In Alabama, judge allows news on pipelines to flow

An Alabama judge ruled Tuesday that The Montgomery (Ala.)

Advertiser and USA TODAY can publish details — contained in a public record submitted to the state government — detailing the age and condition of gas pipes in communities including Montgomery, Birmingham and Selma.

Judge Robert Vance, after hearing arguments from the gas company and newspaper attorneys on Monday, said Tuesday that he erred in too hastily responding to the Alabama gas company’s claims of a security threat and issuing a temporary restraining order last week banning publication.

“While such possibilities might exist, they now appear to be only vague phantoms,” the judge wrote. “On reflection, the court finds that it too readily focused on such ghosts in entering the Temporary Restraining Order sought by the plaintiff.” The earlier order barred the

Advertiser and USA TODAY from publishing information in the federally mandated Distribution Integrity Management Plan.

The newspaper obtained the safety document under open records law from the state’s Public Service Commission.

In his order, the judge noted the company “argues that the DIMP is private property not properly subject to public disclosure. While this may be true, it is also uncontested that the plaintiff voluntarily produced the DIMP to the Public Service Commission, thereby ceding unfettered control over its property.”

The newspaper, which is owned by Gannett and is partnering with USA TODAY on this investigation, sought the records to better understand Alabama Gas’ plans for its 800-plus miles of aging cast-iron mains.

Every gas utility is required by federal law to prepare such a plan. The plans, which USA TODAY and Gannett newspapers and TV stations obtained in other communities without objection, detail the condition of pipes, leak rates and other safety concerns and what the utility is doing to address those issues.