Weeds grow around the remains of a house at 3534 Espanola Drive near Dallas Love Field. A Feb. 23 gas explosion there killed 12-year-old Linda Rogers and injured several of her family members. State and federal authorities are still investigating the blast.

Weeds grow around the remains of a house at 3534 Espanola Drive near Dallas Love Field. A Feb. 23 gas explosion there killed 12-year-old Linda Rogers and injured several of her family members. State and federal authorities are still investigating the blast. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

Time Bomb   |   Part two

How Texas lets Atmos Energy off the hook

    Weeds grow around the remains of a house at 3534 Espanola Drive near Dallas Love Field. A Feb. 23 gas explosion there killed 12-year-old Linda Rogers and injured several of her family members. State and federal authorities are still investigating the blast. (Smiley N. Pool / Staff Photographer)

    A house had blown up, killing a young girl. Federal investigators combed through the wreckage in northwest Dallas for clues about whether natural gas had caused the fatal February blast and still endangered the neighborhood.

    State regulators involved with the case shared different concerns, according to text messages obtained by The Dallas Morning News.

    Text messages
    Monday 8:23AM
    Stephanie Weidman avatar
    Also forgot to mention I got some background on the PHMSA dude. He is apparently always skeptical. To him operators are always guilty until they are proven innocent. Just thought you should know, right or wrong I figured it sometimes helps to understand the mindset
    Jim Collins avatar
    Thank you. I got the same impression and was worried that would skew the investigation

    SOURCE: Text messages between Railroad Commission employees Stephanie Weidman and Jim Collins on Monday, Feb. 26, 2018, obtained via open-records request

    They worried about the feds asking tough questions of Atmos Energy, the company that operates the natural gas system in North Texas.

    One federal inspector “is apparently always skeptical,” the state’s pipeline safety director texted a colleague.

    “To him, operators are always guilty until they are proven innocent.”

    Putting Atmos Energy’s interests first is a habit for regulators at the Railroad Commission of Texas. The oddly named agency is supposed to serve as a watchdog for the public and ensure that Atmos Energy and other gas companies operate safely.

    But The News found that when Atmos is involved in serious accidents — or even minor safety infractions — the state often lets the company off the hook.

    The state didn’t fine Atmos Energy after a man died in a house explosion in Irving.

    After a young boy was severely burned in his home in Oak Cliff.

    After a little girl’s back caught fire in a blast near Fort Worth.

    The state has cited the company’s Mid-Tex division — its largest, and the one that includes Dallas-Fort Worth — for more than 2,000 alleged safety violations in the past decade, documents show. Over that same period, Atmos Mid-Tex has paid less than $250,000 in penalties, according to state records.

    The whole company reported profits of $2.8 billion over that time.

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    The penalties ranged from $2,500 to $95,000. The state’s other large natural gas operators got similar treatment.

    Critics say such anemic oversight results in a lack of urgency for Atmos Energy and other gas companies to make changes that can keep people safer.

    “You don’t have to worry about enforcement or being penalized by the state of Texas, so there’s very little incentive to comply with the regulations,” says Brigham McCown, formerly a deputy and acting administrator of the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, the federal agency that oversees the nation’s pipelines.

    A company that keeps getting cited for the same kinds of violations has a safety problem, McCown says. “The fines should be exponentially ratcheted up until you take care of the situation.”

    The Railroad Commission sees it differently. Fines are just one enforcement tool, the agency said in a written statement to The News. It also orders gas operators to correct any alleged violations.

    “The Railroad Commission has fined, and will continue to fine any operator, when determined appropriate for violations,” the agency said.

    As for that text-message exchange after the fatal Dallas explosion? In its statement, the commission said the texts reflect “the importance of approaching an incident with no preconceived notions before an investigation has begun or evidence has been collected.”

    Crews worked along Midway Road in March to replace gas lines after one house exploded and two others burned in northwest Dallas. Atmos replaced the entire distribution system there after it was deemed “too dangerous to operate,” records show.

    Crews worked along Midway Road in March to replace gas lines after one house exploded and two others burned in northwest Dallas. Atmos replaced the entire distribution system there after it was deemed “too dangerous to operate,” records show. (Louis DeLuca / Staff Photographer)

    Minor issues

    Not long after that February explosion killed 12-year-old Linda Rogers in northwest Dallas, Atmos Energy discovered so many leaks that it had to evacuate her neighborhood and replace the entire gas-distribution network there.

    Looking for answers for outraged constituents, the Dallas City Council wanted to know more about Atmos Energy’s safety record. So the company shared its three most recent annual state inspections, along with a letter full of pride.

    Hazardous natural gas leaks across Atmos Energy’s Mid-Tex system

    Atmos Energy says it investigated and fixed more than 7,700 of the most severe natural gas leaks within its Mid-Tex system between January 2015 and June 2018.

    This map shows the concentrations of the most serious leaks — called Grade 1 leaks — that were not caused by excavation-related damage. The darker the area, the greater the concentration of these leaks.

    The company must report the number and grade of leaks it fixes to state regulators every six months. This map shows the seven most recent reporting periods.

    Click or touch a shaded area on the map for more information.

    Number of leaks

    0
    1 – 10
    11 – 20
    21 – 30
    31 – 40
    41 – 50
    51 – 60
    61 or more

    The Railroad Commission found only 23 safety citations in Dallas over three years, Atmos Mid-Tex president John Paris bragged to Mayor Mike Rawlings. Paris called them minor issues because they didn’t result in any fines.

    Among the alleged offenses:

    Atmos didn’t fix dangerous gas leaks promptly or properly. It hadn’t replaced potentially dangerous parts, as required by the state. It didn’t fully protect steel pipes against corrosion.

    Routinely, the state lets Atmos and other operators correct their alleged violations and pay no fines. Even if they pay fines, the companies do not have to admit fault.

    Two accidents, two injuries, zero fines

    The tally of destruction

    Since 2006, more than two dozen homes across north and central Texas have been destroyed or damaged because of natural gas leaking from Atmos Energy’s system, an investigation by The Dallas Morning News found. Nine people died, and at least 22 others suffered injuries.

    No one government agency tracks all natural gas-related accidents, so we compiled this tally by searching regulatory records, lawsuits, news reports and other documents.

    Slide or click to read more about each explosion.

    Oct. 16, 2006

    310 S. Third St., Wylie, Texas

    What happened:

    State records show a plastic gas line running to the meter separated from a part called a compression coupling in the alley behind the house. Gas migrated through soil and the sewer system and found a source of ignition in the house, blasting a couple out of their beds as they slept. Benny died instantly, Martha died later.

    Victims: Benny Cryer, 78, and Martha Cryer, 77, were killed.

    Railroad Commission decision: No fine. The draft version of the investigation suggested compression couplings should be replaced, but that was omitted from the final version. Investigators found two dozen leaks in the area after the blast.

    Atmos response: Other work crews had dug in the area a year before and didn’t compact the soil properly. The company settled a lawsuit filed by the family.

    Read the accident investigation report

    Jan. 15, 2007

    2824 W. Rochelle Road, Irving, Texas

    What happened:

    A fire and explosion at the one-story brick house caused about $20,000 in property damage. Investigators later found two gas leaks near the home — including one that Atmos had first detected four months earlier and classified as nonhazardous. The other leak occurred on the steel main line in front of the home.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission fined Atmos $13,000. Atmos should have monitored the first leak more closely and reclassified it as hazardous, the state said. With better monitoring, Atmos would also have found the corrosion leak on the main line.

    Atmos response: The company gave refresher training to its Irving technicians.

    Read the enforcement case file

    May 29, 2007

    632 Woodard Ave., Cleburne, Texas

    What happened:

    An all-electric home exploded after gas migrated inside along sewer lines, leaking from aging gas pipes in the street. A man lit a cigarette for his wife, which ignited the gas inside the home.

    Victims: Hazel Sanderson, 44, and Hazel Pawlik, 64, were killed. Three people were injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: Initially, investigators found a plastic gas pipe had separated at the compression coupling, as well as a leak on the gas main in the street (though the home was not connected to gas lines). Two years after the blast, the Railroad Commission decided not to refer the case for enforcement, saying Atmos had done its own investigation showing there was “insufficient evidence” those leaks had caused the blast.

    Atmos response: Atmos said other gas sources could have caused the leak. The company settled a lawsuit filed by the family.

    Read the accident investigation report

    May 16, 2008

    Intersection of Fenet St. and Throckmorton St., McKinney, Texas

    What happened:

    A contractor working for Atmos hit a 3-inch gas main while replacing a line and called the company but not 911. Atmos technicians arrived an hour later and didn’t investigate whether gas had built up in the sewer lines or evacuate people in nearby homes.

    Three houses exploded as a result, injuring three people, two of whom died later of their injuries. One death was reported to state authorities, but neither one appears in databases kept by federal regulators because they died more than a month after the accident.

    Victims: Nancy Foster, 77, and Arthur Bryson, 57, were killed. One person was injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission said Atmos failed by not checking the sewer lines for gas or following proper safety procedures, such as calling 911 or evacuating homes immediately.

    Atmos response: Atmos paid a $26,000 fine and settled several lawsuits related to the incident.

    Read the enforcement case file

    May 3, 2009

    2602 Syracuse Drive, Irving, Texas

    What happened:

    A man was badly burned when he lit a cigarette in his home and it exploded. Firefighters and state investigators found a leak on a compression coupling connecting the home’s service line to the gas main. The man and several of his neighbors said they had not smelled leaking gas.

    Victims: One person was injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: Atmos initially argued that the incident didn’t meet requirements for reporting to federal regulators, but the commission disagreed. Atmos didn’t follow proper emergency procedures or identify a hazardous leak quickly enough, the agency said. When the company argued that concentrations of leaking gas it found weren’t enough to have caused the explosion, the commission pointed out that the company had spent several days after the blast vacuuming excess gas from the scene.

    Atmos response: The company contended that the leak found at scene was too small to have caused the explosion. But Atmos paid to settle a lawsuit filed by injured man and his family.

    Read the pipeline failure investigation

    Nov. 20, 2009

    2505 Catalina Drive, Mesquite, Texas

    What happened:

    Leaking gas caused an explosion that totaled a Mesquite home, injuring a woman inside. An Atmos technician who investigated initially said he was told by firefighters that the blast was caused by carbon monoxide, so he left without finding or eliminating the hazardous gas leak. Atmos didn’t repair the leak until 17 days after the blast, once the homeowners’ insurance company got involved.

    Victims: One person was injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: Atmos didn’t follow proper leak detection or emergency procedures. The commission initially proposed fining the company $190,000 but agreed to settle the enforcement case for $95,000. Because investigators found so many leaks on the Mesquite system, the commission forced Atmos to replace a large number of steel service lines in the city.

    Atmos response: Atmos paid the fine and agreed to replace steel service lines, then later complained to the commission about the cost and a lack of available workers.

    Read the enforcement case file

    Nov. 22, 2009

    503 Martindale Drive, Lancaster, Texas

    What happened:

    Gas leaked from a seam where two plastic pipes were fused together and into the home of a sleeping couple. When the man opened his garage door to investigate the source of smoke filling the house, a fireball ignited, burning his wife.

    Victims: One person was injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission cited Atmos for not preserving a section of the pipe for testing, and not submitting required reports but did not fine the company.

    Atmos response: Settled a lawsuit filed by the family.

    Read the investigation report

    Jan. 21, 2010

    2813 Kessler Ave., Wichita Falls, Texas

    What happened:

    A house burned and was destroyed after an explosion that started when a woman flipped a light switch, igniting gas that had leaked into her home. Investigators found a leak on a bare steel service line under the foundation; gas had migrated through a seam in the concrete.

    Victims: One person was injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: Initially, the state had proposed fining Atmos $10,000 for not providing all information, and found that an earlier leak complaint near the home might have been ignored. But the case was ultimately not referred for enforcement.

    Atmos response: Atmos said it had provided the required leak-investigation report to the commission.

    Read the enforcement case file

    Jan. 31, 2010

    3521 Finley Road, Irving, Texas

    What happened:

    Joseph Mantheiy and his wife, Peggy, were sleeping when their home exploded in the middle of the night. He was killed and she was badly burned. She later told WFAA-TV (Channel 8) she had not smelled the gas leaking from a compression coupling that connected a steel service line to the main.

    Victims: Joseph Mantheiy, 75, was killed. One person was injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: Atmos didn’t perform “continuing surveillance activities to remove or replace all steel service lines in the Irving system as required” and did not have a program in place to replace or phase out those lines. Regulators cited “Atmos Energy’s exhaustive investigation,” which said the leak identified was “not large enough” to have caused the blast. The case was dismissed without a fine three years later.

    Atmos response: Though a leaking coupling was discovered, in addition to 20 other leaks in the area, Atmos said that leak couldn’t have caused the fire/explosion. It asked the commission to dismiss the enforcement case after three years, “in light of the time that has passed since this matter was opened.” The company paid to settle a lawsuit filed by the family.

    Read the enforcement case file

    Sept. 18, 2011

    331 W. Woodin Blvd., Dallas, Texas

    What happened:

    Domingo, Juliana and Pablo Mendez returned home late after a dinner with relatives; when Domingo twisted a light bulb into the kitchen fixture, the house exploded. All three were badly burned. Atmos technicians found a hazardous leak on a cast-iron gas main right behind the Mendez home that night but didn’t notify state regulators about the blast until the following morning. Firefighters said witnesses reported that lightning might have caused the blast, but weather data doesn’t show any recorded lightning strikes at that time in that area.

    Victims: Three people were injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission initially proposed fining Atmos for not having a cast-iron replacement program in place and not calling state investigators within two hours of the blast, as required. Two years later, it dismissed the enforcement case after Atmos provided information to the commission that the gas source was “more likely from customer piping downstream of the Atmos service meter.”

    Atmos response: Though Atmos told The News that firefighters said the blast was caused by lightning, the company filed documents in a lawsuit, brought by the Mendez family, that argued that a leaking stove was to blame. Atmos paid to settle the lawsuit.

    Read the enforcement case file

    Oct. 22, 2011

    205 Abbey Lane, Farmersville, Texas

    What happened:

    An explosion and fire at an unoccupied house in Farmersville, possibly ignited by a water heater and not discovered for a few days. No injuries reported.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission’s investigation found that Atmos was upgrading low-pressure systems in the area to higher-pressure lines and was supposed to install pressure regulators on each natural gas customer’s meter equipment.The investigators found that no one had installed one at 205 Abbey Lane. The service line to the home was also missing from a map used by Atmos in the area.

    Atmos response: Atmos did not comment specifically on this incident but said that overall, “For matters within our control, we take appropriate voluntary corrective action.”

    Read the incident report

    Dec. 6, 2011

    4908 Orien St., Haltom City, Texas

    What happened:

    A family was cleaning up from dinner as their home exploded in Haltom City, sending one person to the hospital. The force of the blast sent a wall on top of the gas meter, shearing it off at ground level and making it difficult to shut off gas, records show. The family said they had smelled gas on the day of the explosion, according to a fire investigator’s report. They also said they saw the gas meter on fire immediately after the blast. A compression coupling was found but was damaged by Atmos during excavation.

    Victims: One person was injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission cited Atmos for not properly protecting the meter and the service line from corrosion and for not repairing a hazardous leak promptly. The state issued no fines.

    Atmos response: In a letter to federal regulators, Atmos said the incident did not involve gas under its purview.

    Read the pipeline failure investigation

    Jan. 18, 2012

    501 Ferguson St., Taylor, Texas

    What happened:

    A man flicked his lighter inside the house he lived in, and it exploded into a fireball. He was burned badly, along with a friend who was present. Atmos responded but didn’t conduct a leak survey until the following day and did not report the incident to the Railroad Commission until a year later. Lawsuit depositions show a firefighter testified that an Atmos technician told him at the scene that the high gas concentrations he found were “false readings.”

    Victims: Two people were injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: The state fined Atmos $5,000 for not following proper procedures for an emergency response. It discovered the explosion only after a complaint was filed and never had a chance to investigate the explosion at the time.

    Atmos response: Atmos told the state that it found a gas leak the day after the blast but that the structure that burned was 15 feet away and technicians didn’t see a migration pattern. The company claimed in a lawsuit that the cause might have been sewer gas, but settled the case before it went to trial.

    Read the enforcement case file

    Jan. 11, 2013

    520 E. Main St., Lewisville, Texas

    What happened:

    An electric company trying to install a utility pole struck a 4-inch gas distribution line owned by Atmos. Because there wasn’t an emergency shut-off valve in the area and Atmos did not turn the gas off at the nearest station, officials said, gas leaked for more than seven hours, causing an explosion that killed a man living at a duplex. Two others were injured in the blast.

    Victims: Scott Deahl, 55, was killed. Two people were injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: Saying that Atmos “failed to protect people first and then property” by not shutting off the gas or evacuating homes, the commission found five violations and fined the company $25,000.

    Atmos response: Atmos said it was following directions of the local firefighters, did not find gas in the sewer and was in the process of digging up a pipe to shut off the gas when the explosion happened. It paid the penalty and settled a lawsuit, records show.

    Read the enforcement case file

    Jan. 24, 2013

    221 W. Tennie St., Gainesville, Texas

    What happened:

    A city dump truck fell into a sinkhole during a water line repair, and the crew noticed natural gas bubbling up through water while trying to dig the truck out with a backhoe. An Atmos technician arrived to disconnect homes from meters and turn gas off, but the truck’s axle had hit a service line, causing it to leak gas into sewer lines. Atmos evacuated nearby homes, but within two hours, a house exploded and burned. Atmos then evacuated everyone within a larger radius. There were no injuries.

    Railroad Commission decision: Atmos failed to make an emergency shutdown and minimize hazards. The state fined the company $5,000.

    Atmos response: Paid fine and asked commission to include specific language in consent order to “ensure no prejudice to company’s litigation rights.”

    Read the enforcement case file

    Dec. 21, 2013

    7916 Harwood Road, North Richland Hills, Texas

    What happened:

    A 7-year-old girl was playing video games when she got up to use the bathroom and flipped on a light switch. The house exploded, blowing out windows and lifting the roof off the home. She was hospitalized with severe burns; several other family members had minor injuries. Investigators found a fused joint on a plastic pipe in the neighborhood had caused gas to leak into sewer lines. The light switch ignited the leaking gas.

    Victims: One person was injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: The state initially proposed a $50,000 fine, saying it found no evidence Atmos had any program to mitigate the threat of such leaking joints, especially in light of an earlier, 2009 explosion with an injury. But the commission withdrew the enforcement case and dismissed it without a fine. The commission maintains that Atmos achieved compliance.

    Atmos response: Atmos said it didn’t initially receive written notice of the alleged violations and got an extension to respond, then said it had provided the information sought by the commission. The company settled a lawsuit filed by the girl’s family.

    Read the enforcement case file

    March 2, 2015

    9430 Eloise St., Dallas, Texas

    What happened:

    A 77-year-old woman and her adult grandson received minor injuries when the house exploded after someone flipped on a light switch. Investigators found natural gas had leaked from lines at a nearby home and migrated into the sewer line.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission alleged Atmos violated rules by not having a plan in place to replace failing pipes in the area, but proposed no fine. Atmos replaced the home’s service line in addition to 20 others in the area and more than 1,000 feet of plastic mains in the area.

    Atmos response: Previous damage to the home’s gas service pipe was caused by digging from other parties, not Atmos. The commission agreed.

    Read the investigation report

    Sept. 21, 2015

    113 Arabian Road, Waxahachie, Texas

    What happened:

    A builder in a Waxahachie neighborhood requested line-locating services from various utilities, including Atmos. The gas utility hired a contractor to locate and mark its lines. A subcontractor hired by AT&T to install fiber optic lines hit Atmos Energy’s gas lines while digging. Gas leaked into the sewer lines. Four days later, a house exploded when a woman inside turned on her electric stove to cook a meal. Two people inside were badly injured, one other had minor injuries. The blast structurally damaged five other houses nearby. The homeowners said they were never warned about the gas leak.

    Victims: Two people were injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: Initially proposed fining Atmos as much as $97,500 for “very serious safety violations,” including allegedly not providing a response in the required time frame and its locator not marking lines accurately. In the end, the commission allowed Atmos to settle the case for $1,750. The contractor who hit the gas lines was fined $78,000.

    Atmos response: Did not admit fault, paid fine and settled lawsuit by homeowners.

    Read the enforcement case file

    March 11, 2016

    1511 W. 13th Ave., Corsicana, Texas

    What happened:

    A house that never had gas service exploded one night, sending family members to the hospital with minor injuries. Investigators found a gas leak from a joint where plastic pipes were fused together underground at a nearby trailer park. The gas migrated and seeped into the home through the bathtub and slab before the explosion.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission found Atmos followed its emergency plan and procedures and did not refer the case for enforcement or propose a fine.

    Atmos response: Atmos repaired the leak.

    Read the investigation report

    Jan. 1, 2018

    3567 Colgate Lane, Irving, Texas

    What happened:

    Atmos crews came to the neighborhood on New Year’s Eve after people called 911 to report the strong smell of gas. A woman in the home asked crew members if the family should evacuate and was told no. Irving firefighters said they were also told evacuation was unnecessary. The family went to bed; the house exploded a few hours later. The residents escaped without injury. Investigators found a gas leak on a nearby 6-inch gas main at a mechanical coupling used to join plastic pipes.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission fined Atmos $16,000, saying that the company had failed to continuously monitor the leak to see if homes needed evacuating, and that a part on the leaking gas main hadn’t been installed properly to withstand wear and tear.

    Atmos response: The company paid the fine but admitted no violations and said the cause of the accident is still undetermined.

    Read the preliminary investigation report

    Feb. 23, 2018

    3534 Espanola Drive, Dallas, Texas

    What happened:

    The one-story house exploded shortly before 7 a.m. Linda Rogers, 12, was getting ready for school and died from her injuries in the blast. Investigators found a crack all the way around a 2-inch steel pipe in back of the house, along with several other gas leaks in the neighborhood. Two days before that fatal blast, Atmos crews had gone out to investigate gas-related fires at two homes that shared an alley with the Rogers house. Atmos did not inform neighbors about any gas leaks or evacuate homes before the blast.

    Victims: Linda Rogers, 12, was killed. Four people were injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission is still investigating the incident, as is the National Transportation Safety Board.

    Atmos response: Atmos officials have attributed the disaster to a confluence of heavy rains and unique soil conditions and geology.

    Read the preliminary NTSB report

    April 22, 2018

    900 O’Neal Drive, Caldwell, Texas

    What happened:

    A gas explosion occurred at the home just before midnight; the 92-year-old man who lived there escaped but suffered serious burns. Investigators found a leak on a steel service line that ran under the street to a neighbor’s house. The victim has said in court records that he intends to file a lawsuit against Atmos, alleging negligence.

    Victims: One person was injured.

    Railroad Commission decision: The commission is still investigating the accident.

    Atmos response: In court records, Atmos Energy denies any negligence in the accident.

    Read a preliminary investigation report

    Four days before Thanksgiving in 2009, a married couple in Lancaster, south of Dallas, woke to the smell of smoke filling their home.

    Larry Williams opened a door and gas exploded, sending flames through the heating vents and knocking his wife, Yvonne, to the floor. She suffered first- and second-degree burns on her face, hands and back, according to a lawsuit the couple filed in 2011.

    Investigators found the cause of the blast: a leak in the main gas line that ran in front of the house, according to a state report. A seal joining two plastic pipes had started to crack, letting natural gas seep out.

    The Railroad Commission cited Atmos for not filing accident reports on time and for not sending the broken pipe segment to a lab for testing. But the state didn’t consider those alleged violations serious enough to warrant fines.

    The Williamses withdrew their lawsuit in June 2013. Yvonne Williams recently declined to talk to The News, citing a confidential agreement with Atmos Energy.

    In December 2013, a similar pipe defect caused an explosion at a home in North Richland Hills, near Fort Worth. This time, a 7-year-old girl was seriously burned.

    Four days before Christmas, Maya Javier was playing video games with her cousins at her aunt and uncle’s house. She got up, walked toward the bathroom and flipped the light switch.

     Boom.

    Her aunt saw Maya’s back on fire, according to court records. Her uncle, Marvin Reinoshek, pulled Maya from under the bathroom door and took her outside, he told TV crews at the time.

    KXAS-TV (NBC5)

    Maya suffered burns over 40 percent of her body.

    The explosion lifted the roof, shattered windows and tore out walls inside the Reinoshek home, court records show.

    A year later, in December 2014, the state sent Atmos a letter proposing a fine of up to $50,000. The state’s investigation noted that the same problem that caused the Reinoshek home to explode — poorly fused plastic pipes — had also caused the earlier blast at the Williams home in Lancaster. Atmos should have addressed the problem after that first explosion in 2009 but hadn’t, the state said.

    Actually, Atmos replied, it had looked at that problem. It caused such a tiny share of reported leaks — 13 out of every 10,000 — that it didn’t warrant a special plan, the company told the state.

    After exchanging a few more letters and emails, the state withdrew its case against Atmos Energy. The state said it required the company to take corrective actions.

    But Atmos paid no fines.

    The company did, however, end up paying Maya and the Reinosheks to settle a lawsuit they had filed in Dallas County. Maya’s mother did not respond to requests for comment.

    One of the older compression couplings that the Railroad Commission of Texas voted in November 2007 to force natural gas utilities to dig up and replace. The agency ordered the replacements after two fatal explosions and a series of investigative reports by WFAA-TV (Channel 8). But records show gas companies continue to be cited for couplings that violate safety rules.

    One of the older compression couplings that the Railroad Commission of Texas voted in November 2007 to force natural gas utilities to dig up and replace. The agency ordered the replacements after two fatal explosions and a series of investigative reports by WFAA-TV (Channel 8). But records show gas companies continue to be cited for couplings that violate safety rules. (Texas Railroad Commission)

    In 2007, WFAA-TV (Channel 8) began a series of damning investigations about another problem: pipe connectors, called compression couplings, that were known to pop apart and cause gas explosions. The Railroad Commission rewrote pipeline safety rules so that “all joints on steel and plastic pipe below ground must be welded or designed and installed to resist pullout” and required the removal of certain types of couplings.

    But Atmos Energy has amassed more than 20 alleged violations since 2009 for not replacing couplings.

    The Railroad Commission identified yet another problem — leaky steel service lines running from gas mains to customers’ homes — after investigating explosions in Mesquite in 2009 and Irving in 2010. The regulator initially threatened to make Atmos replace all steel service lines, but records show Atmos was allowed to replace a certain number of lines across its system.

    Handwritten notes from Railroad Commission staff members in state records show Atmos complained about the cost of replacing lines and blamed delays on problems finding qualified workers.

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    Changing findings

    In some investigations that The News examined, the Railroad Commission appeared to change its official findings to match Atmos Energy’s explanations.

    In 2007, a gas leak in the street caused an explosion at an all-electric home in Cleburne, an hour southwest of Dallas, killing two women and injuring several family members.

    The family sued. Right before testimony began in the lawsuit, Atmos settled the case for an undisclosed sum.

    In 2009, the state’s investigation departed sharply from its report a year earlier, which clearly stated that the blast had been caused by natural gas leaks on Atmos’ lines.

    An update to the state’s report said Atmos probably wasn’t to blame: “This event appears to be the result of a combination of factors that was not readily foreseeable.” The report cites Atmos’ own investigation, which found “insufficient evidence” to support that natural gas leaks could have caused such an explosion.

    When The News requested a copy of state regulators’ full investigation file from that 2007 explosion, the Railroad Commission sent only four pages of the original report, saying it didn’t keep all older investigation records, even in cases in which people died. We obtained a copy through Johnson County court records.

    The News found several cases in which Atmos said something other than leaking gas near someone’s house had caused explosions that injured or killed people, and the commission took the company’s word.

    The Railroad Commission told The News its investigations are independent.

    “It is not uncommon in an incident for the initial suspected cause to change or evolve as facts, evidence and information is collected and assessed through the investigative process,” the commission said in its statement.

    One explanation, then another

    In some investigations The News examined, the Railroad Commission of Texas appeared to change its official findings to match Atmos Energy’s explanations.

    The commission maintains its investigations are independent, and findings may change as new information is gathered. Atmos says it is entitled to due process during the state’s investigations.

    Select an incident to see how the state described it over time.

    Cleburne, 2007
    Irving, 2010
    Dallas, 2011

    Cleburne, 2007

    In the state’s investigation report filed in 2008, the cause of the explosion that blew up a Cleburne house, killing two women, was listed as “natural gas along the Atmos Energy natural gas main that had migrated natural gas to the residence.”

    The state also referred to gas leaking from a compression coupling as the cause of the blast in this 2008 report on the history of problems with those pipe connectors.

    In February 2009, state regulators changed their findings in an update to the incident report. Instead, the cause was labeled as “a combination of factors that was not readily foreseeable.” It states that although three gas leaks were found and repaired near the home, there is “insufficient evidence” to support that the gas escaping from those leaks could have caused the explosion.

    The following month in 2009, Johnson County court records show a lawsuit filed by the family against Atmos Energy was settled.

    Irving, 2010

    When a home exploded in Irving in 2010, killing a man and injuring his wife, the cause in the state’s investigative report initially is quite clear: There was a gas leak found where the blast happened. Atmos found an additional two dozen leaks found in the weeks that followed.

    The state referred the case for enforcement for alleged violations of safety rules. Records show it considered making Atmos replace all steel service lines in Irving. A handwritten note from a staffer appears on the state’s file in July 2011: “Discovered it involves a death. Don’t know why it was referred for zero penalty.”

    The state updated the investigative report — it’s unclear when. Though a leaking compression coupling was found, it was tested in a lab by Atmos, and the leak rate “was not large enough” to have caused the blast. “Atmos Energy’s exhaustive investigation” found no other possible source of the gas. The official cause? “Undetermined.”

    Court records show a lawsuit filed by the family was settled in April 2012.

    Dallas, 2011

    In September 2011, when the Mendez family’s home blew up, burning them badly, initial reports show Atmos crews found and repaired a gas leak on a main behind the family’s home.

    Dallas firefighters label the cause of the blast as lightning, though weather data doesn’t show any recorded lightning strikes at that time in that area. The family sued Atmos for negligence, and a firefighter testified in a May 2012 deposition that Atmos influenced his finding that lightning caused the explosion.

    By April 2013, the state and Atmos have a new explanation: A gas stove leaked, they say, though Dallas fire reports mention no such leaks. The explanation is apparently good enough for state regulators, who dismiss the case.

    Two months earlier, Atmos had settled the Mendezes’ lawsuit, court records show.

    Texas has authority to hit Atmos and other companies with stiff fines when they break the rules. But the state rarely does.

    Since 2008, the state has cited Atmos more than 90 times for not repairing dangerous leaks promptly in Dallas-Fort Worth and other parts of the state. But only three times did those citations result in penalties, state records show.

    Instead of hitting gas companies in the wallet for safety lapses, the state allows copious time for them to fix their mistakes.

    Even when Atmos Energy does pay a fine, sometimes the regulator still helps the company, records show.

    In 2013, when a gas explosion in Lewisville left one man dead and two other people injured, the state fined Atmos $25,000.

    But in drafting the settlement, Atmos’ lawyer asked the state to add language that made clear Atmos admitted no wrongdoing. It had a lawsuit pending at the time.

    Texas complied. The commission says such language is standard for enforcement orders.

    The fire department watered down smoldering ruins in Lewisville where a home exploded, killing a man, after natural gas leaked for several hours in January 2013.

    The fire department watered down smoldering ruins in Lewisville where a home exploded, killing a man, after natural gas leaked for several hours in January 2013. (FILE / Special contributor)

    In several other states, companies that break pipeline safety rules don’t get off so easy.

    Since a devastating transmission pipeline explosion in 2011 near San Francisco, regulators in California have penalized operators far more aggressively for breaking safety rules.

    For instance, in 2016, the state fined one gas company $2.25 million for not following through on plans to prevent pipeline corrosion.

    And Washington state levied its largest fine ever — $2.75 million — last year against a gas company for numerous violations that led to a Seattle explosion that injured nine firefighters.

    Part of what keeps the relationship so friendly between gas companies and the Railroad Commission, critics contend: The companies’ employees make generous campaign donations to the elected officials who oversee the commission.

    Since 2006, Atmos Energy’s political action committee and donors who said they worked for Atmos have given more than $200,000 to past and present members of the Railroad Commission. That works out to about 1 percent of all campaign donations those officials received, according to The News’ analysis of state campaign finance records.

    In addition, the company’s employees and political action committee have donated about $2 million to other elected state officials and candidates over that same period, campaign finance records show.

    A 2016 study by three watchdog groups found that railroad commissioners received more than 60 percent of their campaign war chests from the oil and gas industry, the very interests they’re supposed to regulate.

    All three sitting commissioners told The News that they base their decisions on evidence, expertise and the state’s best interest.

    Commissioner Ryan Sitton addressed Atmos Energy specifically. “My focus continues to be on ensuring that Atmos is following our rules, industry best practices and that they are doing what is necessary to keep their system safe,” he said. “Campaign contributions have zero impact on that.”

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    The typical voter has no clue what the Railroad Commission does, state reports have found. It hasn’t overseen railroads since 2005, but the public still calls to complain about trains.

    Over the years, watchdogs and some lawmakers have called for reform: Give the commission a new name, one that reflects what it actually does. Let commissioners accept campaign donations only during election season, not over their full six-year terms. Or do away with elected commissioners altogether and replace them with a part-time, appointed board.

    Those efforts have gone nowhere.

    Another longtime criticism is the revolving door at the Railroad Commission. A former commission executive went to work for an oil and gas industry group. A commissioner left his post after seven years to head an energy exploration company. A former Shell Oil executive became the agency’s director in 2016, then left last year.

    The Railroad Commission said it follows all state and federal employment laws, as well as its own policy, which added a few more restrictions, such as banning former commissioners or executive directors from lobbying the agency.

    The current head of the commission’s oversight and safety division, Kari French, was previously an executive at Austin’s main natural gas company, Texas Gas Service, and its parent company.

    She was president in 2012, when a 43-year-old father died in a natural gas explosion in Austin; the state cited the company for three safety rule violations.

    The Railroad Commission handed down an unusual $150,000 fine. Two months later, it hired French, who soon became director of the oversight and safety division — which includes pipeline safety. She remains in that role.

    The commission said it routinely finds the best, most capable candidates through a competitive process.

    In several cases The News reviewed, the Railroad Commission initially pursued fines against Atmos Energy when people got hurt or died — but enforcement cases dragged on for years, and the state eventually abandoned the efforts.

    Three years after a 75-year-old man died when his Irving home blew up: Case dismissed.

    Two years after a family was permanently disfigured when their Oak Cliff home exploded: Case dismissed.

    And two years after a little girl was burned in a blast while playing video games at her uncle’s home, a handwritten note appeared in the state’s file: “Meeting with Kari French: She says dismiss this case.”

    French referred questions to a spokeswoman for the commission, who said it withdrew a proposed fine after Atmos came into regulatory compliance.

    The commission’s own records state that the case was dismissed.

    Authors: Holly K. Hacker and Cary Aspinwall

    Editor: Leslie Eaton

    Copy editor: Clay Morton

    Graphics, design and development: Allan James Vestal

    Photos: Smiley N. Pool

    Illustrations: Michael Hogue

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