Underground Construction - June 2019 - 13

"We are still early in the process
for pipeline safety reauthorization,"
said Jake Rubin, an American Gas
Association spokesman. "Several of the
suggestions made by Senator Markey and
Congresswoman Trahan are in line with
the industry's continued focus on opportunities to enhance safety, and echo interim
recommendations made by the National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB)."
The Merrimack explosion was caused by
accidentally raising pressure in a Columbia
Gas line being abandoned. The cast-iron,
low-pressure distribution system was
installed in the early 1900s and had been
partially improved with both steel and plastic pipe upgrades since the 1950s. Some of
the Rondon provisions stem from National
Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) recommendations post-Merrimack.
A second, more-recent NTSB report on
a 2016 gas explosion accident gives additional impetus to that bill. Issued in April,
that report covers a Maryland explosion
in an apartment building which resulted
in seven deaths.
"The NTSB's investigation highlighted
serious flaws in the inspection of service
regulators," said NTSB Chairman Robert
Sumwalt on April 23, 2019. "This tragic
event could have been avoided if the necessary checks were done to ensure the safety
of the building's occupants."
NTSB investigators concluded that without a requirement for technicians to verify
the connection of vent lines for indoor
mercury service regulators, such vent lines
could inadvertently be left open following
service work. However, had methane
detectors been installed in the building,
an alarm would have alerted residents to a
gas release and reduced the potential and
consequences of a natural gas explosion.
The gas line belonged to Washington Gas.

Energy Department
Offering $24 million in
Grants for Pipeline Projects
The Department of Energy announced it will
award $24 million in grants for the development of tools, methods and/or technologies
to cost-effectively enhance the safety and
efficiency of the nation's natural gas produc-

tion, gathering, storage and transmission
infrastructure. Grants will be as much as
$3 million, but no lower than $1 million.
One area of interest is pipeline materials,
advanced coatings, sensors and controls
to improve the operational efficiency
and reliability of natural gas midstream

infrastructure. Another is technologies that
can detect, identify and eliminate pipeline
defects to improve the safety and efficiency
of pipeline operations, reduce the volumes
of methane emitted by reducing routine
operations-related emissions, and capture
and utilize flared or vented natural gas. *

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UConOnline.com | JUNE 2019

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Underground Construction - June 2019

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