PA. Public Utility Commission powerless to investigate Natural Gas Compressor Explosion

[JPZenger]

http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-08/news/31308559_1_gas-safety-gas-explosion-natural-gas

"Houses trembled a half mile away when a natural gas explosion rattled a compressor station near Springville, a hotbed of Marcellus Shale development in northern Pennsylvania. Just two hours after the March 29 blast, a gas safety inspector from the state Public Utility Commission was on the scene to begin an investigation into possible violations of gas safety rules. But he did not get far.

The PUC shut down its examination last week after determining the station was in a rural area - and thus outside its regulatory reach. "It's not in our jurisdiction," said Jennifer Kocher, a PUC spokeswoman. "There's nothing we can do."

The incident is a pointed example of the gap in pipeline safety rules as the industry continues its rapid expansion in the Marcellus Shale fields. An Inquirer series last year found that this gap, coupled with a slow response from PA, meant that hundreds of miles of high-pressure pipelines had been built with no safety oversight. Up to 25,000 miles could be built, experts say.

... the PUC began the job of enforcing federal safety rules for the pipeline systems being built to serve the thousands of new Marcellus wells. But none of the rules applies when the pipes or compressors are in the most rural areas, known as Class 1. For decades, the gas industry has fought hard to protect that exemption, defeating repeated attempts by Congress and safety advocates to change it."

[atreides1]

1. Just wait until someone is killed

Never mind, blood sucking parasites like the gas company and politicians don't really care if soem rural hick dies, do they?

Eventually someone is going to snap because they lost a loved one, and then all hell will break loose...when that time comes I wouldn't want to be a gas company employee, a PUC employee, or a politician.

Last I heard, a lot of people that live out in those areas, were avid hunters...I'll leave it at that!

[blue neen]

2. Up to 25,000 miles of pipeline could be built:

"An Inquirer series last year found that this gap, coupled with a slow response from Pennsylvania, meant that hundreds of miles of high-pressure pipelines had been built with no safety oversight. Up to 25,000 miles could be built, experts say."

"The state Department of Environmental Protection, which issued an air-quality permit for the station, is conducting its own investigation into whether the owners, Williams Partners of Tulsa, Okla., committed any violations."

"But DEP typically enforces emissions standards for compressor stations, not gas safety regulations."

"The agency last week says it told Williams not to restart the compressor without its permission. But the company began running it anyway a day or two later."

"Helen Humphreys, a Williams spokeswoman, said the station's safety equipment functioned the way it was supposed to, isolating the gas release to the building itself. She called the dispute over the restart a "misunderstanding."

"Earlier this year, the PUC began the job of enforcing federal safety rules for the pipeline systems being built to serve the thousands of new Marcellus wells."

"But none of the rules applies when the pipes or compressors are in the most rural areas, known as Class 1."

"For decades, the gas industry has fought hard to protect that exemption, defeating repeated attempts by Congress and safety advocates to change it."

http://articles.philly.com/2012-04-08/news/31308559_1_gas-safety-gas-explosion-natural-gas