State will investigate over-pressurized gas line in western Mass.

MONSON, Mass. — The Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities will investigate after an over-pressurized gas line was discovered Tuesday in western Massachusetts.

Columbia Gas said in a statement that a gas control monitor showed a reading slightly above normal operating pressure on a mainline around 1 p.m. Workers for the company fixed the problem and got the line back to normal operating condition within six minutes, the company said in a statement.

Columbia Gas notified the police and fire departments in Palmer and Monson and immediately sent workers to check for gas leaks. Workers were in the process of completing safety checks in both towns as of 7:15 p.m.

“Crews will remain on site as long as necessary to assure the safety of the public,” Columbia Gas said.

Columbia Gas said natural gas service was never interrupted and regulators at each customer’s home prevented the higher pressure from causing any issues.

“Consistent with any pipeline over-pressurization incident, DPU is closely monitoring the incident in Monson and will investigate,” Katie Gronendyke, a spokesperson for the Massachusetts Department of Public Utilities, told Boston 25 News.

Monson Town Administrator Evan Brassard told Boston 25 News the town was notified of the issue this afternoon and immediately sent out an alert to residents.

“While Columbia Gas felt that the potential risks were low in this particular event, we felt it prudent to warn our residents and ensure that any smell of gas was not simply shrugged off as a run of the mill issue,” Brassard said. “So far, we have not had any reports of problems from our residents, but emergency crews are on heightened alert, especially given what happened in the Merrimack Valley.”

A preliminary investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board found an over-pressurized gas line caused fires and explosions in the Merrimack Valley in September. One teenager was killed and two dozen others were hurt.

Columbia Gas said there was no possibility of a similar disaster in Palmer or Monson because of differences in the pipeline system.

Boston 25 News has reached out to the National Transportation Safety Board for comment on Tuesday's over pressurization event.

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