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Colorado Revising Pipeline Rules After Fatal Gas Explosion

DENVER (AP) — Colorado regulators are starting work on new rules for thousands of pipelines that crisscross oil and gas fields in the aftermath of a fatal home explosion blamed on a gas leak.

The state Oil and Gas Conservation Commission will hold the first of two meetings with industry representatives and the public to discuss the rules Thursday.

firestone-home-explosion
Mark Martinez and Joey Irwin were killed in a home explosion in Firestone in 2017. (credit: CBS)

The rules will include standards for designing, testing and permanently shutting down flow lines, which carry oil or gas from wells to tanks and other gathering equipment.

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A public hearing is scheduled for Dec. 11 and 12, and the commission could vote on the rules after that.

Firestone home explosion (3)
(credit: CBS)

The rules are in response to an April explosion in Firestone that killed two people. Investigators blamed the explosion on natural gas leaking from a flow line.

(© Copyright 2017 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.) 

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