sharing operating data and maps between incumbent pipelines and new infrastructure builders. Wheatley said, 鈥淲e鈥檝e taken a number of proactive actions since the accident鈥�. 鈥淲e thoroughly reviewed our policies and procedures.鈥�