PENNSAFE, a division of Pennsylvania’s Dept. of Labor andIndustry, has filed a complaint in district court against EquitableGas Co., citing the failure of the utility to accurately mark itsline which resulted in the death of a McKeesport, PA, woman.

The safety agency said Equitable violated the UndergroundUtility Line Protection Act (UULPA) of 1974. If convicted,Equitable, a subsidiary of Pittsburgh-based Equitable Resources,could face fines of $2,500 to $25,000.

In the accident two years ago, a 72-year old woman was killedwhen natural gas seeped into her house from a leaking line andignited, setting the house on fire. The leak was caused on Aug. 15,1998 when Duquesne Light Co. was using a power augur to replace autility pole. The company requested that Equitable Gas locate, andmark the spot of its underground natural gas lines, as required bythe Act.

A representative from Equitable marked the location, but failedto mark its position within 18 inches, as specified in the Act.Instead, the representative misjudged the location and marked thespot 56 inches away from the actual line. Due to the mistake,Duquesne Light punctured the line with its auger, which caused a”slow leak” that resulted some weeks later in the house catchingfire.

“In 1996, Labor and Industry took over the administration of theAct,” said Dept. of Labor and Industry spokesman John Currie. “Westarted publicizing it, and started pursuing prosecutions. In thelast couple of months there have been four actions taken [under theUULPA] that I am aware of. Two are still being investigated, onewas settled out of court, and another one a contractor paid $3,100in damages and $2,000 in fines.”

The complaint brought by PENNSAFE representative Doug Baker willbe heard by District Judge Thomas S. Brietic in Allegheny county onSept. 28.

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