Ron McCauley stood between two patches of dead grass in his back yard he said are the result of a leaky Equitable Gas pipeline that runs through his property.
The company placed two yellow warning flags in the center of the dirt patches last summer when he first reported the leak, according to McCauley, but he said nothing has been done since then. He reported the leak again Thursday morning at his home along Route 356, he said.
"The smell was so bad I couldn't cut the grass," McCauley said.
McCauley said he was told it would take two weeks to get the leak repaired when he called Thursday, but his patience is running out and he's concerned because kids play in the area and Pine Creek runs nearby.
"I just want the problem fixed," McCauley said.
When contacted Thursday by the Valley News Dispatch, an Equitable spokesman said the line is scheduled to be repaired today.
"This is an older, low pressure system in the area that's 250 feet away from a home," Dave Spigelmyer of Equitable said. "This is not a leak that poses a threat to public safety or health. Nonetheless, we address them and it will be repaired (today)."
"It's an older line that ultimately will be replaced," Spigelmyer said. "Equitable has an extraordinary record on line replacement program."
Spigelmyer said that the leak isn't the same one reported last year. There were leaks reported in June 2003 and 2004 that were repaired the following day, he said.
McCauley said the previous leaks were on one of the multiple lines that run near the creek.
The line runs near Pine Creek and underneath Route 356 where other residents tap into it, according to McCauley.
The company considers the line a rural line, not a house line, Spigelmyer said.
"The concern with natural gas is if there's an opportunity for it to be trapped. Here it can be vented into the atmosphere," Spigelmyer said. "This is a low volume leak, but it's something that we take seriously."
McCauley said he's glad the company is planning to fix the line.
"I can sympathize with their statements about it being a rural line," McCauley said. "But they don't have to live in the neighborhood and breathe in the gas, and I'm still a customer."
