On June 2, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s (DOT) Research and Special Programs Administration (RSPA) announced it is seeking the largest civil penalty ever proposed against a pipeline operator in the history of the federal pipeline safety program. The $3.05 million civil penalty is for safety violations related to the June 1999 pipeline failure in Bellingham, Washington, which resulted in the deaths of three young people. The full press release can be accessed at http://www.dot.gov/affairs/rspa1400.htm. Each of the penalties proposed carries the maximum fine allowed under current pipeline safety law.

Following are the safety violations cited and the proposed civil penalties against Olympic.

• Olympic failed to conduct adequate damage prevention efforts. Specifically, Olympic failed to ensure that a company representative was present during third-party excavation near its pipeline. Proposed fine: $25,000.
• Olympic employees discovered an unsafe condition during internal testing and continued to operate the pipeline after testing without correcting the problem. Proposed fine: $500,000.
• Olympic failed to ensure that the employees on duty at the time of the pipeline failure were trained in accordance with federal pipeline safety regulations. Proposed fine: $500,000.
• Olympic’s Supervisory Control and Data Acquisition (SCADA) system, the computer system the operator uses to control the pipeline, performed irregularly. Olympic took action to shut down the pipeline, then restarted the pipeline without ensuring that it could operate safely. Proposed fine: $25,000.
• Olympic failed to modify its operations, maintenance and emergency plans when it added a new facility, the Bayview Products Terminal. Proposed fine: $500,000.
• Olympic failed to adequately test relief valves at the Bayview Products Terminal (about 15 miles south of Bellingham) to ensure the safety and proper functioning of the valves. Proposed fine: $500,000.
• Valves at the Bayview Products Terminal shut down several times unintentionally, an event which indicates an abnormal situation. Olympic failed to respond to, investigate and correct those shutdowns. Proposed fine: $500,000.
• Olympic failed to maintain the required daily operating records that record the discharge pressure at each pump station and any abnormal events. Proposed fine: $500,000.

Pending Audits?