New gas pipeline rules floated following 2018 blasts in Massachusetts
Federal regulators are proposing a series of rules changes aimed at toughening safety requirements for millions of miles of gas distribution pipelines nationwide following a string of gas explosions in Massachusetts in 2018
BOSTON — Federal regulators are proposing a series of rules changes aimed at toughening safety requirements for millions of miles of gas distribution pipelines nationwide following a string of gas explosions in Massachusetts in 2018.
These proposed changes are designed to improve safety and ease risk through the improvement of emergency response plans, integrity management plans, operation manuals and other steps, according to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
This proposal was prompted by the series of blasts that ripped though parts of the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts.
The explosions and fires in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover in September 2018 left a teenager dead, about two dozen injured and destroyed or damaged more than 130 properties. Thousands of residents and businesses were also left without natural gas service for heat and hot water for months in some cases.
Leonel Rondon, of Lawrence, died after the chimney of an exploding house crashed onto his car and crushed him. The 18-year-old Rondon had received his driver’s license just hours earlier. Rondon's family later reached a settlement with the utility involved in the disaster.
The explosions were caused by overpressurized pipelines operated by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, according to a federal investigation. The utility agreed to pay the state $56 million in 2020 in addition to a $53 million federal fine and a $143 million lawsuit settlement.
Transportation
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