Appomattox, VA – As a result of the pipeline explosion on Sunday morning, Williams Gas Pipeline held a community meeting at the Appomattox County High School on Monday evening at 7:00. At least 150 local residents, many of whom had been affected by the pipeline explosion, were in attendance. A number of officials from Appomattox County attended, including Public Safety Director Bobby Wingfield, Emergency Coordinator Fred Godsey, and School Superintendent Dr. Aldridge A. Boone.
Vice President of Operations Larry Hjalmarson, a representative from Williams Gas Pipeline in Houston, chaired the meeting. The meeting, however, began contentiously when reporters were asked to turn off news cameras and tape recorders.
“This is a meeting primarily between us and those that were affected …,” Hjalmarson told the audience. Later he added, “it would have been a different tone of meeting,” had the cameras and microphones been allowed to remain, and “that was really the only reason” he had objected to their presence.
Many in attendance requested that the media be allowed to record the event, but the reporters removed microphones from the podium and turned off news cameras.
The community meeting was very emotional at times.
“We grabbed our children,” one woman said, “and thought we were going to burn to death.”
Hjalmarson said that he was, “sorry for the injuries” caused by the explosion, and noted that Williams Gas Pipeline had, “never impacted people as we have Sunday.”
The five individuals injured in Sunday morning’s explosion have been treated and released. Hjalmarson also stated that Williams Gas Pipeline would cover expenses relating to both property and personal damages.
There were also complaints from the audience concerning a lack of communication between emergency responders and homeowners on Sunday morning. A number of homeowners, for instance, were told to evacuate to the Appomattox Community Center, only to be re-routed to the Appomattox County High School upon arrival.
The reason for the gas line rupture remains under investigation. The initial, smaller explosion was caused when the pipeline ruptured; the second, massive explosion occurred after a spark (from an undetermined source) had ignited the gas released from the rupture. The explosion strewed debris for a quarter of a mile and created a crater 30 to 40 feet across.
“I saw aluminum cable out there that was melted too,” Hjalmarson told Appomattox News after the meeting. “So it was hot enough to melt aluminum. Hot enough too that the ground sort of crackled like in a ceramic fire. Quite intense heat.”
Attendees at the community meeting had many questions. Concern was expressed over the fact that Williams has two other gas lines in the area that remain in operation. Three parallel gas lines run through Appomattox County. Line A was built in 1949-50; Line B, in the mid-1950s; and Line C was built in the late 1960s.
Line B, the gas line that exploded, runs in-between the other two lines. There is a distance of 47 feet between Line B and its sister pipeline on one side and a distance of 25 feet on the other. Attendees were concerned that these pipelines also posed a threat.
“We do a lot to maintain the pipeline,” Hjalmarson assured the audience.
He noted that Williams had “lowered the pressure of the two lines” (Line A and C), eliminating the possibility of a similar explosion, and that both lines were being thoroughly inspected by both Williams Gas Pipeline and state officials.
Hjalmarson also said that Williams would not restore full service until the company was, “confident the whole thing is safe.”
As of Monday afternoon:
- A second meeting will be held by Williams Gas Pipeline at Appomattox County High School at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday. Williams is hoping to meet with anyone affected by the pipeline explosion.
- A number of families were still without electric and phone service, though both Verizon and Virginia Electric Co-op were working to restore services (at least seven poles were impacted by the blast).
- Wingfield reported that the explosion, “destroyed the asphalt” on Oakville Road/ Highway 26, and that VDOT will have to conduct tests to determine if the surface is sound before drivers will be allowed to use the road.
- As many as 40 homes remained unoccupied. Although Godsey said that, “If you want to go back home, you can,” many families remained concerned about the soundness of their living structure.
- Pipeline inspection gauges—known as PIGs—are used to inspect the integrity of the pipeline from the inside. A “PIG” had recently inspected pipeline B (the pipeline that exploded), though the collected information – at the time of the explosion—had not been fully analyzed. Officials also seemed to indicate that this was the first time a PIG had inspected Line B.
- Williams initially detected the gas leak at 7:44 a.m. on Sunday morning, three minutes before the explosion. After being detected, an individual on-call reported to the Pumping Station and turned off the gas line at 7:59 a.m. (personnel are only onsite at the Pumping Station during first shift).
- Beth Hopkins, with Central Virginian Community Services (CVCS), said that the organization was ready to assist those who suffered from emotional trauma in relation to the explosion. In regards to the anxiety, fear, anger, and depression that many local residents may be experiencing, Hopkins said, “please understand that these are normal feelings.” Phone numbers for CVCS include 847-6074 and 522-8191 (after hours).