$80M Settlement After Fatal Merrimack Valley Gas Explosions

ANDOVER, MA — Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and its parent company, NiSource Inc., outlined details of a settlement it reached with Andover, North Andover and Lawrence for the deadly Sept. 13 gas explosions. At a news conference Tuesday, officials said Columbia and NiSource would pay up to $80 million, including $57 million for "curb-to-curb" road repairs, $10 million for expenses and $12.8 million for claims and losses incurred by the three communities.

"The settlement, reached with the taxpayers' interests in mind, provides Andover with the resources to fully restore the impacted roads and sidewalks. The settlement not only compensates Andover for the full cost of its response to the disaster, it also positions our community well for the future," said Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan.

The utility still faces more than 15 other lawsuits, including class action and claims from the individual residents. A National Transportation Safety Board preliminary report has said a faulty work order caused over-pressurization in gas lines, setting off a series of explosions that killed one and damaged or destroyed more than 130 buildings. An Salem Superior Court judge is urging the utility and plaintiffs to settle, rather than litigate, the outstanding claims.

"There were so many consequences that resulted from the gas over-pressurization event," Massachusetts Comptroller Andrew Maylor, who was town manager of North Andover at the time of the disaster. "This settlement ensures that the trenches which were created to repair the gas lines and which now stand has a visual reminder of the scars left behind by this disaster will be replaced by a clean surface which will symbolize a fresh start for the communities."

The explosions left thousands of residents in the three communities without heat and hot water for months following the explosions. Many were forced to live in temporary housing. Columbia Gas said the recovery and repairs could extend in to 2020 and that it has already spent $1.6 billion on the effort.

"This settlement represents the best effort of the municipalities to get the most dollars from Columbia Gas to fix what was broken during the Gas Emergency, including roads and parks, and it provides much-needed money to pay the bills that would otherwise fall to the taxpayers to support the recovery and restoration and settle claims," said Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera.

Settlement Breakdown

Under the terms of the agreement, hardest-hit Lawrence will get the biggest share, including $31.9 million for road repairs, $5 million for expenses and $6.4 million for claims. Andover will receive $14 million for road repairs, $3 million for expenses and $3.9 million for claims. North Andover will receive $11.3 million for road repairs, $2 million for expenses and $2.6 million for claims.

Each town will perform its own repair work and will be reimbursed by Columbia Gas.

"We recognize the tremendous impact the September event had on these communities and the larger-scale, more complicated work conditions than typically occur in relation to routine pipeline replacement work. For these reasons, we have been willing to go above and beyond to address the municipalities’ needs including fulfilling the request to repave curb-to-curb," said Mark Kempic, President and Chief Operating Officer of Columbia Gas of Massachusetts.

Dave Copeland can be reached at dave.copeland@patch.com or by calling 617-433-7851. Follow him on Twitter (@CopeWrites) and Facebook (/copewrites).