Feds Levy Nearly $1M Fine in Virginia Gas Line Blast

Federal regulators have fined a gas pipeline company nearly $1 million for safety violations in connection with an explosion in Virginia last year.

The U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in a news release last week it levied the $952,500 fine on Williams Gas Co.

Williams operates the Transco line, which extends from the Gulf of Mexico to New York.

One of three pipelines that comprise the Transco line ruptured and exploded Sept. 14, 2008, injuring five people, leveling two homes and damaging about 100 other houses near Appomattox.

Investigators say external corrosion caused the line to break.