$750K Fine Levied In 2016 Apartment Blast That Killed 7 Residents

SILVER SPRING, MD — Maryland's utility watchdog has fined Washington Gas Light $750,000 in connection to the 2016 Flower Branch apartments explosion that killed seven people.

In an order dated Dec. 18, the Public Service Commission of Maryland ruled that Washington Gas — the company responsible for maintaining the equipment for the apartment complex — failed to inform officials that it had not replaced all its mercury gas regulators by 2013 as promised.

In 2003, Washington Gas told the commission that it would replace more than 66,000 mercury regulators in Maryland with newer, spring-loaded equipment over a 10-year period. Investigators believe the failure of an unvented mercury service regulator likely caused the gas explosion at Silver Spring's Flower Branch apartments on Aug. 10, 2016.

According to the order, Washington Gas repeatedly said its 10-year replacement program was more of a "plan" than a "commitment" — and the company was allowed to put the project on hold to focus on repairing gas leaks in Prince George's County.

The commission rejected that claim, arguing the company should have "at a minimum" notified officials, either informally or through mandatory annual reports.

In its ruling, commissioners determined 17 reports were late by a cumulative total of 55,845 days. The maximum penalty, which is calculated per day, came out to $5,584,500.

However, the commission said the fine was excessive and lowered it to $750,000.

State Del. Lorig Charkoudian (D-Montgomery) told MyMCM that she was "shocked" and "dismayed" by the "inconsequential" ruling.

"The consequences of the breach of this commitment was the loss of seven precious members of our community, 65 people injured, displacement of more than 100 people, and trauma for a community. The public safety implications of WGL's failure was massive," Charkodian wrote in an email to the news outlet.

The National Transportation Safety Board spent more than two years investigating the deadly incident. In April 2019, the agency announced it couldn't find the ignition source that sparked the deadly explosion but determined the disaster was probably caused by a disconnected gas regulator. Washington Gas has disputed the findings.

In a statement to multiple media outlets, Washington Gas spokesperson Brian Edwards said: "The records show that mercury service regulators operate as safely as spring-loaded service regulators."

SEE ALSO:

• Vigil To Mark 1-Year Anniversary Of Flower Branch Apartments Explosion
• Judge Slams NTSB For Slow Probe Into Deadly Apartment Explosions
• NTSB Sets Hearing On Cause Of 2016 Deadly Apartment Explosions
• NTSB Blames Faulty Equipment For 2016 Deadly Apartment Explosion