10:30 AM 10/12/2023 Are you having a boring day? It will no longer be boring if you punch a hole in a 22 inch diameter, 750 PSI interstate natural gas line.

I sure as heck would not want to be the insurance carrier for this construction outfit.

Media keeps using the word "explosion". There was no explosion. Only a release of pressurized gas, but no flame. The operator of the excavator suffered minor injuries.

My daughter in law was outside at her employment about eight miles away. She could hear the gas escaping, similar to a jet flying overhead.



I can not embed these other videos. But here are links.

https://www.ktvb.com/video/news/loc...277-a224f30c-3b13-468f-bd0d-bbf71da8390d

https://www.ktvb.com/article/news/l...277-c7580962-4479-448d-b621-dbedbde5661e

At what point is mercaptan added to gas to give it an odor?

Good thing the excavator driver wasn't smoking.

I am not sure about that.

One of the reporters claimed he could smell a bit of gas, outside the four mile perimeter. Which of course, would mean mercapton. But that report might be as accurate as the report of an explosion.

One video shows the incident sight after the gas lines were isolated. There is no sign of fire or explosion.

Just found this:
Federal regulations, 49CFR, 192.625,"Odorization of Gas," requires that gas transmitted interstate be odorized.

That would mean that this pipeline would be odorized since it's interstate.

yes all the natural gas lines are supposed to smell like rotten eggs just for this reason alone. even a small leak in a house needs to be recognized..
we install this stuff everyday, things happen. most people will be shocked at how many gas lines are broken every day in the United States

This happened about 1.3 miles from my house. The initial explosion rocked the house according to my wife who was home. The son of one of our friends was running the excavator. He's lucky to be alive. I have no idea if they called dig line or not.

Did it explode, as in combustion, or was the explosion just letting off pressure? I'm reading conflicting reports.

Sounds like things could have been much worse.

Many years ago my cousins husband crossed a pipeline that was improperly buried. It ruptured and blew killing him.

When I was working for SW Bell in Austin, Texas we had to have all the underground utilities located before we buried a new cable. I happened to be on a jobsite right after local gas company located the gas line and marked it yellow paint. He showed the gas line to under the sidewalk 3 ft. from where we were going to bury the new cable. When we starting trenching with a rock saw we hit the gas line and the whole neighborhood had to be evacuated.

I retired from SW Bell 10 years later and located telephone telephone cables for a while. One day I was locating telephone cables and the gas company locater showed up to locate the gas line. I asked him how he was able to locate the gas line without using some kind of locator like we used. He said they just look at their old records and marked where the gas lines are supposed to be. After that happened we starting "pot holing" all gas lines before trenching. "Pot holing" is carefully hand digging until you find the actually find the location of the gas line.

Does Idaho have a program similar to the California's Underground Service Alert, or Southern California's Dig Alert? Where you call 811 before you dig, and local authorities come out and mark any underground utilities or hazards. Doesn't always work, contractors and planners sometimes want to get closer than is safe... but it has prevented most such mishaps. Worst I ever hit while drilling was a fiber-optic cable running down the center of the 405 freeway that wasn't where it was supposed to be. Cost Caltrans millions I guess, wasn't far from LAX and supplied a good portion of Los Angeles skyline with internet.

Phil

About 15 years ago I hit a service line to a house with my trencher. Not only did I have to pay for the line repair but also the estimated amount of gas that leaked out. Luckily I had pinched the line off with a Visegrips. Learned to never trust a homeowner about where the gas line was coming from. Dave

Operator was lucky it was NG and not a propane line, or in a confined area.


Phil

...or it could have been residual smell from the excavator operator's shorts.

If you look at the videos, there are after action pictures of the scene after it was safed.

There is no sign of fire or explosion.

I have no problem believing a shock wave was propagated from the initial rupture. But that is not the same as an explosion. Often people call the ignition of smokeless powder an "explosion". Many do not know the difference.

If it goes bang, it MUST be explosive! You know, like that birthday balloon I popped yesterday.

This same gas line passes under our property, about twenty yards from my house. It proceeds to the North West toward Ontario Oregon. It is flagged very well every time it crosses a road. The gas company flies the line very often checking for leaks. My Son in Law owns several well drilling rigs. If he happens to elevate a rig for service, anywhere near the gas line, he invariably gets a call.

"You are not drilling there, are you" "Can you please put the rig down or move it. You are making us nervous."

A few years back, a farmer three miles west of us leveled a field up a bit. Doing so, he did not expose the gas line, but he did bring it closer to the surface. A couple years after that, one of his tractor operators punched a hole in the gas line with a ripper shank.

It was a scene much like the one in Middleton yesterday.

Later that summer, I was in the local Co-op and heard the farm owner remark, "Yes, I had to buy that forty twice."

I believe they held him liable for repair cost, lost fuel to atmosphere, and value of lost transition time.

Yes, Idaho does have 811 "digline" service.

A former preacher told the story of one of his relatives was getting a house well drilled. The driller hit something hard and could go no deeper. He proceeded to use the drill head and drill stem like a piledriver. The was still after it about 30 minutes later when the gas transmission line guy showed up. It was a close call. While driving a school bus route I witnessed a ruptured line. Flames shot about a football field high and roared like a jet on afterburners. It burned a nearby house down and the firefighters had to be called to prevent it from spreading. Think giant pressurized Zippo or flamethrower on steroids.

Calling 811 doesn't always work. About a year ago, a friend was doing some dirt work on his place. He called 811 and had all the utilities marked. He was digging about 25 ft from the marked gas line and hit another gas line. No fire, just a broken line.

The gas company said he was not responsible.