Third Party Punctures 20" Pipe in Southeast Kansas, Service Returned Following Day
October 2, 2006, Owensboro, KY
Southern Star’s 20” southern trunk line in Labette County, Kansas was punctured by a trenching crew for Double J Pipeline Construction on Friday, September 29 at approximately 10:30 a.m. A Double J employee contacted Southern Star’s gas control department when the incident occurred.
Double J is a contractor for Admiral Bay Resources, Inc., a producer in the area. The trenching crew was a subcontractor of Double J. Double J was laying a 4” line for Admiral Bay at the time of the incident.
Double J Construction is not a Southern Star contractor and was not working on Southern Star facilities. No Southern Star personnel were on the site at the time of the incident.
Southern Star’s line, which was under pressure, was marked with pipeline markers. Gas was released when the line was punctured and ignited shortly after the line was punctured. The trencher operator ran to safety; the crew mechanic sustained fatal injuries and died at the scene.
Southern Star shut in the impacted line segment between the Verdigris River near Coffeyville, Kansas and Altamont, Kansas, and sent personnel to the scene to assist. Shutting in the line enabled emergency responders to get into the area safely and attend to the fire but caused Southern Star to lose service to the towns of Liberty and Mound Valley. Approximately 275 customers lost gas service as a result. Southern Star made all necessary notifications to governmental agencies.
Emergency responders were on the scene quickly. Residents and workers in the immediate area were evacuated as a precaution.
Various governmental agencies, including the Office of Pipeline Safety, Kansas Corporation Commission, Department of Homeland Security, National Transportation Safety Board, and Occupational Safety and Health Administration, have made inquiries and are investigating the incident. Southern Star is cooperating fully in the investigations and has its own accident investigation team on site. Although the investigations are on-going, preliminary information indicates Double J did not have clearance to work close to or over Southern Star’s pipeline on Friday.
Southern Star could not begin repair work until the investigations by the State Fire Marshal and OPS were completed. Southern Star obtained access to the site at approximately 7 p.m. Friday. Southern Star crews laid a temporary line from its loop line earlier Friday to ensure Mound Valley and Liberty customers could be placed back in service as soon as possible.
Southern Star and Atmos Energy, the local distribution company in the area, decided it would be safer and more convenient for customers to wait until Saturday morning to relight the customers.
Southern Star decided to start repair work Saturday morning due to safety concerns related to working at night and because customers were able to be put back into service.
Southern Star is conducting an independent investigation into the matter, but its first priority is public and employee safety and service to its customers. All customers were relit by 9:00 pm Saturday evening.
Southern Star takes safety seriously. Natural gas is a safe, clean energy source and Southern Star’s pipeline system has a strong safety record. Natural gas and the pipeline systems that transport and deliver it must be handled appropriately. The public is encouraged to review our safety materials on this site under “Safety”. Contractors are asked to review the same information, call their local One Call before working around any gas pipelines, and work with Southern Star. |
