NiSource’s Columbia Gas Unit to Plead Guilty in Pipe Blast

NiSource Inc.’s Massachusetts gas unit agreed to plead guilty in connection to a series of deadly pipeline explosions in 2018.

Columbia Gas of Massachusetts will admit to violating the Pipeline Safety Act related to the blasts, which killed one person and injured more than two dozen, the U.S. Attorney’s Office in Massachusetts said in a statement Wednesday.

NiSource agreed to pay a $53 million fine, sell the unit and surrender any profits from the deal to the government. The company will also cease operations in Massachusetts, authorities said at a news conference in Boston. No NiSource employees will be charged. ...