WESTBROOK – The Maine Public Utilities Commission is blaming Unitil for the gas line ruptured in downtown Westbrook Monday during highway reconstruction.

“The line had not been marked by the utility,” said Evelyn deFrees, a spokeswoman for the commission. “It’s a pretty clear-cut case.”

A natural gas supplier, Unitil was once known locally as Northern Utilities. Investigation of the incident is continuing and penalties range can from $500 to $5,000 per violation, according to deFrees.

No one from Unitil could be reached for comment by American Journal deadline Wednesday.

Westbrook Fire Chief Mike Pardue said Monday a construction crew struck a gas service line that went into 39 Mechanic St., the former Sebago Moc shoe shop, at the corner of Mechanic Street and William Clarke Drive, which is under reconstruction. R.J. Grondin & Sons of Gorham is the project contractor.

“The main 6-inch line is spewing gas. It’s a high-pressure main,” Pardue said at the scene.

According to Westbrook dispatch, utility workers stopped the gas leak at 2:01 p.m. about one hour after the rupture was reported at 1:07 p.m. No injuries were reported and the highway reopened.

Pardue said the service line had separated from the main gas line in the mishap.

The excavator gave proper notice to Dig Safe of its intent to dig, deFrees said. Dig Safe is a communication network, assisting excavators, contractors and property owners by notifying member utilities of proposed excavation projects.

“It’s clear the utility violated the damage prevention law,” said deFrees, who added investigators had already filed a report. “There will be a notice of violation.

“The utility and R.J. Grondin & Sons strive to locate all these lines accurately,” Kevin Murphy, director of safety for Grondin, said Tuesday. “Some old ones are challenging to locate.”

“We’re glad no one was hurt,” Murphy said.

Claude Gaudet, property manager for T & T Development, which owns the former shoe shop building, said it housed six businesses.

“Westbrook has a good response. They’re great at this stuff,” he said.

Ben O’Brien of CitiFinancial, a business there, said gas had been smelled inside the building.

“We hit the fire alarm and got out of there,” O’Brien said.

The gas leak re-routed traffic from William Clarke Drive through downtown Westbrook.

“What a mess,” Capt. Gene Dunn of Westbrook Fire Department said.

Lt. Chuck Jarrett, fire investigator at Westbrook Fire Department, said 13 buildings were evacuated.

The evacuation sparked an outcry from one downtown business owner.

Pete Profenno, owner of Profenno’s Bar & Grill at 934 Main St., was on the sidewalk Monday near his business. Profenno was visibly upset because evacuation closed his business while others nearby remained open. Profenno said Friendly Discount, which is a business next door to his, and the gas station across Main Street, along with businesses and apartment residents in Profenno’s building at 918 Main St. weren’t evacuated.

“If it’s that serious, get people out, not one or two businesses,” Profenno said. “Do it right or don’t do it at all.”

As a precautionary step, Pardue said, the fire department stood by with water lines loaded. Firefighters from Gorham and Scarborough also responded to the scene.

Monday’s leak marked another in a line of gas pipe ruptures that have plagued Westbrook in recent years. In October 2007, construction crews twice struck abandoned gas lines in separate incidents within a week on Speirs Street.

Then, a telephone utility crew struck a gas line at the corner of Spring Street and William Clark Drive in February 2008.

In a Gorham gas line rupture in February 2007 involving Maine Natural Gas, the Maine Public Utilities Commission did not fault Grondin when its excavator struck an unmarked gas pipe during road reconstruction on School Street. The incident evacuated several University of Southern Maine buildings and private homes besides closing the road.

In a case unrelated to Monday’s incident, the Maine Public Utilities Commission wants Unitil to replace 65 miles of cast iron pipes and 10 miles of bare steel natural gas pipes in Westbrook and Portland with polyethelene plastic or protected steel pipe.

The commission staff wants the pipes replaced in a 12-year program, while the company is proposing a 15- to 20-year replacement program. The Maine Public Utilities Commission is expected to issue a decision by the end of this month.

The original gas pipe systems were installed from the late 1800s to the early 1900s to carry manufactured coal gas. Most of the remaining cast iron pipes are more than 70 years old, a commission statement said.

Capt. Gene Dunn of Westbrook Fire Department stands by at a fire hydrant on Main Street. (Staff photo by Robert Lowell)