Columbia Gas of Ohio fined $250,000 over southern Ohio house explosion

Columbia Gas of Ohio was fined $250,000 on Wednesday for violating safety rules in the case of an explosion in southern Ohio that destroyed a house and three vehicles.

The 2020 explosion, which caused damages exceeding $800,000,  is one of several involving the natural gas distribution company and affiliates over the past several years.

A Public Utilities Commission of Ohio investigation charged that Columbia failed to follow its own operating procedures, including using unqualified workers, when repairing a natural gas pipeline on Nov. 23, 2020, in South Point in Lawrence County near the Ohio River.

The settlement it reached with Columbia also calls for the company to review its operations and procedures and examine how employees are trained and their qualifications are verified. Columbia must report its findings to the PUCO. 

The Columbus-based affiliate of NiSource of Merrillville, Indiana, said it struck a settlement to resolve items raised by PUCO staff during its investigation.

"Protecting the safety of our customers, communities and employees is essential as we continue to reinforce the necessary safety measures and adapt to an ever-evolving safety strategy that focuses on this core commitment," the company said in a statement.

The explosion caused a house fire at 3764 County Road 15 and injured a utility employee.

The explosion occurred while Columbia was venting a gas-air mixture at a main gas line, a process known as purging, according to a PUCO investigation.

"These employees did not recognize that, due to the large volume of gas being purged, there was a risk of static electricity from a plastic purge pipe, causing a gas ignition, and the employees did not follow existing Columbia procedures for line purging designed to address this risk," the report said.

A backhoe cut the gas line that runs along County Road 15 after Columbia had marked the location in error. Columbia's marks were about 4 feet away from the line, but the state investigation did not blame that error for the explosion.

The plan was to cut out and replace about 5 feet of the damaged line, and then purge the line before restoring service to customers, according to the report.

One of the purge points was at the meter at 3764 County Road 15. At 8:10 p.m., the Columbia employee assigned to this task began purging the line and the gas ignited, leading to the explosion and fire.

The employee suffered burns, but was released from the hospital later that evening.

The Columbia employees assigned to perform the purge did not have the qualifications and had not been trained on purging gas from the line.

"Columbia employees failed to recognize and react appropriately to the potential sources of ignition in the area where work was being completed," according to the report. "Active electric lines were located overhead of the meter location along with several other possible sources of ignition including, but not limited to, static electricity buildup from the repaired pipe, air conditioning unit/heat pump, and other electric sources found within the garage. No fire extinguisher was found at or near the scene of the incident."

The deal with Columbia requires the company to examine how qualifications for employees assigned to perform such tasks are checked and verified before performing work. 

The report noted a similar safety issue had occurred at nearby Kitts Hill weeks before on Oct. 1 that led to service being shut down for 105 customers for several days.

An equipment failure at Columbia’s Kitts Hill Road Compressor Station led to a natural-gas distribution system over-pressurization, according to the PUCO.

Earlier this year, Columbia was fined $250,000 for violations at Kitts Hill.

Separately, Columbia was fined $400,000 for a 2017 house fire in northeast Ohio caused by an excavating company installing a water line that struck an unmarked gas line.

In 2015, an explosion in Upper Arlington was linked to a in-ground gas valve to an old line at a house that allowed leaking gas to build up. The valve had been incorrectly labeled as a “water” line by the lid on the in-ground box.

The blast destroyed the house at 3418 Sunningdale Way and injured several people in surrounding homes. Thirty homes were damaged, including eight that were left uninhabitable.

In 2018, there was a deadly explosion in the Boston area where a former Columbia Gas affiliate was overhauling its natural gas lines, replacing old cast-iron pipes with new plastic pipes.

The company ended up paying about $1 billion to customers, residents, businesses and communities affected by the blast. 

mawilliams@dispatch.com

@BizMarkWilliams