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Williams Partners: A Proven Leader (in Industrial Accidents) | 
 
The Business/Safety Record of the Williams Company 
Operators of the Windsor Compressor Station 
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1984
Nov 18, A Williams Companies 6 inch pipeline ruptured in New 
Brighton, Minnesota, causing a spill of 40,000 to 50,000 gallons of jet 
fuel in an industrial area.  
                    
                  1986 July 8, a Williams Companies petroleum products pipeline 
ruptured in Mounds View, Minnesota. Gasoline at 1,434 psi sprayed a 
residential area, then ignited. 2 dead.
1996, Dec 11 a natural gas line operated by Williams ruptured just 
north of Tonganoxie Kansas.
              
2003 May 1, a 26-inch Williams Companies natural gas transmission 
pipeline failed near Lake Tapps, Washington. A neighboring elementary 
school, a supermarket, and 30 to 40 homes in approximately a 4-mile (6.4
 km) area were evacuated. There was no fire or injuries. The failure was later determined to be from 
Stress corrosion cracking.  4 previous failures on this 
pipeline in the preceding 8 years
      
    2003
 Dec 13, Another section of the same Williams Companies gas transmission 
pipeline that failed on May 1 failed in Lewis County, Washington. Gas flowed for 3 hours 
before being shut off. Gas pressure had already been reduced 20% on this
 pipeline after the May 1 explosion. External corrosion & Stress 
Corrosion Cracking were seen in this failed area.
2003-4 FINED $20 million in federal investigation for allegedly reporting false data to manipulate the California natural gas market. Williams 
pays California $417 million to settle case. Source: 
Los Angeles Times, 12/18/04
2007 Williams pays 
$290 million to settle a class action lawsuit filed by its own shareholders in 2002 for allegedly hiding “the firm’s plummeting fiscal picture.” 
Source: Securities Class Action Clearinghouse, Stanford Law School.
2008 (Sept) Natural gas 
explosion in
 Appomattox, Virginia [Transco] Two homes destroyed, damage to about 100
 other houses and multiple injuries. • The pipe split at just below the 
maximum allowable operating pressure. There was a deafening roar and 
shaking that many people believed was an airplane crash or earthquake. •
 A 32-foot section of a 30-inch diameter pipe tore loose and came out of
 the ground, blowing gas. • A nearby power line came loose, and struck 
the ground, causing the spark that ignited the fire. Property damage 
exceeds $3 million. 
Source: WSLS, NBC-TV affiliate in Roanoke.
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A Williams Partners Safety and Compliance Inspector  
in Susquehanna County PA shows us his "credentials".  
Photo: Vera Scroggins | 
2009 FINED $925,000 for failure to monitor corrosion, which caused the Virginia pipeline explosion in 2008. Source: see above.
2011 (June) Williams subsidiary 
FINED $23,000 by PHMSA for 
failure to conduct  its own annual inspections of compressor stations in Texas and Louisiana. 
Source: US Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
2011 (Dec) A Williams/Transco pipeline ruptured with an 
explosion in southwestern Alabama; 
the blast could be heard 30 miles away. Flames shot nearly 100 feet in the air for more than an hour. Source: Demopolis Times
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Twisted, burning wreckage at the Williams Lathrop  
Compressor Station, Susquehanna County PA. 
Photo: Vera Scroggins | 
2012 (March) An 
explosion at the Lathrop compressor station in 
Susquehanna County, PA, blows a hole in roof, shaking homes as far as a half-mile away and drawing emergency responders from nearby counties. 
Source: Times Tribune, Scranton, March 30
2012 (March) Transco/Williams 
FINED $50,000 by PHMSA for 
failure to follow own internal policies to control corrosion in natural gas pipeline in NYC-- Staten Island. 
Source: Natural Gas Watch.
2012 (July) A compressor station operated by Williams Companies in 
Windsor,
 New York, was venting gas in a “routine procedure”—during a lightning 
storm!—when the vent was ignited by lightning, causing an explosion and 
huge fireball. 
2013 (March) Williams natural gas plant leaks benzene, which causes cancer, in Parachute, Colorado, 
contaminating groundwater. In some places, 
benzene level is 36,000 times greater than the level considered safe for drinking. 
Source: Denver Post, March 28, 2013
2013 (March) Williams
 24-inch gathering pipeline ruptures in Marshal County, West Virginia. 
Source: Reuters, March 22
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Williams Central Station, Brooklyn Twp, Susquehanna County PA. 
The day after a fire and explosion, May 2013 
Photo: Vera Scroggins | 
2013 (May) 
Fire in Williams Central Compressor Station near 
Montrose, PA. Bulging walls indicate an explosion “may have occurred.” Source: Times Tribune, Scranton, May 16. 
2013 (May) 
Fire in Williams compressor at Branchburg, NJ, 13 injured.
2013 (June) 
Explosion and fire kills 2 people, injures 114 people at
 Williams Geismar natural gas chemical plant in Louisiana. 31,000 pounds
 of toxic chemicals released.  Investigation reveals 3 years of 
noncompliance with federal Clean Air Act. 
Sources: New Orleans Times-Picayune, CNN
2013 (July) 
Benzene levels in surface water double again
 near the Williams gas plant in Parachute, Colorado. Levels in 
groundwater remain much higher than the limit. Williams blames a 
mechanical failure. “It released more than 10,000 gallons of hydrocarbon
 liquids from a valve on a pipeline…” according to a newspaper report. 
Source: Denver Post, July13.
2013 (Dec) Williams Partners fined $99,000 by OSHA for Geismer Olefins disaster. 
2014 (Jan) 
Fire at Windsor, NY, compressor station, second in less than two years.
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| White is frozen methane from super-cooled LNG |  
 
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| Oops. A little fire.  |  
 
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2
014 (March) Fire and explosion at a Williams LNG facility in Plymouth, WA. 
Source: Reuters
2014 (April) Explosion and fire in a pipeline supplying a Williams-owned facility in Moundsville, WV.  Source: WTOV / WOWK
2014 (April) OPAL, Wyo.  explosion and fire at a natural gas processing 
facility and major national pipeline hub. Entire town evacuated. (Source: AP)
This is a partial list of spills, explosions, fires and business dealings of the Williams Co. 
For a more extensive list, go to Google and use this search term:
Williams Safety and Compliance Record
Williams
 Co. is asking the NYS Public Service Commission for permission to 
double capacity at the Windsor compression station. Meanwhile, the 
facility has been violating the Town of Windsor noise ordinance since it
 began operating. After two fires at the site, should the facility be 
allowed to expand?