Dive Brief:
- An Enbridge natural gas pipeline rupture caused an explosion in Kentucky early Thursday morning, killing one and injuring five others.
- The Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline exploded around 1 a.m., destroying five homes, and shooting flames 300 feet into the air, the Associated Press reported. The almost 9,000 mile pipeline stretches from the border of Mexico up to New York City.
- The blast is one of 29 "significant incidents" with the Texas Eastern Transmission pipeline since 2011, the Kentucky Courier Journal reports. The National Transportation Safety Board is still investigating the cause of the rupture on the 30 inch diameter pipeline.
Dive Insight:
U.S. pipeline infrastructure remains under scrutiny following three explosions in the past year: In September 2018, overpressurization led to a deadly explosion on a Columbia Gas pipeline in Massachusetts, killing one and destroying several homes. In April of this year, a rupture on a Dominion Energy pipeline in North Carolina killed one and injured 17 others. Finally, a gas leak caused a 2018 explosion in Texas, killing a girl.
The incidents highlight industry concerns over aging infrastructure and put pressure on regulators to increase oversight of gas pipeline safety.
@LEX18News Fire in Junction City pic.twitter.com/i3SboLvbpw
— Charlemagne ⚜️ (@Charlie_Lynch04) August 1, 2019
Columbia Gas had reported more than 34,000 leaks on its pipeline in the year leading up to the explosion, an investigation by the Boston Herald found. NiSource, the parent company of Columbia Gas, reached a $143 million settlement earlier this week related to the explosion.
And following the Texas incident, state Rep. Rafael Anchia, D, filed a package of bills that would increase regulatory scrutiny of pipelines, requiring, among other things, gas companies to inform customers within 72-hours if a gas leak is found within a quarter mile of their property.
The Kentucky explosion also followed another fossil fuel disaster in the south: On Wednesday, an explosion at an Exxon oil refinery in Texas left 37 injured. The cause of the blast is still being investigated.
