HARRISBURG — Pipeline safety engineers from the Bureau of Investigation & Enforcement (I&E) — the independent investigation and enforcement bureau of the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) — are continuing to investigate an incident in Clarion County.
Explosion
The reported explosion the evening of May 28 seriously damaged a home and adjacent greenhouse (Kemmers Greenhouse) along Pine Run Road in Mayport and sent one person to the hospital for treatment.
Investigators from I&E are coordinating their pipeline safety review with the Pennsylvania State Police Fire Marshall and the Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection — and have also conferred with the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA).
Pipelines
As part of the preliminary investigation, engineers have identified three pipelines near the site, including two natural gas transmission lines operated by TC Energy (formerly TransCanada), along with a natural gas line supplying the house and greenhouse operated by Empire Energy.
Two of those pipelines (the Empire Energy line and one of the TC Energy lines) have been placed out of service as part of the ongoing investigation. The third line is a TC Energy interstate transmission line under the jurisdiction of PHMSA and is not impacted by this investigation.
Pipeline safety engineers have been on-site since shortly after the incident was reported to the PUC and continue working to determine whether natural gas service was involved in the incident and whether there were any violations of state or federal pipeline safety regulations.
