Ergon and the Flood of 2011

The Mississippi River flood of 2011 was one of the largest river floods in recent history. Originally predicted to crest at 54 feet in Vicksburg, Mississippi, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers revised that estimate by an additional three feet on May 4, two weeks before the predicted crest. Ergon employees worked quickly to modify existing plans and anticipate the new challenges. But with the river reaching historic heights, no plan was guaranteed to succeed. Along the banks of the river in the days before the crest, the mood was tense.

The Mighty Mississippi
“We were excited, anxious, nervous,” said Roger Harris, Magnolia Marine Transport Company’s Vice President of Operations, “We knew it was going to be huge, but when the crest prediction was moved up by three feet, it added a whole new dimension.”

The influx of water brought with it a host of challenges. For the boat pilots of Magnolia Marine, the main concern was navigating through the swift currents on the river to complete their missions. “Our pilots had never experienced these river levels and conditions,” said Roger.

Those missions included moving finished products from the refinery at Vicksburg to the international terminal in Deerpark, Texas, where they could be shipped overseas on oceangoing vessels. “We book these vessels 45 – 60 days in advance,” said Bill Jones, Ergon’s Senior Vice President – Supply & Distribution, “so they were already en route when the flood hit.” But with unpredictable closures up and down the river, Magnolia Marine’s ability to move product was slowed considerably. “If we weren’t on time, customers would run short on supply, and we’d be forced to pay about $30,000 per day in ship demurrage,” said Bill. Despite the odds, Magnolia Marine managed to get product to Texas on time without missing a shipment. “They did a great job,” said Roger. “Everyone took the necessary precautions to get the mission accomplished without taking undue risks.”

The stories of every Ergon company involved in the flood are similar to Magnolia Marine’s: employees overcoming formidable challenges with creative solutions. Everyone involved in the crisis, from the teams at the facilities to corporate management, responded to the trials at hand with coordination and finesse.

Keeping the River at Bay
At Ergon Refining, Inc., (ERI) in Vicksburg, the situation was daunting. The rising waters had already cut off most of the roads in and out of the facility. Only one remained: a vital 500-foot stretch of road that was unprotected by the levees. If it went underwater, the refinery would be forced to shut down until the flooding subsided, an event that would have had a devastating financial impact on the entire company. To keep that from happening, the refinery’s staff and the Mississippi Department of Transportation installed flood liners up to four feet tall around the area. The barriers prevented water from reaching the road, enabling the refinery to move forward with transloading operations.

In addition to the roads, employees needed to fortify the vulnerable sections around the refinery itself. “We had people dedicated to filling sand bags,” said Delwyn Havens, Maintenance Manager – Ergon Refining, Inc. “We ended up filling around 40,000 of them.” Some employees were tasked with walking along the levee to monitor sand boils and diesel pump fuel levels, all of which were areas of concern. “They would pump water back over the levee as needed, stack sand bags and refuel pumps and light towers,” said Delwyn. Environmental hazards were also an issue. The staff followed an existing plan called the Spill Prevention Control and Counter Measures (SPCC) plan, which enabled them to keep any environmental threats from escaping the refinery’s controls.

One of the refinery’s three docks was shut down due to the flooding. Docks two and three were modified to withstand the flood waters and crews managed to unload all of the materials they needed to continue operating the refinery. On May 5, rail service to the refinery was cut off. To ensure finished products made it to customers on time, Ergon implemented an enormous transloading operation that involved trucking product from the refinery to rail loading sites in Louisiana and Mississippi. In addition, the Memphis terminal modified its dock to receive the remaining portion of products by water, ensuring that 100% of ERI’s products were in play. Crews at the refinery, the terminals and the transloading sites worked 12 hour shifts, 24 hours a day to meet customer requirements and make sure products were sent out as soon as possible.

“There was a tremendous amount of coordination between the companies to pull this off,” said Steve Reed, Oil Movements Manager of Ergon Refining in Vicksburg. Managers and staff from Magnolia Marine, Ergon Refining, Ergon Trucking, Ergon Marine & Industrial Supply, Customer Service and Supply & Distribution held daily teleconferences to coordinate the operations and solve any problems that arose. “I don’t think there was a course in any classroom that could have made us work better as a group than this flood did,” said Steve.

On May 19, the flood reached its crest at 57.1 feet in Vicksburg. It was several feet higher than any previous floods on record in the area. “You could come down the harbor, and on one side of the road it was just water,” said Steve. “It was an island out here.” Despite bearing the full weight of the Mighty Mississippi, the refinery managed to operate without interruption throughout the duration of the flood.

Great Trials, Greater Success
Once the water levels returned to normal, so too did operations at Ergon. Within weeks of the crest, transloading operations began to wind down and rail service at the refinery was restored. Throughout the crisis, engineers took detailed notes to ensure that the company would be well prepared for any future floods of such magnitude. When the crisis was over, customers responded to the service they received with gratitude, as well as surprise at the efficiency of the operation.

With no rail service, hazardous river conditions, and only one accessible road, Ergon managed to keep customers in supply with in-specification products. That Ergon succeeded in the midst of one of the nation’s largest natural disasters is a testament to the professionalism of the men and women that make up the Ergon family of companies.