Williams Transco fined almost $1 million for Virginia pipeline accident

WASHINGTON - Almost a year after a natural gas pipeline explosion rocked Appomattox, Va., federal authorities have issued a proposed fine of almost $1 million following an investigation that found safety regulation violations.
The U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration levied a $952,500 fine on Williams Gas Pipeline after investigators found possible failures to "address regulatory requirements for monitoring and preventing external corrosion," according to an agency news release issued Aug. 10.
One of three pipelines operated by the Williams-owned Transco line ruptured and the natural gas release then ignited on Sept. 14, 2008, injuring five people, leveling two homes and damaging about 100 other houses. The resulting fireball scorched land some 1,125 feet away.
Investigators determined that external corrosion caused the line to rupture.
Chris Stockton, spokesperson for Williams, said it has been notified of the violation and is working with the oversight agency to implement its recommendations.

Williams reactivates Blue Bridge Pipeline proposal along Columbia River

VANCOUVER, Wash. – Williams Pipeline, which pipes natural gas into Washington state’s Clark County, is pushing forward a plan to run a new pipeline up the Columbia Gorge and into the Hockinson area.
The new line would largely run alongside Williams Pipeline's existing pipe, which starts in Stanfield, Ore., and runs along the north side of the Columbia River, passing north of Washougal to meet Interstate 5 near La Center.
The new pipeline would only go as far west as the center of Clark County, not clear to La Center.
Williams suspended field work on the proposal, called the Blue Bridge Pipeline, in November. But company officials planned on Feb. 10 to ask county commissioners for permission to begin surveying a possible route through county-run Camp Bonneville.