Five U.S. House Democrats are calling for an investigation of the deadly Colonial pipeline explosion in Shelby County, AL on Monday. The explosion killed one person and injured five others, four of whom are being treated for severe burn injuries at UAB Hospital’s trauma and burn unit.
Two days after the explosion on Hwy 13 near Helena, a fire was still burning near the site, although witnesses say it is much smaller in size than the roaring inferno that shot flames 200 feet into the sky on Monday and created a thick, black plume of smoke resembling a tornado that could be seen for miles.
The explosion took place about a mile from the site of a massive Colonial pipeline gas leak in September. A nine-man contract crew was preparing the area for a new section of the pipeline when a machine struck the line and something ignited the gas.
Colonial’s Shelby County gas spill is one of 128 such incidents the company has reported to the federal government since 2010, according to a recent report by the Atlanta Journal-Constitution. A six-year average of 21 spills each year earned Colonial sixth place on the most spills list in the paper’s analysis of 208 pipeline companies from 2010 to 2016.
On Wednesday, Energy and Commerce Committee Ranking Member Frank Pallone, Jr. (D-NJ); Transportation and Infrastructure Committee Ranking Member Peter DeFazio (D-OR); Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Energy and Power Ranking Member Bobby Rush (D-IL); Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railroads, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials Ranking Member Michael Capuano (D-MA); and Energy and Commerce Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Ranking Member Diana DeGette (D-CO) sent a letter to Transportation Secretary Anthony Fox expressing concern about the safety of Colonial’s system and calling for an investigation of it.
Over the last 14 months, four incidents have occurred at Colonial facilities. “This is an unacceptable situation, and we are concerned that the number, frequency and severity of significant incidents on Colonial’s system over the past five years could be symptomatic of severe underlying problems with the system and the company’s management of that system,” the letter reads. “We urge you to immediately undertake a full and thorough investigation of the safety of the Colonial system, including Colonial’s management, as well as the robustness of its maintenance and integrity oversight activities for the pipelines in the system over the past five years.”
