Burlington Considers Moratorium On Gas Work

BURLINGTON, MA -- Last week's gas explosions in Andover, Lawrenc eand North Andover that left one man dead and more than 60 homes damaged or destroyed, as well as an ongoing lockout of 1,100 National Grid workers, has Burlington Selectmen considering a moratorium on non-emergency gas work in town. Selectmen are expected to finalize the moratorium at next week's meeting.

Even before last week's disaster in the Merrimack Valley, Burlington selectmen had been considering a moratorium similar ones implemented Billerica, Boston, Lowell and other Massachusetts communities. Those moratoriums were imposed in response to the now three-month-old lockout of 1,100 National Grid workers in Massachusetts. Labor unions have backed the moratoriums, saying replacement workers may be untrained.

"These guys want to work, the company doesn’t want them there," Selectmen Joseph Morandi said at Monday night's meeting. "After speaking with different contractors, I couldn’t be more in favor of the moratorium."

National Grid does not provide gas service in the communities impacted by the gas explosions. Those communities are served by Columbia Gas of Massachusetts, which has been criticized for its slow response to the crisis. On Tuesday, the first of what is expected to be multiple lawsuits, was filed against Columbia.

"The response from Columbia was miserable and this is a company that isn’t operating with sub-contractors and managers and labor that is not skilled to handle such a disaster," Selectmen Michael Runyan said. "Should this happen in our community with National Grid, I’m afraid the outcome could be much worse in Burlington."

Investigators from the National Transportation Safety Board have been working in Andover, Lawrence and North Andover this week and are looking at sensors that allowed gas pressure in transmission lines operated by Columbia Gas to build up to 12 times normal levels. The sudden pressure spike caused a series of explosions that destroyed or damaged more than 60 houses in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover and left one man dead. More than two dozen people were injured and thousands of people were forced to evacuate their homes.

In addition to the evacuations, power was cut to large parts of the affected area through Sunday morning. Some residents may have to wait weeks for gas service to be restored.

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The house on Chickering Road in Lawrence where 18-year-old Leonel Rondon was killed on Friday. Rondon was sitting in the car parked in the driveway when a gas explosion destroyed the house and toppled the chimney onto the car. Photo by Dave Copeland/Patch.

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