Company fined in Appomattox pipeline explosion

Almost a year after a natural gas pipeline explosion rocked Appomattox, federal inspectors have issued a proposed fine of almost $1 million following an investigation that found safety regulation violations.

The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration levied a $952,500 fine on Williams Gas Pipeline after investigators found possible failures to "address regulatory requirements for monitoring and preventing external corrosion," according to an agency news release issued Monday.

One of three pipelines that comprise the Transco line ruptured and then exploded on Sept. 14, 2008, injuring five people, leveling two homes and damaging about 100 other houses. The resulting fireball scorched land some 1,125 feet in diameter.

Investigators discovered that external corrosion had caused the line to break.

Chris Stockton, spokesperson for the company, said it has been notified of the violation and is working with the oversight agency to implement its recommendations.

"As always, safety is about people and our top priority remains keeping our employees, contractors and neighbors safe," Stockton said on Monday. "This was a tragic accident. We have learned from it and our pipeline is safer as a result."

The company has 30 days to contest the fine.

Patricia Clinger, spokesperson for the federal agency, said the fine is "substantial." She added that it has been a couple years since a major fine has been levied.

The notice of probable violation alleges Williams violated a provision for buried lines installed before Aug. 1, 1971. That provision states: "Except for buried piping at compressor, regulator, and measuring stations, each buried or submerged transmission line installed before Aug. 1, 1971, that has an effective external coating must be cathodically protected ..."

Cathodic protection is a means of applying a light electrical current to prevent corrosion. The line that exploded, the B line, had been installed in 1955.

"Williams did not maintain cathodic protection sufficient to control corrosion along the entire coated pipeline as evidenced by its corrosion record showing low pipe-to-soil readings for Line B in the vicinity of the rupture site," the notice of probable violation reads.

The federal investigation found records of testing performed in 2003 and 2006 that showed low pipe-to-soil readings near the rupture site that are below federal standards set for cathodic protection, the report said.

The report also cites Williams for failing to take "prompt remedial action to correct any deficiencies indicated by the monitoring."

The corrective actions taken by the company to fix the low readings did not eliminate the problem, the report said. In 2007, another anticorrosive device was installed and readings taken in the area met the criteria. However, follow-up readings were not taken later in 2007 and in 2008, according to the Notice of Probable Violation.

"It is important for pipeline operators to remain vigilant in their operations to prevent ruptures from occurring, keeping our communities safe and without the disruption of energy supplies," said John Porcari, the U.S. Department of Transportation's Deputy Secretary, in a news release. "The assessment of civil penal ties is a key component of our oversight mission."

Williams spent almost a year digging up, repairing and replacing sections of pipe along the 30-inch line that exploded and its two neighboring pipelines. The B line, the one that exploded, was immediately taken out of service and pressure on the other two lines was reduced.

In May, the B line was restored to full service after Williams inspected some 695 feet of pipeline at 16 locations throughout the month of April and replaced 11 sections of pipe and recoated two with a tar enamel to prevent corrosion. The other two sections of pipeline were restored to full pressure late last year.

The three pipelines run side by side through Appomattox County carrying natural gas from the Gulf of Mexico to New York, including 858 miles in Virginia.

Sidener is a staff writer for The News & Advance in Lynchburg.