Our Dedication to Our Shippers

Ensuring Quality Services

Reliability and quality are very important to us at Colonial. Our shippers have come to trust and rely on our services because of our value and proven record. Ensuring that our services are consistently of the highest quality is critical to our continued success.

Non-Discrimination Among Shippers

Because Colonial is a common carrier, there are regulations that specifically require our Company to avoid discriminating for or against any of our shippers. For instance, we are not allowed to favor one of our affiliates over an unaffiliated shipper or a larger shipper over a small one.

Responding to Boycott Requests

As a common carrier, we are obligated to transport goods on behalf of the shippers who need and rely on our services. However, we are also subject to U.S. anti-boycott rules, which, as a matter of public policy, affect the way we may conduct our business. Specifically, a boycott” occurs when one person or group refuses to do business with other people or groups. If you receive or suspect you have received such a request, do not ignore it. Instead, immediately report it to the Legal Department.

Key Terms & Definitions:

BoycottA punitive ban that forbids relations with certain groups, cooperation with a policy, or the handling of goods.

Did You Know?

Colonial is the largest refined products pipeline in the United States, transporting more than 100 million gallons of fuel daily to meet the energy needs of consumers from Texas to New York.

Non-Disclosure of Confidential Shipper Information

We have a heightened duty of confidentiality to our shippers that is imposed by law. This means we have a duty to protect confidential shipper information against improper disclosure to a third party, particularly an employee or agent of any other shipper. Failure to do so is a violation of federal law.

Examples of confidential shipper information include:

  • Who ships on our pipeline
  • What products a shipper ships on our pipeline
  • Where they ship (origin/destination)on our pipeline
  • When they ship on our pipeline
  • Why they ship on our pipeline
  • How they ship on our pipeline
  • How much a shipper pays for shipping on our pipeline

In most situations we cannot disclose any of this information to another carrier or shipper without express written permission from the affected shipper. If you have any questions about confidential shipper information, please contact the Legal Department.

Non-Public Pipeline

Colonial is prohibited from selectively disclosing non-public information about its operations. Non-public information includes but is not limited to; future tariff changes, future expansions, non-disclosed maintenance/​line shutdowns, or anything else that would advantage a shipper if disclosed selectively. It is important to note that this restriction also applies when dealing with our owner companies or with other Colonial partnerships. If information has not been shared with all shippers, treat it as non-public information.

Prohibition Against Rebates and Concessions

Colonial is legally required to include all of our charges for Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) regulated services in our published tariffs and to charge shippers no more or less than what is specified in the tariffs. We cannot have any arrangements by which we directly or indirectly return any amounts to shippers that were properly paid to us. If you feel that any shipper representative is asking for anything that might cause a problem under this rule, you should immediately notify the Legal Department.

Key Terms & Definitions:

FERCThe Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) is the United States federal agency that regulates the transmission and wholesale sale of electricity and natural gas in interstate commerce and regulates the transportation of oil by pipeline in interstate commerce.

TariffDocuments filed with FERC that include the rates charged to our shippers as well as the rules and conditions of transportation.