On 5th anniversary of gas disaster, lawmakers call for tough pipeline safety rules

By Christian M Wade

On the fifth anniversary of the Merrimack Valley gas disaster, members of the state’s congressional delegation are pressuring federal regulators to set tough new safety restrictions on natural gas pipeline projects.

In a letter to the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, Reps. Lori Trahan, D-Westford, Seth Moulton, D-Salem, and Sens. Ed Markey and Elizabeth Warren call for stringent rules to “help improve the safe operation of millions of miles of pipelines across the country.”

The federal agency is drafting pipeline safety regulations required under a federal law named after Leonel Rondon, a Lawrence teenager killed in the Sept. 13, 2018, event, when over-pressurized natural gas lines caused explosions, fires and widespread destruction in Andover, North Andover and Lawrence.

Under the law, regulators are required to implement safety measures such as increased monitoring of gas work, improved communications, and devices that monitor gas pressure so that utility workers can quickly shut off gas flow in an emergency.

“We applaud this work and encourage PHMSA to finalize the strongest possible regulations to keep our communities safe,” the lawmakers wrote.

“Unfortunately, the alternative is the unthinkable – another community being forced to endure the devastation we experienced five years ago.”

Many of the safety precautions are already required under Massachusetts’ gas safety laws, which were updated after the gas disaster.

But the new federal regulations will apply nationwide to natural gas projects.

On Sept. 13, 2018, a swell of overpressurized gas through underground lines fueled fires and explosions that destroyed five homes, damaged 131 properties, injured three firefighters and 19 civilians, and forced the evacuation of 50,000 people in the Merrimack Valley.

Increased monitoring of gas work was one recommendation by the National Transportation Safety Board in the aftermath. Investigators found that the disaster was preceded by years of glaring mistakes by Columbia Gas company of Massachusetts, including shoddy record keeping.

The total cost of the disaster to Columbia Gas, its parent company and insurers was estimated at more than $1.6 billion.

The federal regulations will “improve public safety, while also reducing threats to the environment and promoting environmental justice for minority populations, low-income populations, or other underserved and disadvantaged communities” disproportionately impacted by pollution, the agency reported.

The regulations seek to “address the root causes and aggravating factors contributing to the severity of that incident” and “help reduce the frequency and consequence of other failure mechanisms on gas distribution pipeline systems,” according to the agency.

“The Merrimack Valley is still healing. The family of Leonel Rondon is still grieving,” Markey, a Malden Democrat, said in a statement.

“We must continue making progress by delivering stronger protections and allowing our federal regulators to make swift, effective safety standards. Federal regulators should have all the tools they need to hold bad actors accountable — not be held hostage by industry interests.”