Strengthening partnerships one interaction at a time

At Kinder Morgan (KMI), developing strong relationships with our regulators is an important part of our business as it helps to ensure that our operations are properly assessed - during incidents and under normal operating conditions.

One key regulator of our facilities along the Houston Ship Channel is the United States Coast Guard (USCG) of Houston-Galveston. They conduct annual inspections of the energy infrastructure facilities in the area to make sure employee training is up to date, docks are properly labeled and pipelines pass testing requirements, to name a few.

"We want it to be a partnership," said KMI Terminals General Manager Marlin Collins. "We want to show the Coast Guard that we are good stewards in the community and the environment. If we ever have an issue to report and they come to our facility, they will know that we did everything to respond to the best of our abilities."
Recently, the Kinder Morgan Export Terminal (KMET) Manager Christopher Dale invited Christina MacMillan, a new USCG inspector for the Houston-Galveston area, to shadow employees at the facility after she expressed an interest in learning more about our operations.



"It's important to grow a relationship centered around trust and clear communication so that the USCG understands what we do. In turn, they can conduct a more accurate audit of our operations," Dale said. "I thought hosting a training for new USGC members at our facility was a great idea and worked with our team to make it happen."

This 40-hour inspection training introduced 27 USCG inspectors, ranging from senior management to new hires, to KMET. They participated in mock inspections of fence lines, learned how to run hydrostatic tests on pipelines, ran mock spill drills, were briefed on all the documentation requirements for a real audit and much more.

"It was nice to work closely with them and show them the important work that we do daily," said KMI Senior Specialist Lance Wiley, who helped coordinate the training. "It also served as a good introduction and practice for the incoming USCG group."

As a result of this training, KMET was recently awarded a certificate of appreciation by the USCG.
We are pleased that MacMillan and her team were interested in participating in this training and we felt the time spent hosting them at KMET was well worth the effort. If there is a spill or incident in the future, these activities have helped to lay a foundation for a swift and coordinated response.

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