Skip to main content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Investigations

Date

Pipeline Radiograph Technician Charged with Violating Pipeline Safety Laws and Making False Statements

On October 9, 2013, Edna S. Stoner, Radiograph Technician, was charged in U.S. District Court, Urbana, Illinois, with violating pipeline safety laws and making false statements.

The Pipeline and Hazardous Material Safety Administration (PHMSA) has jurisdiction over interstate natural and hazardous liquid gas pipelines. The federal pipeline safety standards and regulations include the requirements for pipeline materials, design, construction, testing, operation, and maintenance. Nondestructive testing to confirm the integrity of the welding process is required on pipes over six inches in diameter, which included several sections of the REX pipeline.

From about June 2008 to February 2009, Stoner falsified that welds at the Blue Mound, Illinois, compressor station on the Rockies Express Pipeline (REX) had been radiographed and were acceptable as passing, when all of the welds had not been tested.

PHMSA and the U.S. Attorney's Office/Environmental Crimes Section, Washington, DC, assisted in the investigation.

Note: Indictments, informations, and criminal complaints are only accusations by the Government. All defendants are presumed innocent unless and until proven guilty.