CLEBURNE - An investigation into a deadly natural gas explosion in Cleburne last May is raising new questions about the public's safety.

At issue, a recently released fire marshal's report that concludes natural gas leaking through the soil can actually be stripped of its odor, which makes it, in certain cases, an undetectable killer.

In its raw state, natural gas has no odor. That lack of smell is why all gas companies add the rotten egg smell, called mercaptan. If there's a leak, the stench lets people know that danger exists.

But the six member Pawlick family allegedly had no idea they were in grave danger when their home exploded on the afternoon of May 29. Hazel Pawlick, 64, and her 44-year old daughter, Misty Sanderson, later died of their burns endured during the blast. Two other family members were critically injured when natural gas leaked from a broken main and migrated through the soil into the Pawlicks' home.

The Pawlicks contacted the fire department prior to the explosion after they noticed unusual flaring when lighting cigarettes. They were told to stop smoking and an inspector would stop by later to check it out. Forty-five minutes later, a lighter triggered the explosion.

But according to family attorney John Curney, the reason the Pawlicks didn't sense danger is the gas filling their home was not detectable. "There was no smell," he said. "We can tell you that for a fact. Nobody smelled a single thing."

The Cleburne fire marshal's official report supports the family's statement based on a discovery made after the explosion, when according to the report, "Atmos employee, with his gas detection equipment, found what he believed to be natural gas..."

According to the report, "gas" that leaked into the Pawlick's home "had no odor of mercaptan."

The report goes on to explain "the reason that the family could not smell the gas is because after traveling that far through the soil and water, the mercaptan ... could be washed or scrubbed by the filtering action of the soil."

If true, it could help explain why, in at least six other gas explosions in North Texas since 2000 involving TXU and Atmos, gas leaked through the soil into homes or confined areas with no record of anyone inside smelling anything. But Atmos Energy officials disagree with the report and downplay the odorant fade phenomenon.

"Our long-time operations experts have never witnessed or experienced odorant being filtered out by soil," a statement released to WFAA-TV read. "Filtering of mercaptan or odorant could only be possible under very precise conditions and, again, our employees in Texas have never known that to happen."

Dallas Attorney Marquette Wolf, who has represented other gas explosion victims, said he finds the Atmos statement difficult to digest.

"It's a statement that can't be made with much credibility," he said. "To not know, that is completely irresponsible. It's a phenomenon well known in the industry."

The National Institute of Standards and Technology, Elf Atochem of North America, the Consumer Product Safety Commission have all published reports on odorant fade.

Officials at the Texas Railroad Commission, which regulates the natural gas industry in Texas, said they, along with most in the industry, are aware of odorant fading.

"Odor fade is not a new phenomenon and one of the reasons the Commission, requires the industry to conduct leak surveys," said Romona Nye, a spokesperson for the TRC.

Wolf said he also believes all natural gas companies are fully aware of odorant fade. But he also said he believes it's time to warn the public, repair all leaks and help prevent another tragedy like the one that occurred in Cleburne.

"Tell the public that we have an odorant problem," he said. "Tell them that the signal to them that there's a gas leak may not work in your area, and then you find out where these leaks are and put an end to it."

Atmos officials said safety is their highest priority and that they spent more than $96 million making repairs last year. They also said Atmos puts more odorant in its natural gas than is required.

Cleburne Fire Marshal William Wright, however, stands by his report and belief that the gas that entered the Pawlick home May 29 had no smell.

Fort Worth Star-Telegram
Austin Bureau
Friday, November 3, 2006

AUSTIN – A $467 case of wine and $800 and $900 rooms at New York City’s Four Seasons Hotel for executives of Atmos Energy apparently won’t be charged to customers after all.

The North Texas gas utility had included those costs – as well as a $1,357 reception for alumni of Western Kentucky University – in an ongoing rate case before the Texas Railroad Commission. But after the Star-Telegram asked about the expenditures, company attorneys abruptly filed a proposal Thursday to remove more than $30,000 in spending.

	THE UNDERLINED PORTION OF THE PREVIOUS STATEMENT IS INACCURATE. ATMOS ENERGY REMOVED THE ITEMS FROM THE RATE CASE BEFORE BEING CONTACTED BY THE REPORTER. ATMOS ENERGY ALSO TOLD THE REPORTER THE ITEMS WERE REMOVED EARLIER IN THE DAY, PRIOR TO THE REPORTER’S CALL.

“The expenses will be paid by the company, not customers,” said spokesman Rand LaVonn, although he could not specify all the expenses the company proposed to delete.

Atmos’ request would raise typical home-heating bills by about $4 a month and generate about $63 million a year. The utility has also used a political action committee to donate thousands of dollars to Railroad Commission members.

Commission Chairwoman Elizabeth Ames Jones, who received $2,000 from an Atmos PAC last year, said she remains independent.

“I will continue to call balls and strikes as I see them,” she said.

By R.A. DYER
STAR-TELEGRAM AUSTIN BUREAU

Atmos Energy attorneys abruptly began yanking thousands of dollars of controversial expenses from its proposal to raise North Texas gas rates -- apparently including a $961-per-night hotel bill and hundreds of dollars in fancy wine -- shortly after the Star-Telegram questioned the charges Thursday.

	THE UNDERLINED PORTION OF THE PREVIOUS STATEMENT IS INACCURATE. ATMOS ENERGY REMOVED THE ITEMS FROM THE RATE CASE BEFORE BEING CONTACTED BY THE REPORTER. ATMOS ENERGY ALSO TOLD THE REPORTER THE ITEMS WERE REMOVED EARLIER IN THE DAY, PRIOR TO THE REPORTER’S CALL. THE STORY INCLUDES THAT FACT BELOW. IN THE PRINTED VERSION READERS HAVE TO JUMP TWICE TO OTHER SECTIONS TO LEARN THE SPENDING WAS REMOVED BEFORE THE REPORTER CALLED.

Among the expenses flagged by the Star-Telegram were those by several Atmos executives for a stay last December at New York City's posh Four Seasons Hotel. According to invoices that have emerged during an ongoing rate case, the executives paid between $777 and $961 a night for the rooms.

The company also included in its rate filing a $1,357.34 reception for alumni of Western Kentucky University that corresponded with a Sun Belt Conference basketball tournament in Denton in 2005. A former vice president of Atmos is also chairman of the university's board of regents.

Other expenses in question included a case of wine that cost $467.48 and another case that cost $350. An Atmos official also charged a $279 meal for Republican Texas Railroad Commissioner Victor Carrillo, another agency staff member and some friends of the commissioner. An Atmos spokesman said Thursday that "largely the items" identified by the Star-Telegram would be removed from its request to raise rates, although he could not say which would remain pending. All told, the value of the removed items is about $33,500, he said.

"In reviewing documents produced for the rate case, Atmos Energy discovered certain expenses which it believed should be removed from the rate case," spokesman Rand LaVonn said.

Ruling expected next year

The company has proposed increasing its rates by about $63 million annually, or about $4 on the typical monthly bill for each of its 1.5 million customers. A panel of administrative law judges took up the case this week and is expected to forward its recommendations to the elected Texas Railroad Commission for a final ruling early next year.

The decision by Atmos to remove the expenses appeared to have taken the administrative law judges by surprise. The judges ordered the company to provide more clarification today as the hearing continues.

LaVonn said Atmos decided to remove the items before being contacted by the Star-Telegram. "The materials were identified some time ago," he said.

	THE STATEMENT ABOVE IS ACCURATE.

He also said that the $279 meal with Carrillo and his associates and any other such expenses involving other railroad commissioners will remain in the company's request. "All meetings involving railroad commissioners came in the course of normal business ... [and] the expenditures were recorded as part of Atmos Energy's adherence to a rigorous code of conduct," LaVonn said.

Separate filings with the Texas Ethics Commission show thousands of dollars in contributions from an Atmos political action committee to the railroad commissioners -- including Republican Chairwoman Elizabeth Ames Jones, who is up for re-election next week. A lobbyist for a law firm representing a coalition of cities opposing Atmos also has made contributions.

Concerns for customers

Consumer advocate Tom "Smitty" Smith said both the high-dollar expenditures by company executives -- and the political contributions to regulators -- should concern any customer.

"We have argued for many years that regulated companies ought not to be able to contribute to the people who have to make decisions on their rate case." said Smith, director of the Texas office of Public Citizen. "Our analysis has indicated that frequently the contributions go up just before the big decisions that affect the economic health of the company. This is wrong." Jones, who received a $2,000 contribution from the Atmos political action committee in 2005, plus two recent $500 contributions from a lobbyist with the Austin law firm representing various municipalities opposing the Atmos rate increase, said political contributions will not affect how she rules.

"The record shows Atmos doesn't get everything they want. I will continue to call balls and strikes the way I see them," Jones said in a statement.

Carrillo said he found nothing inappropriate about accepting political contributions from Atmos or any other firm with business before the regulatory commission. "In Texas, if we were not able to accept contributions from anyone that we potentially regulated, then we would be very limited in our ability to fund-raise," he said.

He said Atmos picked up the $279 meal tab after he had toured a company facility with a staffer -- and that it was an appropriate expense because he gained a better understanding of that part of its business. He said some friends joined them for the meal, and that Atmos apparently picked up the cost of their dinner as well.

Other items' fate unknown

The Star-Telegram reported earlier that Atmos had included in its rate request $70,000 in artwork, millions of dollars in office furniture -- including a set of $2,000 chairs -- and airline tickets costing more than $1,700 each for an executive and a spouse to attend the inauguration of President Bush. It's unclear whether Atmos has proposed removing those expenses as well.

Atmos filed its request in May. The law allows the company reimbursement for legitimate business expenses, but a coalition of cities critical of the gas utility has combed hundreds of pages of company documents and flagged multiple expenditures as unreasonable.

An alternate proposal by a municipal organization would instead cut the company's revenue by more than $30 million annually and decrease typical rates by about $5 per month.

Date: October 16, 2006
Location: Mid-Tex – Wylie
Source: The Dallas Morning News

By Lauren D'Avolio and Tiara M. Ellis

WYLIE – Neighbors frantically tried save Martha Cryer after a thunderous explosion and flames engulfed her home Monday morning. As they doused her with a garden hose, she screamed for her husband: "Benny! Benny!"

But they could not rescue her, nor save her husband.

"We tried to get to him, but the heat was so bad it was burning our hair," said Coral Watkins, who lives across the street from the couple. "[Mrs. Cryer] was screaming. ... It killed me. It tears my heart out. I haven't had time to absorb it yet."

In the pelting rain and darkness just after 3 a.m. Monday, Mr. Cryer, 78, was blown from his bed and landed next to an adjacent house, neighbors said. He died at the scene. Mrs. Cryer, who had turned 77 Friday, was found 30 feet away at the rear of the lot. She died later at Parkland Memorial Hospital in Dallas.

No official cause had been cited in the blast that shot flames at least 40 feet into the air, but natural gas was suspected. Officials had no other explanation for what could have destroyed the home and not flattened others. Firefighters discovered elevated levels of natural gas in a sewer line.

The smell of natural gas mingled with the odor of the charred ruins Monday morning. Nearly a dozen Atmos Energy trucks lined the street.

Sixteen homes were evacuated – eight on Third Street and eight on Second Street, which share the same alley and gas line. The gas was shut off about 2 p.m. As of late Monday, only residents on Second Street were allowed to return home.

"Our first goal is to make sure this neighborhood is safe so that people can come back to their homes. The second goal is to work cooperatively with the Fire Department [and] independent investigators to determine the cause and try to make sure this doesn't happen again," Atmos Energy spokesman Rand LaVonn said.

Hours after the blast leveled the small white- frame house, family members arrived to look at the black heap that was once a home. Some wiped away tears as they looked through the rubble. None of the family members would comment.

Pieces of the home were catapulted 100 feet away, with glass shards littering the street. Parts of 40-foot tall trees were singed to the top, hovering above grieving family, friends and neighbors.

Losing the couple is like losing the foundation of a family, said next-door neighbor Pam Willey. They were "sweet, wonderful people" and "dream neighbors," she said.

"They were never apart in life, and they're still together in death," Ms. Willey said. "I don't think one of them could have survived without the other.

"My husband always called Mrs. Cryer a peach because she was so sweet to everybody," Ms. Willey said.

Mr. Cryer used an oxygen tank to aid his breathing, though it probably wasn't on through the night, Ms. Willey said. And he rode a motorized scooter most mornings toward State Highway 78, watching cars go by and talking to friends. When he returned home, his wife had his lunch ready, Ms. Willey said.

Neighbors said the couple always left their garage and kitchen doors unlocked, in case of unexpected visitors or if neighbors needed anything.

An American flag was still flying in the yard at daybreak – a reflection of Mr. Cryer's patriotism. Neighbors said he was a military veteran.

White shingle siding from the frame house balanced precariously on the wreckage. A car parked in the street was partially melted. A vase of Mrs. Cryer's landed in front of the Willeys' boat in their garage.

Wylie city officials said it could take days before an official cause of the explosion would be released.

Ms. Watkins said she's aware of at least seven neighbors who have frequently called Atmos Energy during the last two years, complaining of a natural gas smell. Ms. Watkins said Atmos has habitually ignored their calls for help.

"It was like pulling teeth to get them to come out here," Ms. Watkins said. "Once in a blue moon, they'd send someone out. But you'd have to call and call and call."

	ATMOS ENERGY RECORDS SHOW THAT MS. WATKINS HAS NOT CALLED IN A LEAK IN AT LEAST 14 MONTHS. EXAMINING ALL CALLS FROM THE AREA [2ND, 3RD AND 4TH STREETS] SHOWS APPROXIMATELY TWO CALLS PER MONTH INVOLVING POSSIBLE LEAKS, SINCE AUGUST 2005. ATMOS ENERGY RESPONDED EVERYTIME TO THE SCENE AND INVESTIGATED.

Other neighbors insisted that they've never had a problem with the energy provider.

Mr. LaVonn said over the past 30 days Atmos Energy has not received any calls for leak investigations or suspicious smells in this area. The last time Atmos conducted a survey of the vicinity was in March 2005. No gas leaks were detected during that inspection, Mr. LaVonn said. The company is required to check this particular line within five years of the previous inspection.

Mickey Housewright, 81, who went to Wylie High School with Mr. Cryer in the 1940s, worked with him at Kraft Foods and used to regularly visit the couple to play domino games. As Mr. Housewright stood outside the burned rubble, he shook his head and talked about the last time he had talked to Mr. Cryer.

"I called him two weeks ago and asked him how he was doing," Mr. Housewright said. "He said his eyesight was getting worse. But he and Martha were doing good."

WFAA-TV (Channel 8) contributed to this report.