OVERVIEW

There have been at least 4,000 natural gas leaks in Washington DC since 2016. A majority of the leaks have been the most dangerous kind as described under Federal guidelines and DC law. Washington Gas has spent $17.8 million since 2016 to fix gas leaks across the city.

The Problem

• There is no evidence that Washington Gas has voluntarily informed the community about the number, nature, seriousness, or repair of any of the leaks.

Recent Incidents

• There have been highly publicized deadly and destructive natural gas leaks around the country, such as the series of gas leaks and explosions last September in three Boston suburbs.

The Solution

• In order to provide the public with confidence and peace of mind about what’ s happening under DC streets and sidewalks, Washington Gas Light and the DC government should provide full daily public disclosure about all natural gas leaks and repairs.

Public Service Commission Seeks Public Input on Gas Leak Reporting Requirements

The DC Public Service Commission, which regulates Washington Gas, held a community hearing on February 6 on natural gas leak reporting requirements. The public has until February 13 to submit additional comments by sending them to this email address: psc-commissionsecretary@dc.gov  

The Commission indicated that they will hold another hearing on this matter on a date to be announced.

I am pleased that the Commission is us with these opportunities to discuss and answer questions about this urgent public safety issue.

How Gas Leaks are Classified and Prioritized

Natural gas leaks are labeled according to how serious they are. Grade 1 leaks present an immediate or probable hazard to persons or property, and require immediate repair or continuous action until the conditions are no longer hazardous; grade 2 leaks are recognized as being non-hazardous at the time of detection, but require scheduled repair based on probable future hazard; and grade 3 leaks are non-hazardous at the time of detection and can be reasonably expected to remain non-hazardous.

About this Website

This site is resource for information and updates about the urgent public safety issue of Washington’s gas leaks.  I launched the site after a series of gas leaks in my neighborhood, seeing news reports about the deadly gas pipeline fires and explosions in the Boston suburbs last September, and my continued frustration with the gas company and their failure to keep my community posted about local natural gas leaks and repairs.

Edward Segal

February 24, 2019