Pipeline safety engineers from the Safety Division of the Public Utility Commission– which is part of the Commission’s independent Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement (I&E) – initiated an investigation into the December 12th incident in Sewickley Heights Borough, Allegheny County, which destroyed a home and injured one person.

At this point in the investigation, no evidence has been discovered to indicate an unintentional release of gas from Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania, Inc.’s (Columbia Gas) facilities.   

Sewickley Heights Investigation Overview

On December 12, 2023, the PUC’s Safety Division was notified of a reported house explosion at 543 Backbone Road in Sewickley Heights and pipeline safety engineers immediately responded to the scene.

While emergency response efforts were still active at the scene, investigators from the Safety Division began gathering preliminary information from responders, utilities, and neighboring residents around that location – a process which is continuing.

 The home that was damaged was a secondary cottage structure on the property.

I&E is limiting its investigative efforts at this time as no indications have been discovered of jurisdictional asset involvement.

Columbia Gas performed a leak survey with no gas leaks detected, and no other concerns were discovered during the integrity testing of jurisdictional gas facilities.

Safety engineers will continue to work with the Allegheny County Fire Marshall to review and gather evidence at the scene and the safety team remains in close communication with Columbia Gas as additional data is gathered.

The Safety Division appreciates the cooperation of emergency responders and officials from Sewickley Heights and Allegheny County.

PUC Safety Division Jurisdiction and Investigations

The Safety Division’s investigation has been limited at this time as no indications of jurisdictional involvement was discovered. 

I&E Safety will continue to gather evidence from Columbia Gas and stands ready to continue the investigation should evidence warrant such actions.

It is important to note that I&E investigations are limited – by regulation – to the involvement of, or impact from, jurisdictional operators, including utilities, under the jurisdiction of the PUC, along with natural gas transported by those assets.

I&E does not have jurisdiction to investigate items, events, or piping beyond the outlet of a service meter within a structure – and the interior, non-jurisdictional, assets involved in incidents are the subject of investigation by other parties and agencies outside the PUC.

The Safety Division recognizes the strong public interest in these types of incidents, especially for those who have been directly impacted, and works to address safety concerns in a timely manner.

Still, it is important to understand that these are complex circumstances which may require extensive analyses by engineers and other experts, along with laboratory testing and other technical study before conclusions can be reached.

Any determinations and/or actions are based on that information, within the scope of the PUC’s jurisdiction, and any safety concerns identified by investigators are addressed promptly with regulated pipeline operators and/or utilities. 

While the full investigation by the Safety Division may take up to a year or longer to reach any conclusions, I&E will not hesitate to take immediate action to address health or public safety concerns that are identified.

Click Here for the complete announcement.

PA Oil & Gas Industry Public Notice Dashboards:

-- PA Oil & Gas Weekly Compliance Dashboard - Dec. 16 to 22 - 46% More Conventional NOVs; More Abandoned Wells; Conventional Well Fire; Venting Gas, Spills, Plugging Mess  [PaEN] 

-- Conventional Oil Well Storage Tanks Burn In McKean County, 6 Local Fire Companies Respond  [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industry Compliance So Far In 2023 - It Isn’t Pretty   [PaEN]

-- PA Oil & Gas Industrial Facilities: Permit Notices/Opportunities To Comment - December 23 [PaEN]

-- DEP Posted 56 Pages Of Permit-Related Notices In Dec. 23 PA Bulletin  [PaEN]

Related Articles This Week:

-- AP: Drilling Under Pennsylvania's 'Gasland' Town Has Been Banned Since 2010, It's Coming Back  [PaEN]

-- CNX Resources Begins Disclosing General Information On Fracking Chemicals, Air Monitoring Results Online At 2 Shale Gas Well Pads  [PaEN]

-- Oil & Gas Facilities Self-Reported 13,432,713 Tons Of Air Pollution In PA In 2022; 101,741,616 Tons Total Since 2012  [PaEN]

-- US DOE, Treasury Release Proposed Regulations Implementing Clean Hydrogen Production Credit Setting A Sliding Scale For Credits  [PaEN]

-- CNX Ends Coordination On West Virginia Adams Fork Ammonia Energy Project, Anchor Of ARCH2 Hydrogen Hub Application  [PaEN]

-- HEI Energy, Penn State Study Uses 28,500 Water Sample Results To Help Identify Oil & Gas Industry Groundwater Pollution  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves Water Withdrawal Requests For Shale Gas Drilling In Loyalsock, Pine Creek Exceptional Value Watersheds  [PaEN]

-- Susquehanna River Basin Commission Approves 32 Shale Gas Well Pad Water Use General Permits In Bradford, Lycoming, Sullivan, Susquehanna, Tioga, Wyoming Counties  [PaEN]

-- FERC Approves PJM $1.25 Billion Winter Storm Elliot Settlement With Non-Performing Natural Gas, Other Electricity Generators  [PaEN]

-- Project InnerSpace Launches Cross-Collaborative Future of Oil/Gas Well-Based Geothermal In Pennsylvania Study  [PaEN]

-- PUC Update On Investigation Of Dec. 12 Home Explosion In Sewickley Heights, Allegheny County  [PaEN]

NewsClips This Week:

-- WNEP: Residents Awaiting Water React To Return Of Shale Gas Drilling In Dimock, Susquehanna County: ‘Stab In The Back’

-- The Allegheny Front: Environmental Groups Pressure Gov. Shapiro To Crack Down On Shale Gas Industry

-- ABC27: PA Environmental Groups Hold Press Conferences Asking Shapiro To Take Action On Fracking

-- Fox News Guest Essay: Pennsylvania’s Radical Plan To Produce Energy And Protect Our Environment - By Gov. Josh Shapiro & Nick Deiuliis, CEO CNX Resources

-- PA Capital-Star: CNX Gas Company Begins Self-Reporting Air Quality Data As Part Of Shapiro Partnership

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Oil & Gas Industry Air Pollution In Pennsylvania

-- Bob Donnan Blog: Oil & Gas Industry Groundwater Pollution

-- Marcellus Shale Gas Industry Coalition: All We Want For Christmas Is - Permit Reform; More Energy Infrastructure

-- StateImpactPA - Rachel McDevitt: PA Shale Gas Drilling Activity, Gas Prices Fall, Report Says  [406 new shale gas wells drilled in 2023 increasing DEP’s workload]

-- Bloomberg: Congressional House Democrats Investigate Diversified Energy Oil/Gas Producer Methane Emissions, Business Practices  [PA Largest Conventional Well Operators]

-- Pittsburgh Business Times: Diversified Energy Oil & Gas Well Company Share Drop Sharply After Congressional Democrats Start Well Probe

-- Tribune-Democrat: CPV Fairview Natural Gas-Fired Power Plant Gets $900,000 School District Tax Repayment After Reassessment Settlement

-- TribLive: Home For Holidays Has Different Meaning For Victims Of Natural Gas Explosion In Plum Boro, Allegheny County

-- AP: 1 Dead After Propane Gas Hotel Explosion In Lancaster County

-- WPXI: Major Natural Gas Leak At Ross Twp., Allegheny County Business Forced Road Closures, Evacuations

-- KDKA: Explosion, Fire At AmeriGas Propane Gas Facility In Beaver County, No Injuries

-- Bloomberg: LNG Natural Gas Shipping Rates Slump On Lower Demand Despite Red Sea Chaos

-- Inside Climate News: Thousands Of Oil/Gas Wastewater Spills Threaten Property, Groundwater, Wildlife, Livestock Across Texas

-- Reuters: Texas Grid Over Relies On Natural Gas To Restore Power After Blackouts, Study

-- The Guardian: How US Utilities Keep Fossil Fuels In New Homes

[Posted: December 22, 2023]

12/25/2023