(News Messenger - August 27, 2008) by Sandra Cason

No one hurt in explosion: Investigation continues into cause of pipeline failure
An investigation continues into a gas pipeline explosion that occurred shortly after 4 p.m. Tuesday near the intersection of Farm-to-Market Roads 449 and 2208.

Harrison County Fire Marshal Dennis Engdahl said members of three fire departments battled the blaze “until dark,” finally re-opening the road near the site and allowing residents to access their homes.

Engdahl said the preliminary cause is thought to be a “fault in the pipeline.”

The fire marshal called it a Kinder Morgan pipeline and said the explosion occurred about 20 yards off FM 2208 at a major loading station.

A “media advisory” issued by Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America reported “a failure on a section of its storage gathering pipeline system in a rural area of Harrison County, north of Longview.”

The press release said “one home near the location was evacuated as a precautionary measure by local emergency responders” but Engdahl said a double-wide mobile home and a nearby metal storage building were “lost” in the blaze.

Engdahl said the home was vacant at the time of the fire. The pipeline company and the fire marshal both reported there were no injuries.

“The company quickly isolated the affected section of the line,” the press release said, and Engdahl added that oil and gas wells in the area were “isolated and shut off.”

Engdahl said the loading station was damaged and surrounding woods and grassy areas were charred by the blaze.

Those responding to the call included personnel from Hallsville, Longview and West Harrison County Fire Department, which is also in Longview.

Engdahl said the pipeline company will perform an investigation into the cause and will apprise him of its findings.

A 36-inch pipeline owned by Kinder Morgan Energy Partners LLC ruptured at 2:11 a.m. on May 13, 2005, at a site about eight miles south of Marshall.

A company spokesman said several weeks later that the chemical composition of the soil corroded the pipe, causing it to crack, The Longview News-Journal reported.

The article also said, however, that a federal government office charged with keeping watch over the nation’s interstate pipelines said the cause was still under investigation.

Engdahl said Wednesday he would not comment on the cause of the earlier explosion because of ensuing lawsuits.

The press release says Natural Gas Pipeline Company of America (NGPL) is “operated by Knight Inc.”

And, says the Web site, www.kindermorgan.com/about_us, Knight Inc. was formerly known as Kinder Morgan Inc.

The site identifies the company as an interstate gas transmission subsidiary, with more than “9,800 miles of wholly and jointly owned interstate pipelines.

“Natural’s system moves gas from major U.S. and Canadian producing areas to Midwest markets and other pipelines serving North America,” the Web site says.