Columbus under scrutiny in natural-gas blast
Monday seeking answers about the explosions from the heads of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, the utility that serves the communities of Lawrence, Andover and North Andover, and parent company NiSource.
The deadly Boston-area explosion occurred as Columbia Gas of Massachusetts is overhauling its natural gas lines, replacing old cast-iron pipes with new plastic pipes. Columbia Gas of Ohio is doing the same thing with its lines. Join the conversation at Facebook.com/columbusdispatch and connect with us on Twitter @DispatchAlerts
Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and Columbia Gas of Ohio are both owned by NiSource, based in Merrillville, Indiana, but with significant support operations in Columbus.
“The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration has reported that the pressure in the Columbia Gas system should have been around 0.5 pounds per square inch (PSI), but readings in the area reached at least 6 PSI — twelve times higher than the system was intended to hold,” the letter said.
The pressure spike registered in a NiSource command center in Columbus, the senators said in the letter, which requests a reply by Wednesday.
Meanwhile, lawyers filed a class action lawsuit Tuesday on behalf of people who were forced out of their homes for days when dozens of natural gas explosions and fires ripped through three Massachusetts towns.
It accuses the utility companies of negligence and seeks compensation for residents of who had to evacuate but didn’t suffer injuries or damage to their homes.
“These individuals have had their lives turned upside down,” said attorney Frank Petosa, of the law firm Morgan & Morgan. Columbia Gas officials didn’t immediately respond to an email on Tuesday.
The National Transportation Safety Board had announced Sunday that NiSource workers from the Columbus command center were going to be interviewed as part of an investigation. The investigation is expected to take one to two years, though preliminary findings could be released sooner. NiSource, which serves 4 million gas and electric customers in seven states, including Ohio, declined to comment Monday about possible causes of the explosion.
Dozens of explosions and fires last Thursday killed one person and injured more than two dozen others in the Boston area. About 8,600 customers were affected, and many had to evacuate their homes for days and may have to go without gas service for weeks.
NTSB Chairman Robert Sumwalt has said the investigation is partially focused on pressure sensors that were connected to a gas line that was being taken out of service shortly before the blasts.