Cascade Natural Gas accused of lax safety attitude

Cascade Natural Gas has been accused of a lax attitude toward pipeline safety and could face a fine of $4 million.

The staff of the Washington State Utilities and Transportation Commission released an investigation report Tuesday focused on the company’s alleged failure to confirm the maximum allowable operating pressure for its high pressure pipelines in the state.

“Overall, staff finds that Cascade has demonstrated a lax attitude toward compliance that exposes the public to an unacceptable level of risk,” the report concluded. “As shown by the 2010 explosion in San Bruno, Calif., which killed eight people, inadequate oversight can have catastrophic consequences.”

Cascade Natural Gas, which is based in Kennewick, received the report Tuesday and a spokesman said it had not had time for a thorough review.

“We take the complaint and the safety of our pipeline system seriously,” said spokesman Mark Hanson in a statement.

The company has natural gas customers in Benton and Franklin counties and much of the rest of the Mid-Columbia.

The investigation concluded that Cascade Natural Gas could not provide required documentation for nearly 40 percent of its high-pressure pipelines in the state, prompting the commission to file a complaint.

The commission alleges that the company failed to maintain records and documentation of the maximum allowable operating pressure for at least 116 pipeline segments. Pipeline safety staff requested that the commission impose the maximum penalty of $4 million.

The commission, which is not bound by the recommendation, will schedule a hearing.

After the company was not able to produce maximum allowable operating pressure documents as required by law in three separate inspections in 2013, an agreement between staff and the company was reached to develop a comprehensive compliance plan by August 2015.

Cascade missed that deadline, not submitting a compliance plan until Jan. 29 of this year, according to the commission. The commission staff then rejected the plan, finding it did not meet requirements.

The investigation report said that missing the deadline “is symptomatic of the company’s broader inattention to pipeline safety regulations.”

Staff required the company to resubmit the plan by April 29, which Cascade Natural Gas did. Commission staff is reviewing the plan and Hanson said the company is continue to work with staff to finalize the plan.

An investigation after the 2010 San Bruno accident found that a contributing fact was the failure to maintain records to establish and confirm maximum allowable operating pressure, according to the commission. Federal standards establish the highest pressure at which each segment of pipeline can safely operate and companies are required to maintain records to prove compliance.

The federal government issued an advisory bulletin in May 2012 reminding pipeline operates to verify records related to maximum allowable operating pressure.

This story was originally published July 12, 2016 at 6:35 PM with the headline "Cascade Natural Gas accused of lax safety attitude."