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Lawmakers Seek Investigation of Colonial Pipeline After Fatal Explosion

HeadlineNov 03, 2016

In Alabama, the Colonial pipeline remains shut down following a fatal explosion along a section of the pipeline on Monday in Shelby County, Alabama. One worker died and five were hospitalized after columns of fire burst from the punctured pipeline and shot up to 150 feet in the air. Colonial Pipeline Company has said as many as 168,000 gallons of gasoline could have burned, spilled, evaporated or remained in the pipeline following the blast. Democrats on the House Energy and Commerce Committee are seeking an investigation of the Georgia-based company. This comes after this same pipeline leaked nearly 340,000 gallons of gasoline in Central Alabama in September, forcing the line to shut down for 12 days and leading six governors to declare states of emergency as gas prices rose throughout the region. The Colonial pipeline carries 1.3 million barrels of gasoline per day down to refineries in Texas and Louisiana, accounting for a full 40 percent of the region’s gasoline. We’ll have more on the pipeline explosion later in the broadcast.

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