Congressional Committee To Look At Merrimack Valley Explosions

LAWRENCE, MA -- U.S. Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Ed Markey (D-Mass.) said they will schedule a hearing of the Commerce, Science and Transportation Committee in the Merrimack Valley to investigate the Sept. 13 gas explosions that killed one, injured more than two dozen and forced more than 8,000 people in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover to evacuate. The hearing will probe whether or not Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and its subcontractors had plans in place to prevent the gas explosions, which destroyed or damaged more than 60 homes.

"We urge the Committee to call a hearing immediately ... in order to examine whether regulators have adequate authority and resources to detect and remedy violations, respond to natural gas accidents in a timely manner, and ensure better operating procedures for companies linked to repeated misconduct," Warren and Markey said in a joint statement. Markey is a member of the committee.

Separately on Friday, Columbia Gas said it had replaced the first mile of underground pipeline that it needs to replace to restore service to all of its customers in the three communities. The state has promised the work will be complete by Nov. 19. The utility said it had also completed distributing hot plates and completed installation of more than 4,300 smoke detectors in homes that could have prolonged gas outages.

But a report released Friday showed that the utility had distributed fewer than 10% of the space heaters it needs to distribute to homes facing long gas services outages.

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Patch file photo of National Guard troops and police officers distributing hot plates in Lawrence.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).