The Arizona Republic

Colo.: No online oil, gas pipeline map after blast

- DAN ELLIOTT

DENVER - Colorado will not offer an online map of oil and gas pipelines in the wake of a fatal house explosion blamed on a gas leak, Gov. John Hickenloop­er said Tuesday, citing concerns about security and theft.

The state will instead require energy companies to provide location informatio­n to the existing Call 811 program, which marks the location of undergroun­d utilities at a property owner’s request, Hickenloop­er said.

The expanded location program was among seven steps the governor announced in response to an April explosion in the town of Firestone that killed two people and injured a third. Investigat­ors blamed the explosion on odorless, unrefined natural gas leaking from a pipeline that was thought to be out of service but was still connected to a well with a valve open.

Hickenloop­er said in May that the explosion showed the need for a comprehens­ive state map of “flow lines,” which carry oil or gas from wells to tanks or other gathering equipment.

But he said Tuesday “there are a lot of concerns about having a database like that available, of people stealing gas or, you know, tapping into these lines, that causes some level of security risk,” he said. “I recognize that, and I think that’s a valid argument.”

He said having flow line informatio­n available through the Call 811 program makes it readily available.

Other steps Hickenloop­er announced Tuesday include updating the state’s rules for flow lines with specific requiremen­ts for taking a pipeline out of service. After the Firestone explosion, the state imposed emergency regulation­s for emptying and capping unused lines near buildings. Hickenloop­er wants the rules to be made permanent.

The governor also said the state would try to get the industry to fund a program to seal off “orphan wells,” which are usually old, inactive wells that no one claims. The fund could also be used to reimburse homeowners who install natural gas detectors.

Hickenloop­er said the state would not require energy companies to contribute to the fund but he believes most are willing to do so.

The other steps Hickenloop­er called for are asking other states’ regulators to review Colorado’s rules, improving Colorado’s safety training, looking into ways to detect natural gas leaks and banning any future “domestic gas taps” that allow landowners to get unrefined natural gas directly from wells on their land.

All the steps were recommende­d by the Colorado Oil and Gas Conservati­on Commission, which regulates the industry. Hickenloop­er directed the commission to review the state’s practices after the Firestone explosion.

“We are spending millions of dollars to do everything we can to make sure it never happens again,” he said. “Can you say never about any of these things? … No, but this is about as close to never as you’re going to get.”

 ?? BRENNAN LINSLEY/AP, FILE ?? On May 4, workers dismantle the charred remains of a house destroyed by an explosion triggered by natural gas in Firestone, Colo. The April 17 blast killed two people. Investigat­ors blamed the explosion on gas leaking from a severed pipeline that was...
BRENNAN LINSLEY/AP, FILE On May 4, workers dismantle the charred remains of a house destroyed by an explosion triggered by natural gas in Firestone, Colo. The April 17 blast killed two people. Investigat­ors blamed the explosion on gas leaking from a severed pipeline that was...

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