Appomattox pipeline on cusp of returning to service

The natural gas pipeline that exploded just north of Appomattox in September is on the cusp of returning to service.

 
The community meeting will be held Monday at 7 p.m. at the Appomattox County High School cafeteria, 198 Evergreen Ave., Appomattox.

As promised, Williams Gas Co. is holding a public meeting Mon-day night to discuss the status of repairs on the pipeline and what is left to do before it returns to service.

The federal agency that over-sees pipeline operation, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, will be at the meeting to listen to residents concerns.

The pipeline is one of three that run side by side through Appomattox, bringing natural gas from the Gulf of Mexico to New York. It was shut down after it ruptured in September, sparking an explosion and fireball that leveled two homes and injured five people.

The pressure on the remaining two lines was significantly reduced while workers inspected them for damage. Last month, Williams brought one pipeline back into full service at 800 pounds per square inch of pressure. It hopes to bring the B line, the one that ruptured, back to service this month and increase pressure on the third line by early next year.

Williams has replaced about 2,300 feet of pipe on the B line, said Christopher Stockton, spokesman for the company. During the last two weeks, work-ers have been testing the line using highly pressurized water to check for leaks. Tuesday, work-ers used compressed air to dry the lines.

Just after midnight Wednesday the drying process caused some residents around the Appomattox-Buckingham County line concern when the process created a loud noise, Stockton said.

“When the air pressure was released, the noise caused some residents to notify Buckingham County 911,” he said. “We apologize for the confusion and deeply regret any concern this might have caused. In the future, we will notify residents ahead of time, in addition to alerting local emergency responders, prior to maintenance like this that has the potential to create excessive noise.”

An accident further north on the pipeline, just south of Virginia 60 in Buckingham County, caused residents some concern as well. Stockton said on Dec. 2, a small amount of gas leaked into an unused section of the 30-inch pipe, causing enough pressure that it dislodged a steel plate that had been welded over the pipe to keep out water and debris.

No one was injured.

“Williams and the construction contractor are investigating the incident and taking necessary steps to prevent reoccurrence,” Stockton said.

Williams is petitioning the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration for ap-proval to start flowing gas in the line. Once that approval is received, the pressure will gradually increase until the pipeline is operating at 800 psi.

That pipeline, which crosses Virginia 26 just north of the town of Appomattox, failed before 8 a.m. on Sept. 14, a Sunday. The natural gas it released blew into a fireball that scorched an area 1,125 feet in diameter, according to preliminary findings in the federal investigation.

Early findings into the cause of the failure showed some metal loss at the explosion site, according to a federal report.

The natural gas pipeline that runs through Appomattox is part of the Transco line, which extends from the Gulf of Mexico to New York, including 858 miles in Virginia.