On July 11, at approximately 10:15 a.m., I heard sirens while on South Broadway/Highway 65. Police cars and fire trucks arrived. A contractor had ruptured a high-pressure natural gas riser. I could hear the gas escaping.

I walked over and heard on the fireman’s radio that Minnesota Energy had to get a man to come and look at the situation, and he was from Wells. This would be a half-hour drive. After he looked at the situation, he then had to call a crew out of the Twin Cities for repair, which would be a two-hour drive, and they had to stop in Faribault to pick up a man.

I left the area at noon and returned at 2:30 p.m.. That left South Broadway and Highway 65 south blocked from Front Street to Fourth Street for several hours. That meant no one in the area could start a vehicle or leave in a vehicle. The crew worked until around 6 p.m. to repair the riser.

My concern is, why is there not a local crew from Minnesota Energy to deal with this type of situation in Albert Lea. The gas was escaping for approximately four hours. This is dangerous and should not go on for that length of time.

Minnesota Energy needs to restructure so that there is a crew available for any emergency situations in a timelier manner.

 

Dave Kelley

Albert Lea