Pipeline Safety Legislation Named For Gas Disaster Victim

LAWRENCE, MA — A bill introduced Monday by U.S. Sen. Edward Markey (D-MA) would require tighter regulations and stricter penalties on natural gas companies. Markey, who introduced the bill with other public officials at a Lawrence fire station Friday, named the bill after Leonel Rondon. Rondon was the 18-year-old Lawrence man killed in the Sept. 13 gas explosions in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover.

"Not only did Columbia Gas [of Massachusetts] not prioritize safety, it made safety an afterthought. The residents of these three communities paid the price," Markey said. A preliminary National Transportation Safety Board report has placed blame for the explosions on Columbia Gas, the utility that serves the three communities.

U.S. Rep. Lori Trahan (D-Lowell), Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan, Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera and other public officials were on hand for the announcement. Rivera said the bill would force utilities like Columbia Gas to take safety seriously.

"They would have walked away from us a lot of times, now they are forced to be at the table," Rievra said. "When they talk about pipeline safety, they’ll always remember the lack of pipeline safety caused the death of a young man in Lawrence, and his name was Leonel Rondon."

Rondon was parked in a car next to his house when it exploded. A chimney collapsed onto the car, killing Rondon. It was more than 130 explosions in the three communities on Sept. 13.

The bill will require companies to have qualified engineers on site for construction and repair projects. It also calls for better communication and safety protocols between utilities and the communities where they do business. "On Sept. 13, this information wasn’t available for days and limited our ability to effectively manage the emergency response," Flanagan said.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).