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THEY'VE IDENTIFIED THE PROBLEM. NOW THEY ARE FIXING IT. THE BLAME FOR YESTERDAY'S GAS LINE LEAK IN LAWRENCE. OFFICIALS NOW PLACING IN THE HANDS OF A WATER CONTRACTOR WHO HAD BEEN WORKING IN THE AREA. 150 HOMES AND BUSINESSES WERE EVACUATED IN THE SAME SECTION OF THE CITY THAT SAW SOME OF THE WORST DAMAGE IN LAST YEAR'S GAS LINE EXPLOSION. >> FOUR MONTHS WITH NO HEAT, NO HOT WATER, AND NOW THEY'RE BANGING ON THE DOORS AND WE'RE STARTING ALL OVER AGAIN. JOSH: A JOINT STATEMENT BY THE STATE'S DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES, COLUMBIA GAS AND THE CITY OF LAWRENCE SAY THE CONTRACTORS WHO WERE WORKING FOR THE CITY INADVERTENTLY CLOSED THE GAS VALVE, PUNCTURING AN ACTIVE GAS MAIN. PRELIMINARILY, IT APPEARS THAT THIS GAS VALVE SHOULD HAVE BEEN DISABLED AS PART OF A PIPELINE RECONSTRUCTION IN 2018 AND WAS NOT COMPLIANT WITH DPU STANDARDS. >> WE KNOW IT WAS AN ISOLATED INCIDENT. WE KNOW THAT IT'S NOT SYSTEMIC ACROSS THE AREA. THAT'S WHY PEOPLE SHOULD FEEL SAFE. JOSH: THE JOINT STATEMENT GOES ON TO SAY THAT OUT OF AN ABUNDANCE OF CAUTION, COLUMBIA GAS HAS IDENTIFIED 45 GAS VALVES THAT THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC UTILITIES HAS REQUIRED COLUMBIA GAS AND MUTUAL AID PARTNERS TO IMMEDIATELY INSPECT AND BRING INTO COMPLIANCE IF NECESSARY. >> THEY STILL HAVE A WAY TO GO WITH ME. THAT'S WHY DPU IS GOING TO HAVE SUCH A BIG PRESENCE HERE OVER THE COURSE OF THE NEXT FEW DAYS. JOSH: GOVERNOR BAKER AND LAWRENCE MAYOR DAN RIVERA DID APPLAUD COLUMBIA'S QUICK WORK FRIDAY THAT PREVENTED ANY FIRES OR EXPLOSIONS, ALLOWING MOST RESIDENTS TO RETURN HOME, EVEN IF THEIR SENSE OF SECURITY REMAINS SHAKEN. >> I'M FEELING ANXIOUS BECAUSE DON'T WANT NOTHING TO HAPPEN OUT HERE. JOSH: YOU REALLY HAVE TO FEEL FOR PEOPLE WHO WENT THROUGH THIS AGAIN YESTERDAY, REALLY JUST CAME FLOODING BACK TO THEM. MOST OF THOSE PEOPLE ARE BACK IN THEIR HOMES IN THIS NEIGHBORHOOD. THE COMPANY DID PUT SOME PEOPLE UP IN A HOTEL. THEY DID CLOSE ARLINGTON SCHOOL SHELTER. IN LAWRENCE, JOSH BROGADIR, WCVB NEWSCENTER 5. JENNIFER: WE WILL CONTINUE TO FOLLOW THIS DEVELOPING STORY, BRINGING YOU THE LATEST UPDATES, AND YOU CAN FIND ALL OF THE INFORMATION RELATED TO THIS MAJOR GAS LEAK INSIDE OUR WC

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A gas leak that forced hundreds of Lawrence residents from their homes early Friday was caused by human error, according to officials.In a joint statement, the Department of Public Utilities, Columbia Gas and the City of Lawrence said contractors working for the city inadvertently closed a gas valve, puncturing a gas main in the process.Officials believe this gas valve was not compliant with DPU standards should have been disabled as part of pipeline reconstruction in 2018."Out of an abundance of caution, Columbia Gas has identified 45 gas valves that the Department of Public Utilities has required Columbia Gas and mutual aid partners to immediately inspect and bring into compliance if necessary," the joint statement reads. "The process of inspecting and remediating these valves, located near surface level of the road, will not require excavating and will be completed by Saturday."Until then, the Department has instructed all municipalities in the Merrimack Valley to suspend all construction and maintenance projects in the affected area until the valves are determined to be safe by the Department of Public Utilities. The Department will continue to closely monitor the restoration effort and Columbia Gas will be required to continue to use mobile leak detection equipment in the form of ‘sniffer trucks.’"The small number of residents who have not yet returned home should expect to return home following completion of testing of the impacted pipeline to ensure safe operation. The Department’s investigation into the incident is ongoing.” Before the joint statement was released, sources told 5 Investigates a crew was working Thursday on what they thought was a water line and water equipment, but it was really gas. In the process, the gas line was damaged, causing the leak.The leak wasn't discovered until early Friday morning, hours after the hole was filled in.Most residents evacuated after a gas leak was detected in Lawrence in the same area of the city hit by multiple gas explosions last year were able to return to their homes Friday afternoon, officials said.The level one gas leak was discovered at 3:15 a.m. in the area of South Broadway and Salem Street. The area is serviced by Columbia Gas, the company involved in the Merrimack Valley gas line explosions on Sept. 13, 2018. Lawrence Mayor Dan Rivera said the affected area was Andover Street to Merrimack Street and Sanborn Street to Parker Street. Two schools were also closed Friday.Rivera said most evacuated residents would be able to return to their homes Friday afternoon. There may be delays for residents in the South Broadway area to return to their homes, officials said. A shelter would remain open Friday night for any residents who remain displaced. Rivera said the cause of the leak has been located and crews were working to repair it. Officials did not specify what caused the leak. Officials said there were no fires or explosions reported in connection with the leak and stressed it was an "isolated incident" and the leak posed "no public safety threat."Earlier Friday, Columbia Gas shut off in the affected area, and crews went going door-to-door to 146 customers.“Four months with no heat, no hot water and now they are banging on the doors and we are starting all over again,” said resident Lori Martin. Mark Kempic, president of Columbia Gas, said no company crews were working the area and the line is new.“This is not an over-pressurization situation. We have isolated the area. We installed critical valves last year that allowed us to isolate this area down to 146 meters. It is an isolated area. We have shut the gas off as of 5:08 a.m.," Kempic said.Kempic said the goal is to get into the homes in partnership with the fire department to make sure that no gas has migrated into the residences. Lawrence Fire Department Chief Brian Moriarty said there were no fires or explosions."We were able to shut it off, isolate it, ventilate it before anything tragic happened," Moriarty said. A shelter was opened at Arlington Middle School in Lawrence. The American Red Cross said it responded to the area to assist more than 100 residents who are affected by the evacuation.The Red Cross eventually closed the shelter after Columbia Gas put up residents in need of shelter in a hotel. The utility company said it filled 31 hotel rooms.One person who was evacuated suffered a heart attack and was taken to Lawrence General Hospital. The Wetherbee School and Lawrence Catholic Academy were closed for the day. “They need to step up. They really need to step up. This is crazy. I don’t know what it’s going to take. Money isn’t going to compensate me. For what? To be out here every year?” resident Lori Martin said. Andover Town Manager Andrew Flanagan said the leak "does not pose any identified threat to Andover public safety or to the gas distribution systems in town."Last year's series of explosions and fires were caused by a gas line that became overpressurized during a routine replacement of old cast iron pipelines in Lawrence.A teenager died, dozens of other people were injured and more than 100 structures were destroyed or damaged. Thousands of residents and businesses in Lawrence, Andover and North Andover were also left without natural gas service for heat and hot water for months in some cases.