Florida Gas Escapes Penalties From 2020 Pipe Rupture on Appeal

Florida Gas Transmission Co. was in compliance with federal regulations and therefore shouldn’t be held responsible for more than $400,000 in penalties imposed over a 2020 pipeline rupture, the Fifth Circuit said Wednesday.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration failed to give fair notice of alleged recordkeeping violations, and the record doesn’t support the agency’s finding that the pipeline was susceptible to a seam failure, the appeals court said.

An almost 16-mile long segment of Florida Gas’ Sanford Lateral Pipeline ruptured in September 2020, and natural gas burnt more than an acre of surrounding land in Sanford, Fla. Power ...