Published: April 4, 2019 |

Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation designating $1.5 million for an examination of the states natural gas system
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Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker signed legislation Friday funding an examination of the state’s natural gas distribution system, a move prompted by recent gas line explosions.

In September, gas explosions and resulting fires in the Merrimack Valley killed one person, injured at least two dozen people and damaged or destroyed more than 100 homes, The Boston Herald reported.

The legislation, part of a larger spending bill, allocates $1.5 million for Dynamic Risk Assessment Systems, a Texas-based consulting firm, to study Massachusetts’ gas distribution system and gas companies’ operating practices.

The bill also includes funding for emergency shelters for homeless families and low-income heating assistance.

Audrey Schulman, co-founder and executive director of the Home Energy Efficiency Team, a Boston-based nonprofit that teaches people how to lower gas emissions and respond to gas leaks in their community, told the Herald that Massachusetts has the second-oldest leak-prone infrastructure in the nation, behind Baltimore. She said the state’s pipes include miles of outdated cast iron.

According to a report issued by the state’s Department of Public Utilities, Massachusetts had more than 34,000 reported gas leaks in 2017, nearly 7,500 of which were classified as “Grade 1” leaks, meaning they present an existing or probable hazard.

The state has been working quickly to replace its pipelines over the past couple of years—at a pace of 200 miles of pipes per year, Schulman said, according to the Herald. But that’s only a fraction of the 6,000 miles identified as vulnerable to leaks in a 2014 study.

“We’re literally sitting on bombs,” Schulman said. “The pipes in Massachusetts are past their well-use dates.”

Source: U.S. News

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