A group of House Democrats called on the Obama administration Wednesday to start a federal investigation into a pipeline that exploded in Alabama Monday that the East Coast relies on for its gasoline supplies.
The explosion was the second major disruption that the Colonial Pipeline in Shelby County has experienced in the last two months. On Monday, a bulldozer operator accidentally ruptured the pipeline, causing an explosion that killed one worker and injured several others. The fire was still burning Tuesday as gasoline pump prices were already reported to be rising in the Southeast in anticipation of a major supply disruption.
“This is an unacceptable situation, and we are concerned that the number, frequency and severity of significant incidents on Colonial’s system over the past five years could be symptomatic of severe underlying problems with the system and the company’s management of that system,” senior House Democrats on the energy and transportation committees wrote in a letter to the Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx requesting an investigation. The agency has jurisdiction over pipeline safety.
Colonial Pipeline Co. said Wednesday that the fire was still burning, but it was no longer a threat to the public.
“Once the fire is extinguished, excavation work at the incident site will commence and an operational plan will be executed” to restore service, the company said Wednesday.
The pipeline carries about a quarter of the gasoline used on the East Coast. Colonial Pipeline is projecting the pipeline will reopen on Saturday.
