Columbia Gas pleads guilty to causing blasts that killed 1

A utility company has pleaded guilty to causing a series of natural gas explosions in Massachusetts that killed one person and damaged dozens of homes.

BOSTON (AP) – A utility company has pleaded guilty to causing a series of natural gas explosions in Massachusetts that killed one person and damaged dozens of homes.

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts’ president entered the plea in Boston’s federal court on Monday on behalf of the company responsible for the blasts that tore through three communities in the Merrimack Valley, north of Boston, in September 2018.

As part of the plea agreement, Columbia Gas of Massachusetts will pay a $53 million for violating the Pipeline Safety Act.

It’s the largest criminal fine ever imposed under the pipeline safety law.