Rep. Lori Trahan Says She Is Focusing On Pipeline Legislation To Ensure Lawrence Gas Leak 'Never Happens Again'

Marketing Campaign Aids Merrimack Valley Businesses Still Recovering From Gas Incident — U.S. Representative Lori Trahan speaks during a press conference held to announce business recovery efforts in communities impacted by the Columbia Gas explosions in North Andover, MA on July 9, 2019. The plight of business owners affected by the Sept. 13 disaster has prompted local officials to develop a marketing campaign to persuade customers to support shops and businesses affected by the disaster. Dubbed Rock the Register, the marketing campaign will include newspaper, magazine, television, and radio ads promoting shopping at small businesses.

Joe Mathieu, host of WGBH's Morning Edition

Joe Mathieu is the anchor and executive editor of WGBH's Morning Edition. Before joining WGBH Radio, Joe worked for six years as morning anchor on WBZ NewsRadio in Boston, where he was part of the team that received a Peabody Award for coverage of the Boston Marathon bombings. Joe also received the Edward R. Murrow Award for best newscast in a major market.

September 30, 2019

Updated August 07, 2023

Homeowners and businesses in Lawrence will be able to file claims Monday from last week's gas leak and evacuations, which interrupted life once again. Congresswoman Lori Trahan, whose district includes Lawrence and the other communities impacted by last year's fires, spoke with WGBH Morning Edition Host Joe Mathieu about the incident. The transcript below has been edited for clarity.

Joe Mathieu: A lot of people in Lawrence say they feel alone. What do you want to say to them, and have you been hearing from people since the leaks?

Rep. Lori Trahan: Absolutely, and I do want folks to know that they're not alone. There are so many people who are working on their behalf. You know, I've joined in writing a letter immediately following the gas leak with Sen. Markey and Sen. Warren to get answers which will be due tomorrow. We've been working closely, as always, with Mayor Dan Rivera, who has been unbelievable at triaging and getting answers and setting up command centers. So right now everyone's back in their home and everyone is safe, but there's no question that the trauma that hit this city a year ago is being resurfaced.

Mathieu: I wonder what role, if any, the federal government can play to help businesses ... help to recover lost business?

Trahan: You bet. [Almost since] day one of my my term earlier this year, our office has been on the ground working with affected residents and businesses through the claims process. You can imagine that some of these are complicated, and they're slow moving. And we've been working, we understand, we've become quite conversant in Columbia Gas' process and how to best help the the coalition of of nonprofits who are on the ground helping get folks through the claims process.

But certainly, my focus is on passing pipeline safety legislation to make sure that this never happens again in any community. You know, on the federal level, we're pushing for the strongest pipeline safety bill possible so that we can ensure that there's a complete mapping of what lies under our feet,that we have, as it mandates qualified personnel to review all pipeline projects, and it requires emergency valves to shut off gas in the event of an emergency and it improves communication with our first responders. These were all things that came out of the National Transportation Safety Board findings and we're putting them into law.

Mathieu: A lot of people were disappointed, Congresswoman, to learn that it was a newly installed gas pipe, I guess, that was involved here. To your point, we should be mapping these lines, and there is still a lot of work to be done.

Trahan: There sure is. You know, it's unconscionable to think that those controls weren't automatically in place, and that we need legislation to ensure that that happens.

But, you know, that was born out of the investigation, and we're going to make sure that that's standardized across across the country. You know, what happened last week in terms of the inspection of the 45 valves in the affected area, two of them were improperly done. Columbia Gas can't make mistakes like that. This is a company that's trying to restore confidence to a community. And, you know, their checklists need to be checked and double checked to ensure that this doesn't happen again. That resurfaced too many hard feelings and too much worry and trauma, like I said, from from last year.

Mathieu: You mentioned Mayor Dan Rivera in Lawrence. He is still calling for Columbia Gas to lose its license. I wonder if you agree?

Trahan: You know, I ... they don't make it easy. I will tell you that this latest episode, it really, it hurt their confidence. Right here, you know, we had come through this recovery, families and businesses are trying to get back on their feet, and this just sets them back. And we can't have mistakes like that, not in a community like Lawrence. And so, you know, I'm going to ... I'm eager to see what the protocol is, what the changes and improvements that they made between last year and this year, which is what we call for in the letter, I want to understand how seriously they're taking this.

And then, you know, I'll make a decision as to whether they're still fit to do business, because you know this has to be something that you know we ensure and we can say with confidence to the residents of Lawrence, 'This won't happen again. You're not going to get a knock on your door at 3:00 in the morning."

Mathieu: I'd love to ask you while you're with us this morning about the push ahead with an impeachment inquiry with apparent deliberate speed by Democrats in Washington. Congresswoman, can you tell us what to expect this week?

Trahan: Yes I think you're going to see the intelligence committee moving quickly and in a focused manner on surfacing the facts around the whistleblower report. There's no question that that alone — this development of the last week, the president using the power of his office to request the Ukrainian president's assistance to dig up dirt on his political opponent all while ... withholding $400 million in critical military aid is a threat to our national security, and it's an abuse of power. So I think what we heard from Adam Schiff, the chairman of the committee, over the weekend that they're going to be focused on surfacing those facts. Bringing the State Department officials in, bringing the whistleblower in and and then moving from there.