New gas pipeline rules floated following 2018 blasts in Massachusetts

Federal regulators are proposing a series of rules changes aimed at toughening safety requirements for millions of miles of gas distribution pipelines nationwide following a string of gas explosions in Massachusetts in 2018. The proposed changes are recommended by the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. They aim to improve safety and ease risk through the improvement of emergency response plans, integrity management plans, operation manuals and other steps. This proposal follows a series of blasts in the Merrimack Valley region of Massachusetts that left a teenager dead, about two dozen injured and destroyed or damaged more than 130 properties.