DO NOT EXPECT
THAT THE WOLF WILL PROTECT THE HEN HOUSE: SHELL’S PIPELINE CORROSION MONITOR
PLEADS GUILTY TO PIPELINE SAFETY VIOLATIONS
January 20, 2015
Shell Pipeline Co. monitor failed to conduct required
safety readings and tests and submitted false data to the Pipeline and
Hazardous Material Safety Administration
Randy Jones, 44, a former corrosion coordinator for
Shell Pipeline Co. LP (Shell), pleaded guilty in Milwaukee earlier this month
to failing to conduct bi-monthly voltage readings and an annual survey of a
pipeline used to transport jet fuel in violation of the Pipeline Safety Act
(PSA) and making a false statement to the Pipeline and Hazardous Material
Safety Administration (PHMSA).
Jones, a resident of Louisiana, pleaded guilty to
knowingly failing to conduct required safety test between January and December
2011 and submitting false data to PHMSA. The violations were in connection with
a pipeline owned by Shell that delivered commercial aviation jet fuel to
General Mitchell International Airport in Milwaukee.
In January 2012 a hole was discovered in the pipeline at
Mitchell Airport after jet fuel began showing up in soil surrounding the
airport and in nearby Wilson Creek. Fuel eventually reached and melted
asphalt on airport property. Shell reported that approximately 9,000
gallons of jet fuel was released. The response and cleanup cost for the
spill was approximately $19.3 million.
Jones was employed by Shell from 1992 through 2012. From
2010 until 2012, Jones was employed as a corrosion coordinator and was
responsible for monitoring the Shell pipelines servicing Mitchell and Chicago
O’Hare airports. Jones failed to conduct the required testing for 2011 and when
advised of an audit by PHMSA that was scheduled for December 2011, he submitted
false data indicating the required test had been
conducted.
Consistent with requirements of the PSA, which
establishes standards for the safe operation of the hazardous materials in
pipelines, buried or submerged metal pipelines must be protected to prevent
corrosion. This involves the use of a device called a rectifier, which
applies a negative current to soil near the pipeline to keep corrosion away
from the pipe.
The operator of the pipeline is required to conduct
bi-monthly readings of the voltage generated from a rectifier and conduct an
annual survey of the pipeline to insure that the pipeline is adequately
protected from corrosion. PHMSA is the primary agency responsible for
regulating and enforcing the PSA.
An information charging Jones with two counts of
violating the PSA and one false statement violation was filed on Nov. 14,
2014. Under the terms of the plea agreement, each offense charged carries
a maximum prison sentence of five years. The sentencing is set for April
30.
The case was investigated by EPA’s Criminal
Investigation Division, the U.S. Coast Guard Investigative Service, the U.S.
Department of Transportation Office of Inspector General and the FBI, with
assistance from PHMSA. The case was prosecuted by Jennifer A. Whitfield
of the Environmental Crimes Section of the Department of Justice and Tracy M.
Johnson of the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Wisconsin.