PUC Approves Joint Settlement with Columbia Gas for Past Pipeline Safety Violations in Southwest PA
Settlement levies hefty civil penalty, directs numerous corrective actions and remedial measures for hundreds of failed fusions along gas service lines
HARRISBURG – The Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission (PUC) today approved a joint settlement with Columbia Gas of Pennsylvania Inc. (Columbia Gas) related to past pipeline safety violations while completing main line replacement projects in Southwest Pennsylvania.
The Commission voted 5-0 to adopt the Recommended Decision of PUC Administrative Law Judge Jeffrey A. Watson – which recommended approval of a Joint Petition for Approval of Settlement filed on March 14, 2025, between the PUC’s Bureau of Investigation and Enforcement (I&E) and Columbia Gas.
Today’s action resolves a formal complaint filed by I&E on Nov. 21, 2023, alleging that in 2019 and 2020 Columbia Gas and its contractor, Infrasource, violated state and federal regulations relating to visually unacceptable socket fusions along multiple main line replacement projects in Allegheny and Washington counties. Gas service line fusion is a permanent method of joining plastic polyethylene (PE) gas pipes using controlled heat to melt and blend the materials into a s…