PHMSA Report 20250035
PHMSA Report 20250035
Gas distribution incident in WOOSTER, WAYNE County, OH. Reported cause: EXCAVATION DAMAGE. Reported consequences: 0 fatalities, 0 injuries, 255 NATURAL GAS released, $500 reported property damage. Operator-reported incident data submitted to PHMSA, generally within 30 days. Records may be supplemented or corrected and do not represent final agency causal findings.
Report number: 20250035.
Operator ID: 4060.
Reported incident date: 5/7/2025 11:33.
Location detail: 1684 MECHANICSBURG ROAD
Cause detail: EXCAVATION DAMAGE BY THIRD PARTY
Cause detail: EXCAVATION ISSUE
Cause detail: EXCAVATOR DUG PRIOR TO VERIFYING MARKS BY TEST-HOLE (POTHOLE)
Cause detail: AT APPROXIMATELY 10:40AM EDT ON MAY 7, 2025, AN ENBRIDGE GAS OHIO 4" INTERMEDIATE PRESSURE (IP) DISTRIBUTION MAINLINE (MAOP 80PSIG) WAS DAMAGED BY A 3RD PARTY CONTRACTOR. THE CONTRACTOR WAS INSTALLING BROADBAND FIBER BY MEANS OF HORIZONTAL DIRECTIONAL DRILLING (HDD) IN A TRAILER PARK LOCATED AT 1684 MECHANICSBURG ROAD IN WOOSTER, OHIO. AFTER BEING NOTIFIED OF THE DAMAGE BY A CALL FROM THE EXCAVATOR, ENBRIDGE OPERATIONS ARRIVED AT THE SCENE AND BEGAN LEAK DETECTING TO DETERMINE THE EXACT LOCATION OF THE HIT. A VALVE SOUTH OF THE HIT LOCATION WAS FOUND AND OPERATIONS BEGAN DIGGING NORTH OF THE LOCATION TO SQUEEZE OFF THE MAIN LINE. BAR HOLING FOUND LOW LEVELS OF GAS UNDER THE SKIRT OF THE NEAREST MOBILE HOME AND THE TWO RESIDENTS WERE EVACUATED AS A PRECAUTION. AT APPROXIMATELY 11:30AM AN UNOCCUPIED TRAILER AT LOT 80 ON THE EAST SIDE OF ROSE BLVD EXPLODED. NO ONE WAS IN THE HOME AT THE TIME AND THERE WERE NO INJURIES OR FATALITIES. ENBRIDGE CREWS WERE WORKING ON ROSE BLVD AT THE TIME OF THE EXPLOSION, AND PLANNING TO BEGIN BAR HOLE TESTING OF LOT 80 WHILE CONTINUING TO MAKE EFFORTS TO ISOLATE THE LINE. IT IS BELIEVED THAT THE GAS HAD MIGRATED UNDERGROUND VIA AN UNDETERMINED PATHWAY TO THE TRAILER ON LOT 80 AND ACCUMULATED IN THE SKIRT UNDERNEATH THE TRAILER UNTIL AN UNKNOWN IGNITION SOURCE CAUSED THE EXPLOSION. OPERATIONS CREWS SUBSEQUENTLY CLOSED THE VALVE FEEDING THE ENTIRE TRAILER PARK AND CONTINUED BAR HOLING THE SURROUNDING AREA. 911 WAS CALLED AND ALL RESIDENTS WERE EVACUATED. THE WOOSTER FIRE DEPARTMENT AND POLICE DEPARTMENT ARRIVED SHORTLY AFTER. NOTIFICATIONS OF THE INCIDENT WERE COMPLETED TO THE NATIONAL RESPONSE CENTER AND PUBLIC UTILITIES COMMISSION OF OHIO AT APPROXIMATELY 12:15PM. THE ENBRIDGE DAMAGE PREVENTION TEAM CONFIRMED THAT AN 811 TICKET HAD BEEN CALLED IN BY THE DAMAGING PARTY AND THAT ENBRIDGE FACILITIES HAD BEEN PROPERLY MARKED AT THE HIT LINE LOCATION. ENBRIDGE OPERATIONS EXCAVATED THE HIT LINE LOCATION AND CONFIRMED THE 3RD PARTY COMPANY HAD STRUCK THE 4" IP MAINLINE WITH THE 2" PILOT BORE, AND THE 3RD PARTY HAD NOT DAYLIGHTED THE MAINLINE PRIOR TO THE DAMAGE. SUBSEQUENT TESTING FOUND THAT ENBRIDGE FACILITIES IN THE AREA WERE OPERATING COMPLIANTLY. APPROXIMATELY 37 CUSTOMERS WERE OUT OF SERVICE DUE TO THE CLOSURE OF THE VALVE TO THE TRAILER PARK TO ISOLATE THE SYSTEM. AFTER CUTTING OUT AND REPLACING THE SECTION OF DAMAGED MAIN, EGO CREWS PURGED THE MAINLINE BACK INTO SERVICE AND BEGAN LIGHT UPS TO EFFECTED CUSTOMERS AT 8:00PM AND COMPLETED TURN-ONS AT 11:00PM TO ALL BUT 7 CUSTOMERS DUE TO NO ACCESS. THE REMAINING 7 CUSTOMERS WERE RESTORED TO SERVICE IN THE FOLLOWING DAYS AS THEY GRANTED ACCESS. AFTER REPORTING THE EVENT TO THE NRC, IT WAS DETERMINED THAT THE EVENT DID NOT MEET THE CRITERIA DEFINED IN �191.3(1) FOR AN INCIDENT, BUT ENBRIDGE IS FILING THIS REPORT UNDER �191.3(3) AS A SIGNIFICANT EVENT THAT COULD HAVE RESULTED IN MORE SEVERE OUTCOMES.
PHMSA trend classification: not significant, not serious, not fire-first.
PHMSA standardized cause: EXCAVATION DAMAGE — THIRD PARTY EXCAVATION DAMAGE.
PHMSA indexed costs: $46,135 reported total cost, $19,197.067 in 1984 dollars, $46,135 in current-year dollars.
PHMSA trend flags, standardized causes, and indexed costs are analytical fields added to operator-reported incident data. They do not represent final agency causal findings.
This material provides agency context. It does not replace binding regulatory text, and its legal effect depends on the underlying authority and facts.