• Fire rages after tugboat, barge strike Louisiana gas pipeline

    Gerald Herbert / AP

    A fire still burns on Wednesday after a tugboat and barge hit a gas pipeline Tuesday evening in Perot Bay in Lafourche Parish, La., about 30 miles south of New Orleans.

    By Kevin McGill, The Associated Press

    NEW ORLEANS -- A gas pipeline burned Wednesday morning in a bayou south of New Orleans hours after it was hit by a tug boat pushing an oil barge, but authorities say no oil appeared to be leaking from the barge.


    Coast Guard Cmdr. Russ Bowen said it appears the barge is intact and none of its cargo of crude oil was leaking, though there were patches of oily sheen in the area. The Coast Guard was investigating whether those sheens were related to the accident.

    A plume of smoke rising from the site could be seen from downtown New Orleans Wednesday morning. Bowen said authorities planned to allow the gas to burn itself out before approaching for a closer inspection. The area is thinly populated and no evacuations had been ordered.

    Four people aboard the 47-foot tug Shanon E. Settoon were injured, one severely, in the collision Tuesday at about 6 p.m. CDT. Water at the collision site is very shallow.

    The 19-mile section of pipeline was carrying liquefied petroleum gas. It had been isolated from other conduits by its owner, San Ramon, Calif.-based Chevron, so only what was inside could burn.

    "All crew members were able to exit the tug; the captain reportedly suffered second to third-degree degree burns," the Coast Guard said in a news release early Wednesday.

    The barge was holding 92,000 gallons of crude oil, the Coast Guard said. The tug boat had 1,000 gallons of diesel fuel. Settoon Towing of Pierre Part, La., lists the tug among its vessels on its website.

    Bowen said it was believed that the diesel fuel aboard the tug had burned up.

    WWL-TV reported that the tug's captain was transferred to the burn center at Baton Rouge General Hospital.

    It was not immediately known who owns the 154-foot oil barge.

    The area is along the northern reaches of Barataria Bay, which was heavily affected by oil from the BP spill in 2010. It is mostly small communities where people often make their living from the sea, either working in the oil and gas industry or as fishermen.

    The 92,000 gallons the Coast Guard says was being carried by the barge is a fraction of the millions of gallons that spewed into the Gulf of Mexico during the 2010 spill.

    The region where the fire was burning is crisscrossed by pipelines and wellheads are a common sight in the shallow waters of the bayou and bay shoreline.

    Bowen said it's not unusual for tugs to operate in shallow areas. "That's just the nature of coastal Louisiana," he said.

    Beyond that, he said he couldn't comment on why the accident happened.

    Bayou Perot was the scene of an explosion and fire on a specialized oil rig in December 2010 in which three men were injured. The explosion happened while the men were welding and there was no pollution, the Coast Guard reported.

    Related:

    BP to pay $4.5 billion, plead guilty to manslaughter in spill

    3,675 gas wells OK'd by US -- and environmentalists

    This story was originally published on Wed Mar 13, 2013 5:19 AM EDT

    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • 'Huge explosion' destroys duplex as crews work to repair gas leak

    View more videos at: http://nbcdfw.com.

    By Greg Janda, NBCDFW.com

    A natural gas explosion destroyed a duplex in Lewisville, Texas, several hours after construction workers mistakenly cut a gas line. 

    The duplex behind the Lighthouse Pentecostal Church of God is owned by the Christian Community Actions, an organization that assists people who are in need.


    The home exploded at 12:30 p.m., while crews were working to repair a gas leak. Construction workers mistakenly cut a 4-inch gas line in the area at about 10 a.m., investigators said.

    Emergency crews at the time said they had the issue under control and that no evacuations were necessary. But fire officials later said that they had evacuated a block downwind of the gas leak.

    The house that exploded was not included in the evacuations.

    Cause of blast being investigated
    Atmos Energy said the cause of the explosion is under investigation.

    Two Lewisville firefighters and a man who was inside the duplex at the time of the explosion were sent to area hospitals after the explosion, according to fire officials.

    The man who was inside the duplex was critically injured and taken to Medical Center of Lewisville. He underwent surgery and was later airlifted to Medical Center of Plano, where he was in intensive care Friday night. He is expected to survive.

    The injured firefighters were released from the hospital Friday.

    Witnesses said the explosion "felt like a bomb went off" and said they could feel the shock wave from blocks away.

    "Honestly, I didn't see anything at first," said Danny Vigil, who lives in the area. "What I felt was a huge explosion. It was almost as if you were sitting in a movie, a big action movie -- you hear bombs going, that’s what it sounded like."

    "Pictures were rattling, falling onto the ground," he said. "The first thing I did was run out the front door -- ran all around because I thought some car hit our home. [I] ran to the back, I saw flames, smoke, debris in the air, shingles, branches. It was just an unbelievable sight.”

    "I was sitting at my desk whenever was a loud explosion," Dwayne Ryaman said. "[I] literally thought maybe an 18-wheeler had ran into my building at first."

    “When I came out of my door, I immediately saw the black smoke and flames," he said. "I got a little bit closer to the scene, saw the debris that was strewn out in the middle of the street."

    Read more from NBCDFW.com

    Debris covered the roadway in the 500 block of East Main Street in Lewisville. The road was shut down while emergency crews worked near the scene.

    None of the surrounding homes or businesses were damaged in the explosion.

    NBC 5's Ellen Goldberg and Amanda Guerra contributed to this report.

  • Massive Indianapolis explosion baffles investigators

    Investigators believe a gas appliance may have been the cause of a powerful explosion that engulfed a middle class neighborhood in flames. NBC's Ron Allen reports.

    By Charles Wilson, The Associated Press

    With no hint of a problem in advance, in particular no tell-tale smell of a gas leak, authorities and residents in a southern Indianapolis neighborhood are trying to make sense of an enormous blast that obliterated two homes and made dozens more uninhabitable.


    Fire officials expressed amazement that only two people died in the late Saturday explosion so powerful that the devastation spread for blocks from its epicenter. Hundreds of residents were forced to evacuate their Richmond Hill homes, some never to return. Windows and doors were blown in. The blast rocked several houses entirely from their foundations and was so loud it awoke people three miles away. A fire burned for hours, engulfing dozens of homes. 

    “We have done initial testing throughout the neighborhood and have not found any gas leaks," Dan Considine, Citizens Energy spokesman, told IndyStar.com Monday.

    "We are still doing additional testing of the gas main and the lines to the homes on Fieldfare Way,” he said. “We have not at this point found any problems with any external gas lines.”

    The Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives was also called in to help with the investigation.

    Early Monday, Indianapolis public safety director Troy Riggs said forensic investigators were talking with utility companies and others as they tried to determine the cause. 

    "We need to make sure that we get some of the forensics back and that we follow where the evidence takes us," Riggs told WISH-TV. 

    U.S. Rep. Andre Carson, who represents the area, has said he had been told a bomb or meth lab explosion had been ruled out. 

    Deputy Fire Chief Kenny Bacon said investigators hadn't ruled out any possible causes. 

    Citizens Energy had received no calls from people in the area smelling the rotten eggs of a chemical added to natural gas, which is odorless, utility spokesman Dan Considine said. 

    "Most of the time when there's a gas leak, people smell it," he said. "But not always." 

    Carson said the National Transportation Safety Board and the federal Department of Transportation, which have oversight over pipelines, were sending investigators. 

    Riggs said police officers and investigators would continue to search and secure the neighborhood on Monday. 

    "It could take some time. We've asked people to be patient," Riggs told WRTV. 

    Dan Able, a 58-year-old state employee who lives across the street from the flattened homes, was puzzled by the blast. 

    "I'm wondering about all the possibilities it could be," he said. 

    Authorities set up relief operations at a school and church to shelter those displaced in the blast. Some moved in with friends and relatives. Others found hotel rooms. 

    Alex Pflanzer was sound asleep when the explosion blew out his windows and his wife started to scream. 

    "I didn't know what was going on," Pflanzer said. "I thought someone was breaking in the house, because the alarm was going off."

    Pflanzer grabbed his gun and checked the house. Then he noticed the front door was open and saw a reddish glow flickering outside. 

    "I walked outside and all the houses were on fire," he said. 

    The Pflanzers and their two dogs found a hotel room, but they couldn't coax their panic-stricken cat out of a crawlspace. 

    "All the material things can be replaced, so I'm not worried about that stuff," he said. "People are a lot worse off than I am. People died, and so our thoughts and prayers go out to them first." 

    Officials have not released the identities of the two people killed. A candlelight vigil was held Sunday night at Southwest Elementary School in nearby Greenwood for second-grade teacher Jennifer Longworth. She and her husband, John Dion Longworth, lived in one of the homes destroyed in the blast. WTHR-TV reported that friends, family and colleagues of the teacher gathered at the school. 

    Deputy Code Enforcement Director Adam Collins said 80 homes were damaged including 31 that might need to be demolished. He estimated the damage at $3.6 million. 

    Some residents were allowed to return to their homes under police escort Sunday, but just to retrieve a few belongings. Others whose homes weren't as badly damaged were allowed to return, but officials said they would have to do without electricity overnight. And others, officials said, never will be allowed to go back inside their homes. 

    "There are houses that will have to be torn down," Bacon said. 

    He said the toll could have been much worse. "I know we're very fortunate that some of the people weren't home," he said. 

    Officials said at least two dozen off-duty police officers who live on the city's south side rushed to the scene to help with the rescue effort. More than 80 firefighters battled flames and searched the wreckage of homes for trapped survivors. 

    At the Southport Presbyterian Church shelter, tables were piled high with blankets, food, diapers, water and other supplies. An animal shelter on the south side of the city offered free boarding for pets whose owners had nowhere to take them. 

    Rev. Rob Hock said hundreds of congregants had shown up to help after he put out a call during Sunday morning services. 

     

    Darron Cummings / AP

    The powerful nighttime blast shattered windows, crumpled walls and could be felt at least three miles away.

    NBC News staff contributed to this report.

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    © 2013 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

  • 3,675 gas wells OK'd by US -- and environmentalists

    Anadarko Petroleum Corp.

    This drill rig is part of an existing field in southern Utah that Anadarko will expand on under a deal with the Obama administration and environmental groups.

    By Miguel Llanos, NBC News

    Up to 3,675 new natural gas wells on federal land in Utah were approved Tuesday by the Obama administration in a deal that even has the backing of key environmental groups.


    "This agreement is a great example of how collaboration can allow us to uphold America’s conservation values, while bringing growth to Utah’s economy and further reducing our dependence on foreign oil by developing our resources here at home," Interior Secretary Ken Salazar said in a statement.

    Under the deal struck with the U.S. and environmental groups led by the Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance (SUWA), Anadarko Petroleum will avoid drilling in 15,000 acres around the White River and instead add the new wells to an existing field in southern Utah.

    The Utah conservation group called the deal "goundbreaking and exciting."

    "We discussed the conservation community’s concerns about the company’s project — primarily impacts to the White River proposed wilderness area and river-related recreation," SUWA attorney Steve Bloch told msnbc.com in explaining how the deal came together. "We also listened to the company’s concerns about regulatory certainty and their hope for a path forward to develop this project without appeals and litigation."

    The Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), which worked with SUWA and studies energy issues across the country, agreed the deal shows promise.

    CNBC's Eamon Javers reports the Interior Department's vow to speed up drilling permits on federal land., with Bill Richardson and Gale Norton join the discussion

    "We do think this is a model for collaboration" that avoids litigation and conflict, NRDC lands advocate Bobby McEnaney told msnbc.com. "There are right places to drill, and wrong places to drill."

    The deal also has the support of The Wilderness Society and the Sierra Club.

    Republicans have attacked Obama for not opening more public lands to drilling, especially for natural gas.

    “Utahns have gotten used to the Obama administration closing off federal lands to domestic energy production, so this announcement is a long time coming," Sen. Orrin Hatch, R-Utah, said in a statement. "The fact is that much more has to be done to open up more of our state’s land to development."

    Salazar on Tuesday countered that the focus is on "expanding safe and responsible production of natural gas as part of an all-of-the-above energy strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs."

    McEnaney credited Anadarko for showing "a lot of leadership" and taking a "much more proactive stance" than others in the industry.

    Ray Bloxham / Southern Utah Wilderness Alliance

    Part of the White River that runs through southern Utah.

    Anadarko did not immediately respond to msnbc.com's request for comment, but Reuters quoted spokesman John Christiansen as calling it a "new model for prudent development."

    And Brad Holly, Anadarko's general manager for the project, told the Associated Press that "at the end of the day, we all want the same thing — clean air, clean water and cheaper fuel."

    Environmental activists did have some criticism for the Interior Department, noting that it has shown support for the Gasco natural gas project that would see 200 wells in separate proposed wilderness area.

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