Explosion leaves mark on Salem

Mr. Ries’ house escaped without much damage, save At Kelley’s Pizzeria, a spot for a buckled garage door, a that became a gathering melted plastic tarp and paint point after the blast, a mini bubbles on a 1965 midnight museum has been created blue Corvette, which he marking the event. It’s a didn’t discover until a few shelf with seven pictures — months ago. While Mr. Ries images that the restaurant’s wasn’t pleased about his interactions owner Kim Kelley found on with Spectra representatives Facebook and framed — and after the blast, a slightly damaged Spectra he doesn’t live in fear of another Energy hardhat that she accident and wouldn’t found lying in the middle of think of moving anywhere the road. else.

It’s a conversation piece, “I figure the damage is Ms. Kelley said, and the conversations done and it’s repaired correctly, often are about so I’m safe for another how unsafe people feel now 30 years,” Mr. Ries that they’re more aware of said. the natural gas infrastructure But, he added, “If I bought under their feet. another house, that would

Ms. Kelley, whose restaurant’s be my first question — vinyl siding melted in where is the pipeline?” the fire after the blast, says In Salem Township, as in pipelines don’t keep her up many parts of Westmoreland at night. County, the answer

“I know that they have to would be everywhere. build,” she said. “You can’t ApexEnergy LLC has permits truck that everywhere. If to drill more than two you’re gonna go with that dozen wells in Salem and in type of energy, you have to neighboring Penn Township. take the risks.” Sunoco Logistics is

For some in Salem Township, building two natural gas liquids the explosion has been pipelines. a call to arms against future Over the past year, the natural gas development, Spectra Energy explosion which is proceeding rapidly has been discussed at permit in the form of new shale gas hearings, in township meetings wells, metering stations, and spaghetti dinners, pipelines and compressors. with some residents urging

For others, perhaps the a pause to the rate of development. majority, it has reinforced But the talk has what they’ve already known done little to arrest it. and accepted — that oil and Jordan Hoover, a community gas infrastructure is as organizer with the Melcroftmuch a part of the region asbased Mountain country roads and farm Watershed Association, said fields, and there isn’t much he believes that if the explosion anyone can do about it. had happened somewhere

“I don’t think my family else, it might have thinks about it,” said Tom changed people’s attitudes Ries, Nola’s father, who was about the industry. at work at 8:15 a.m. when the “[But] a lot of people that I explosion happened.spoke to said, ‘ There’s already

The Ries’ home is about so much there, what an eighth of a mile from the does it matter if another house that James and Kellie pipeline gets put into the Baker were renting before a ground?’ ” Mr. Hoover said. weld on a 30-inch natural gas To which he says that the pipeline cracked open — releasing math is straightforward. flames hundreds of “Not every pipeline explodes,” feet into the air. he said. But the more

Mr. Baker, who had been pipelines there are in one recovering from ankle surgery, place, the higher the chances was home alone that ofsomething going wrong. morning. He ran down the Janet Rugh is unflappable. street on fire and was picked The widow of a former up by Jimmy Daniels, a contractor natural gas company from Forbes Road worker who always was nervous who was driving by. about gas safety, Ms.

Severe burns to most of his Rugh didn’t panic when she body kept Mr. Baker in the heard the pipeline explode a hospital for months. The family, few hundred feet from her which has reached a settlement home. She didn’t run outside. with Spectra and She dialed 911 but when isn’t granting interviews, has the phone went dead, Ms. since moved to Greensburg. Rugh figured the company In December, they welcomed would promptly shut off the a son, Elijah James Baker, a gas. happyFacebook memory. So she waited until her

The home where they son-in-law, Tim D’Aurora, once lived is no longer there. came knocking on her living room window to get her out.

During her brief escape, Ms. Rugh could see her mailbox crumpling like a burnt marshmallow and the retaining wall stacked with railroad ties starting to smoke. The heatleft a burn on her neck.

Still, she wasn’t nervous, Ms. Rugh said, “Because I thought everything was going to be shut off quicker than it was. But I found out that’s not howit works anymore.”

It took Spectra about an hour to shut off the supply to the ruptured pipeline, which is considered a good result by federal regulators.

Ms. Rugh said she was able to keep cool because she knew her daughter, Caroline D’Aurora, wasn’t at home at the time of the blast. The D’Auroras live in a large white home a few hundred feet away. On the day of the explosion, the house’s facade turned a deep brown from the heat.

But Spectra took care of the family,Mr. D’Aurora said.

After putting them up in a hotel for a few nights while they waited for the electricity to come back on, Spectra paid to replace the D’Auroras’ roof, windows and siding, and repave their driveway. The money started coming within weeks, Mr. D’Aurora said. “They really stepped up and did their part in making everythingright for us.”

Ms. Rugh watched for weeks as Spectra energy workers excavated the pipeline, hauled off metal and soil to be analyzed, and repaired the road. They were exceedingly attentive, she recalled, bringing her the morning paper when the road was closed, and checking in to see if there was anything she needed.

Ms. Rugh’s home got a makeover as well. The railroad ties are gone and in their place is a stone retaining wall. There are new siding on the house and the garage, a new railing on the steps and several new windows.

The only remnants of the explosion are a melted thermometer still hanging on the garage wall and the slumped backof a plastic porch chair.

And there’s a postcard from a pair of local activist groups that Ms. Rugh received a few months ago inviting her to an event at her church to “learn how to protect your family from risks to health and safety from new shale gas development in your neighborhood.”

The main image on the postcard is the fire raging into dark skies on April 29, 2016, taken by Dawn Law, who lives in Slickville, a few miles from the blast site.

Ms. Law, a founder of the group Save Our Salem, was still working for an oil and gas company in 2015 when herviews on the industry began to shift. That’s when Sunoco threatened to take her father’s land by eminent domain to build its Mariner East II pipeline.

He eventually negotiated an easement with the company,said Ms. Law, who lives in a trailer on her father’s land, but the experience and the subsequent construction has left her furious.

“A well site behind me, a well site across the street, three pipelines in my front yard, and a metering station,” she said. “It’s just completely changed my feeling about the place.”

When Ms. Law called Congruity Church to arrange payment for hosting the March 22 event advertised on the postcard, it was Ms. Rugh whoanswered the phone.

Was she planning a baby shower? Ms. Rugh asked.

No, Ms. Law explained, somewhat cautiously. It was about the pipelines.

“She just kind of told me she thought my heart was in the right place,” Ms. Law recalled, but that there’s nothing they could do. Exactlyright,Ms.Rughsaid. “You’re not going to stop the lines from coming,” she said. “They have the right of eminent domain.”

That breaks her heart, Ms. Law said.

But Ms. Rugh seems at peace with the current dynamic. “I guess my feeling is like whatever it’s gonna be, it’s gonna be,” Ms. Rugh said. “That’s about it.”