Cause of massive pipeline explosion near Brighton under investigation

An underground pipeline that exploded Saturday near Brighton, sending up a huge fireball that could be seen for miles, was part of a dispute between its operators and state regulators over a fine resulting from the pipeline operating for more than two decades without the proper permits.

The pipeline containing “natural gas liquids” exploded Saturday and set off a fire lasting several hours, though it caused no injuries or damage to residential structures, according to the Washington County Emergency Management Agency and the Texas-based company that operates it.

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The fire started at about 10:50 a.m. Saturday on both the north and south sides of the Skunk River in a rural area between 315th and 325th streets near Brighton. With the help of six fire departments, the fire was declared under control at 12:57 p.m., according to a news release from the Washington County Emergency Management Agency.

Authorities have not released details about what caused the explosion, but have said it remains under investigation.

The pipeline is part of the Mid-America Pipeline System, unrelated to the Mid-American Energy Company. The pipeline system is owned and operated by a Houston-based company, Enterprise Products Partner L.P.

According to a statement from the company, the pipeline transports natural gas liquids from a hub in Conway, Kansas, to petrochemical plants and propane markets in the Upper Midwest. Natural gas liquids are different from the natural gas — which is mostly composed of methane — that many utilities transport. Natural gas liquids include ethane, propane, butane, isobutane and pentane, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

“The company is working with the appropriate state and federal regulatory authorities to address the situation and the cause of the release is under investigation,” the company statement reads.

Merlin Miller, of rural Fairfield, was in a hobby plane with his son when the explosion happened, and took a video of the fire that he has shared with The Gazette.

“We didn’t actually see it explode, we just saw a huge plume of flames and smoke,” Miller said. “We were in the air, and you’re not supposed to use a phone when you’re in the air. Pretty sure there were people close enough that they heard it and saw it, so we didn’t call 911. We just headed to go see what it was. We could tell it wasn’t a grass fire, that’s for sure.”

Miller and his son stayed near the fire for about 15 minutes, but saw emergency responders arrive and start clearing the area.

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“I’m assuming they were watching the grass fire. There was nothing they could have done with that pipeline fire until the pipeline came and shut the gas off,” Miller said.

Pipeline operated without a permit for 21 years

The pipeline that exploded Saturday was one of nine segments of pipelines owned and operated by Enterprise Products in Iowa that were unpermitted between 2002 and 2023, resulting in a $1.8 million penalty being filed against the company.

In February 2023, the Iowa Utilities Board — now called the Iowa Utilities Commission — issued an order against the company saying that regulators had found 750 miles of hazardous liquid pipelines that Enterprise Products was operating without proper permits.

The company quickly applied for the required permits, and stated in a letter submitted with the application that Enterprise Products had bought the pipelines from another owner in 2002 — who had incorrectly indicated that all permitting requirements were already in place.

“While Enterprise acknowledges the Board's authority to issue civil penalties for non-compliance, Enterprise notes that any non-compliance was the result of a misrepresentation from the company from whom the subject pipeline was acquired, inadvertence, and a lack of understanding of the necessary legal requirements,“ the letter states. ”The circumstances do not warrant the issuance of civil penalties, especially in light of Enterprise's good faith effort to achieve legal compliance once it became aware of the situation.“

Regulators nonetheless issued a $1.8 million fine — $200,000 for each of the nine segments of pipeline. The company filed a judicial petition against the fine, claiming that all of its Iowa pipelines were part of one system, and should be subject to only one $200,000 fine, rather than nine.

A judge ruled against the company, and the ruling was upheld last year by an appeals court.

Comments: (319) 398-8328; emily.andersen@thegazette.com