Columbia Gas Will Verify Another 2,000 Abandoned Service Lines

NORTH ANDOVER, MA — Columbia Gas will be checking 2,000 additional abandoned gas lines in the Merrimack Valley, they announced Tuesday. The checks follow 2,900 checks ordered by the state Department of Public Utilities after a gas leak in September, but this round was not ordered by the department, the company said. The checks cover gas lines abandoned as part of restoration work from the deadly Sept. 2018 gas explosions.

"This final set of 2,000 verifications is not required by the DPU but will be voluntarily performed by Columbia Gas out of an abundance of caution," said the company in a press release. The second set of verifications are expected to be completed by Nov. 15, while the new set will take until the end of the year. However, the company said they will be less disruptive.

"Due to the location of these customers’ meters, these verifications will be conducted via outside field inspection. Entrance into a customer’s home or business is not required unless follow-up work is necessary," said the company.

The company did not publicly post the addresses for this set, but said, "Customers in the final set will be contacted by Columbia Gas via email and mailed letter beginning this week."

“It is important for our customers to have peace of mind about the work that was conducted in the Merrimack Valley last fall,” said the company's safety chief Nick Stavropoulos in a statement, Chief Safety Advisor. “Completing this final set of verifications can provide these communities with the confidence that their gas distribution system is compliant and operating in a safe and reliable manner.”

Columbia Gas' announcement comes after the National Transportation Safety Board's final report was released last week, attributing the explosions to "weak engineering management" by the company. The state also opened two new investigations into the company and the explosions Friday. The Sept. 13, 2018 natural gas line explosions killed one, injured 22 and damaged 131 structures across the three towns.

Christopher Huffaker: 412-265-8353 or chris.huffaker@patch.com.