CHANDLER, Arizona. – Southwest Gas agreed to pay more than $2 million and work to remove certain sections of pipeline after a gas leak explosion in Chandler three years ago.

The explosion caused damage to businesses along Ray and Rural roads and seriously injured four people.

The new pipeline could affect thousands of people in the Valley. There will end up being about 1,000 miles of pipes near homes and businesses.

This decision was made through a consent decree as a result of an investigation and was entered between the Office of Pipeline Safety, part of the Arizona Corporation Commission, and Southwest Gas.

“It was a shock, a total devastation,” said Tom Ryan, trial attorney for Platinum Printing and the Ryan brothers.

“The metal bent, the doors flew 200 feet, it was just an incredible, shocking sight. And it still amazes me to this day that, as badly burned as they were, he lived to tell the tale,” Ryan said.

The explosion in Sailboat The mall seriously injured four people, including Ryan’s customers who ran the printing shop.

Investigators later discovered that a gas leak was to blame.

READ MORE: Chandler community left shocked after explosion at business left 4 people seriously injured

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“This particular pipe called Drisco M8000 had a manufacturing defect that allowed it to degrade in the Arizona heat. And when it degrades, it cracks, and when it cracks, it leaks gas,” Ryan said.

The consent agreement revealed that this type of pipe is prone to rusting and degrading in the Arizona heat.

“This has been a problematic pipeline. Southwest Gas was aware of the problems with the pipeline and they tried to do some things to control it. The problem is that the pipeline breaks every time it breaks, it doesn’t break on a schedule. That’s what we discovered in this particular case,” Ryan said.

He says this is not an isolated problem either.

“Every residential neighborhood and commercial area in Arizona has access to natural gas, and there are over ten thousand miles of Drisco M8000 pipeline that are failing. And when it fails, it can be very catastrophic,” Ryan said.

That’s why, after an investigation, Southwest Gas entered into a consent agreement that agrees to three main provisions:

First, certain pipelines must be abandoned or removed within six months.

“This pipeline degrading early (the M8000 must be abandoned or retired within 6 months of the completion of this consent agreement) is very important, it’s a very fast thing when you consider all the pipeline that exists,” Ryan said.

Second, Southwest Gas has agreed to increase patrols of these types of pipelines, and others, six times a year.

That’s a significant increase from its previous quarterly or annual patrols.

“Finally, they agreed to give a $2 million civil penalty to the state’s general fund. And the important part of this is that Southwest cannot use that $2 million fine to go back and ask for a fare increase,” Ryan said.

In a statement, Southwest Gas said the following:

Southwest Gas worked closely with the Arizona Corporation Commission’s Office of Pipeline Safety during its investigation of the incidents in Scottsdale and Chandler to identify root causes and opportunities to improve the safety, service and reliability of our infrastructure in the state of Arizona. The Consent Agreement is the result of these efforts and ensures that the insights gained in this process lead to positive changes that reflect Southwest Gas’ continued commitment to safely providing natural gas service to our customers and the communities we serve. we serve