DENVER (AP) - Federal investigators say a fatal 2017 house explosion linked to an oil and gas well in Colorado occurred after lines then owned by Anadarko Petroleum likely were severed during the home’s construction.
Colorado Public Radio reports Tuesday that National Transportation Safety Board investigators say local authorities approved neighborhood construction on land adjacent to or once part of energy production.
An NTSB report says that approval lacked documentation of line locations related to the well in Firestone in Weld County.
It found that three lines near the home weren’t properly abandoned by former owner Patina Oil and Gas Corp.
The blast killed two people and injured a third. The state began requiring inspections of underground flowlines near occupied buildings.
Occidental Petroleum has since taken over Anadarko.
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Information from: Colorado Public Radio, http://www.cpr.org/news
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