One of Those Safe Pipelines Explodes in Kentucky, Destroying Homes

In the reality-based world, this would be the end of the proposed Bluegrass Pipeline. But we're living in fossil-fuel-worshipping, corporate-cocksucking, who-cares-about-a-buncha-hillbillies world.

Mark Boxley at the Courier:

Two homes were destroyed, 20 residences were evacuated and two people received non-life threatening injuries early Thursday in Adair County after a natural gas transportation line exploded, leaving a 60-foot crater near Highway 76 in Knifley.

The first call came in at about 1:04 a.m. CST when residents heard and felt rumbling under their feet, said Adair County Emergency Management Agency director Greg Thomas. Then came the explosion and a ball of fire, he said.

Three homes, two barns and as many as six vehicles caught fire after the blast, he said. Two of the three homes were completely destroyed.The 30-inch natural gas line was about 100 feet from Highway 76 buried 30 feet down in the side of the hill. When it blew, the result was catastrophic, Thomas said.

“There is now a crater 60 feet deep and it blew rocks out, and I don’t mean pebbles ... big rocks,” he said, adding a 20- to 30-foot section of pipe was thrown more than 300 feet.

After the explosion 20 homes in the area were evacuated and residents will not be able to return home until the state fire marshal says it is safe to do so, Thomas said.

Republican state senators who have been lobbied by constituents to oppose the Bluegrass Pipeline of toxic fracking waste have been skirting the issue by opposing eminent domain for private corporations that are not utilities, but emphasizing that they do not oppose pipelines per se.

Really, assholes? Guess there aren't enough voters in Knifley to worry about.