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Senate Considers Pipeline Safety Standards after California Explosion

A Senate Commerce Committee hearing regarding the San Bruno gas pipeline in California earlier this month discussed ways to prevent disasters like this, including suggestions to create buffer zones between pipelines and residential neighborhoods.  The explosion of a gas pipeline in a San Bruno neighborhood killed a total of eight people, and damaged several houses.

Among the people testifying before the Senate’s panel include the chairman of the Pacific Gas and Electric Co., the company that owns the gas pipeline involved in the explosion.  Chris Jones provided written testimony to the panel.  According to him, it is necessary for lawmakers to reassess the adequacy of the technologies that are used by utility companies to test pipeline safety.  He’s also calling on lawmakers to consider more established benchmarks for pipeline operations.  Most importantly, he’s calling for the review of the impact of urbanization on pipeline safety.

Most pipelines in the country including in California, were laid 4 to 5 decades ago.  At the time, most of these pipelines traveled beneath what were empty, rural, sparsely populated areas.  Decades later, populations in these areas have exploded, and suburban neighborhoods have popped up around the vicinity of these pipelines.  This has meant that when a pipe explodes, the human toll can be devastating as it was in the San Bruno explosion.

Consumer safety groups including representatives of the Pipeline Safety Trust are also welcoming calls for a buffer zone between residential neighborhoods and pipelines.  Some counties already require a certain buffer to exist between homes and pipelines, but there is no established federal standard, and the requirements vary.  That means, there’s plenty of confusion over the exact requirements.

The pipeline that exploded in San Bruno was buried 4 feet below a residential street.  When the pipeline ruptured, a 28-foot block of the pipe was hurled out of the ground and thrown 100 feet away.  The explosion left a giant crater in the area, and dozens of houses were damaged, many of them beyond repair.  Four people were confirmed dead instantly.  The people who were reported missing after the explosion were also confirmed dead later.  This week, an eighth person who was seriously injured in the explosion also succumbed to his injuries, bringing the total number of dead in the explosion to eight.  It was one of the most devastating pipeline explosions in California’s history, and it has sent ripples through the nation as lawmakers, utility companies and safety groups debate an overhaul of the current system.

Presently, there is nothing in the system that would convince California personal injury lawyers about the lowered risks of an explosion like this occurring again.  Most of these pipelines were laid decades ago, and many are badly in need of maintenance and repairs.  The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is a little-known federal agency that is in charge of pipeline safety standards.  It currently has about 96 inspectors, but needs several more inspectors in order to be able to inspect pipelines regularly.

The Reeves Law Group is a law firm with offices throughout California dedicated exclusively to the representation of personal injury victims, including victims of explosions and fires. Please visit our website at trlglaw.com. If you desire a free consultation on a personal injury matter, please call us at (800) 644-8000 or email us.

The Reeves Law Group is not representing any party in the matters discussed in this posting.

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