DENVER (AP) - The Latest on steps Colorado is taking after a fatal home explosion blamed on a leaking gas line (all times local):
2 p.m.
Colorado Gov. John Hickenlooper says the state won’t offer an online map of oil and gas pipelines after a fatal house explosion that was blamed on a leaking pipe, citing security concerns.
Hickenlooper said Tuesday Colorado will instead expand an existing service that allows people to have trained workers mark the location of underground utilities on their property.
Hickenlooper said three months ago the state needed a pipeline map after an explosion in the town of Firestone killed two people. Investigators blamed gas leaking from a pipeline that was thought to be abandoned but was still connected to a well.
The governor said Tuesday that some people had expressed concerns about theft and security if a map were online. He said those concerns were valid.
Hickenlooper said including pipelines in the Call 811 utility locator service would make the information available to homeowners and builders.
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11:45 a.m.
Colorado officials say they will strengthen regulations for oil and gas pipelines to reduce the chances of another home explosion like one that killed two people in April.
Gov. John Hickenlooper announced the rule-tightening on Tuesday. It’s one of seven steps recommended by state regulators who reviewed oil and gas operations at Hickenlooper’s direction after the explosion.
Investigators blamed the explosion on gas leaking from a severed pipeline that was thought to be abandoned but was still connected to a well.
Hickenlooper endorsed another recommendation for the state to set up a service that lets landowners have trained workers identify the locations of pipelines on their property.
He also said the state will establish a fund to seal off so-called orphan wells, which are usually old, inactive wells that no one claims.
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