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Ammonia Pipeline Owner Fined $400,000 Over Leak

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By JOSH POLTILOVE and RAY REYES

The Tampa Tribune

Published: July 9, 2008

TAMPA - A federal agency has cited the owner of an ammonia pipeline that ruptured last year for inadequate inspections and poor communication with county emergency responders.

For that, and 10 other violations, Tampa Pipeline Corp. should pay nearly $400,000 in fines, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

"We take our job very seriously, and this was a very serious incident," said administration spokeswoman Patricia Klinger.

In November, a teenager drilled into the steel ammonia pipe at U.S. 301 in Riverview after hearing a story about money buried near the Alafia River, authorities said. The toxic cloud that leaked seriously burned the teen and caused the evacuation of hundreds of residents in a half-mile area. Schools and businesses were forced to close.

In a May 7 proposed civil penalty and compliance order, the agency slammed Tampa Pipeline and called for changes.

The corporation "lacked adequate emergency response preplanning and coordination" and "did not demonstrate a prompt response to having the necessary personnel and equipment available at the scene of an emergency," said the order from Michael J. Khayata, acting director of the federal agency's southern region.

The order also alleges Tampa Pipeline failed to conduct annual corrosion tests and inspections on the pipeline, did not review and update company operations manuals and did not maintain current records of the pipeline and its maximum operating pressures, among other violations.

The corporation also failed to provide agencies, such as Hillsborough County Fire Rescue, with adequate maps and drawings of the pipeline system and the location of valves, the order said.

"When we responded, we didn't know exactly where the leak was, what the situation was, and exactly what resources we had available to us," said fire rescue spokesman Ray Yeakley. "It came down to one issue, and that was communication."

In January, county officials and the corporation's executives met to implement improved communication and coordination plans for emergencies. Both parties did not want to wait for the federal agency's findings and have since put those plans in place, Yeakley said.

Tampa Pipeline Corp. president Robert Rose said he disagreed with the order's findings. The corporation has until Aug. 1 to comply. Company officials have filed an appeal.

Since the leak, the pipeline has been reinforced, and the corporation has reimbursed people inconvenienced by the leak, Rose said. The corporation has also paid for the overtime hours accrued by firefighters and deputies in the days after the leak, he said.

"He reimbursed everybody," Yeakley said.

The company wrote a check for about $76,000, and fire rescue officials divvied up the compensation payment to the agencies involved in controlling and cleaning up the leak, Yeakley said.

Tampa Pipeline Corp. owns and maintains the company's three ammonia pipelines, which total about 80 miles in length. The chemical is used in the fertilizer industry.

News Channel 8 reporter Josh Thomas contributed to this report. Reporter Josh Poltilove can be reached at (813) 259-7691 or jpoltilove@tampatrib.com. Reporter Ray Reyes can be reached at (813) 259-7920 or rreyes@tampatrib.com.

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