Columbia Gas Has Completed Compliance Checks On Abandoned Lines

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — Columbia Gas has completed checking around 5,000 abandoned service lines required by the state after a September gas leak in Lawrence, the company said. The checks cover gas lines abandoned as part of restoration work from the deadly Sept. 2018 gas explosions. Of the lines checked, just under one in five were not in compliance with state requirements, and had to be fixed by Columbia Gas crews. Columbia Gas of Massachusetts President Mark Kempic admitted to the problems in a statement.

“We acknowledge that some of last fall’s work was not completed in accordance with federal and state regulations and CMA protocols and we take full responsibility,” Kempic said. “Since last September’s gas event, we have been working to identify ways to enhance our operational and safety procedures across our Massachusetts footprint to proactively identify and mitigate issues as we work to rebuild customer and public confidence in our company.”

Remediation work "may have included the removal of old pipe, installation of expansion plugs and caps or the disconnection of the abandoned service line from the old, inactive gas system," according to the company release. The final 2,000 checks were voluntary, the company said.

The checks were carried out across the three towns affected by the gas explosions, Andover, Lawrence and North Andover. Last month, the National Transportation Safety Board's released its final report on the incident, attributing the explosions to "weak engineering management" by the company. The state also opened two new investigations into the company and the explosions. The Sept. 13, 2018 natural gas line explosions killed one, injured 22 and damaged 131 structures across the three towns.

Christopher Huffaker can be reached at 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.