Update: Pressure relief valve near Blackfoot is repaired
Update: 9 a.m. Monday
Intermountain Gas Company says the release of excess pressure at one of its regulator stations sent steam into the air and created a loud whistle near Blackfoot Sunday morning.
Intermountain Gas spokesman Byron Defenbach said a pressure relief valve at that location is designed to release pressure if it detects any significant changes in line pressure.
The line operates at 600 pounds of pressure per square inch and is the primary carrier of natural gas that supplies customers ranging from Pocatello to St. Anthony.
Defenbach said cold weather may have caused a portion of the valve to stay open and created an imbalance in pressure. That change could have triggered the relief valve to open.
While it made a lot of noise and released some odorized gas, he said it never posed any serious danger to nearby residents.
The valve has been repaired.
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Update 10:00 a.m. Sunday.: The leaking gas has now been turned off. Intermountain Gas is still working to repair the line. No details yet on what caused the leak.
Original story:The Bingham County Sheriff’s office tells Local News 8 there is a broken gas line on Thompson Lane in Bingham county.
The broken gas line is creating a strange noise that can be heard for miles around.
The Blackfoot Fire Department is at the site of the broken line and Intermountain Gas has begun to make repairs. No evacuations have been ordered at this time and the sheriff’s office does not believe that there is any immediate danger.
