Pipeline explosion & fire under investigation in Ohio
From an Article of WTAP News 47, Marietta, Ohio, January 31, 2018
A section of the 24-inch Seneca Lateral natural gas pipeline in a remote area of Noble County exploded early Wednesday morning.
The Noble County Emergency Management Office says it happened about 2:30 A.M on Wednesday, in an area about three miles north of Summerfield, Ohio, near Ohio State Routes 513 and 379.
Authorities say no one was injured, and there were no evacuations. The fire has been extinguished.
Crews from the Summerfield, Belle Valley and Caldwell fire departments responded to the scene. United Ambulance service and the Noble County sheriff’s office also are at the scene.
An investigation into what caused the explosion in the pipeline operated by Tallgrass Energy is continuing.
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Update: Environmental group says pipeline not thoroughly reviewed
SUMMERFIELD, Ohio (WTAP) – News 47, Update: 2/1/2018
An environmental group claims the pipeline where an explosion happened Wednesday in Noble County failed to get a detailed review before it was approved.
In 2013, the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission approved a request by the owners of the Seneca Lateral pipeline for modifications in the flow of natural gas.
Whereas the gas had been flowing from east to west, the company asked for approval of a reversal, due to the then-growing Marcellus Shale drilling in the region.
A number of environmental groups, including the Allegheny Defense Project, filed a protest stating an environmental impact statement should have been prepared before the project was approved.
“The pipeline was approved about a month after the company approved the application, the Defense Project’s Executive Director, Ryan Talbott, said Thursday. “So it was a very streamlined process. And this is a problem with essentially deregulating the environmental review process.”
Talbott also said a more detailed review process would have allowed the public to comment on the company’s proposal.
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Tallgrass isolates Ohio Natural Gas pipeline segment after Explosion
From the Reuters News Service Staff, January 31, 2018
(Reuters) – Tallgrass Energy Partners LP said it had isolated a segment of its Seneca Lateral pipeline following an unexpected release of natural gas and fire in Noble County, Ohio on Wednesday morning, and reported no injuries or evacuations.
The cause of the incident on the 24-inch (61-centimeter) pipeline between the MarkWest processing plant and the Rockies Express (REX) pipeline was being investigated, the company said.
“Many area residents reported an explosion and fire,” Noble County Emergency Management Agency said in a statement. “There are multiple pipelines in the same footprint and several facilities in the area … all fires are out.”
“At approximately 2:30 Eastern time this morning (Jan. 31), the Seneca Lateral experienced a natural gas release in a rural area between State Route 513 and State Route 379 in Noble, County Ohio,” Tallgrass Energy spokesman Phyllis Hammond said in an email.
In a report to customers, Tallgrass’ REX pipeline said its Seneca Lateral segment would remain unavailable until repairs could be made.
About 0.2 billion cubic feet per day (bcfd) of gas was scheduled to flow through Rover’s Seneca Lateral on Wednesday, down from an average of about 0.3 bcfd over the past two weeks, according to Reuters data. Rover’s Seneca Lateral is not the same pipe as REX’s Seneca Lateral.
Officials at Energy Transfer Partners LP, that owns Rover, said the pipeline was operating safely. Overall flows on the Rover pipe were expected to decline to about 0.9 bcfd on Wednesday from an average of over 1 bcfd over the past couple of weeks, the Reuters data showed.
One bcfd of gas is enough to power about five million homes.
MPLX LP’s MarkWest Energy unit owns the MarkWest Seneca processing plant in Ohio.
Companies that operate pipelines in the vicinity have shut their facilities as a precaution, said Chasity Schmelzenbach, director of Noble County Emergency Management Agency.
Source: https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pipeline-fire-ohio/tallgrass-isolates-ohio-natgas-pipeline-segment-after-rupture-idUSKBN1FK2EU