ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE WORK
GROUP
PRELIMINARY SUPPLEMENTAL REPORT
TO
THE ATTORNEY GENERAL OF THE STATE OF
CALIFORNIA KAMALA HARRIS
BY HON. NATE HOLDEN, TRANSITION
TEAM MEMBER
SAN BRUNO GAS ERUPTION
The
San Bruno gas eruption of September 9th 2010 that left 8 people
dead, dozens injured and rendered 55 homes uninhabitable (mostly destroyed), far
exceeds the $100
million pledge Pacific Gas &
Electric has made for the damages to the City of San Bruno. The San Bruno pipeline was constructed
in 1956, 55 years ago. During that
period of time, the pipeline was subjected to a series of earthquakes in that
area. The most serious earthquake,
the Loma Pierta quake, measured a 6.9.
The San Andreas Fault, which triggered the Loma Pierta quake, runs directly
underneath of the City
of San Bruno.
Since
1956, the San Bruno pipeline has been subjected to many earthquakes, which over
time caused fatigue within the pipeline.
Because of ageing and periodic displacement of the pipeline, it was
necessary to maintain a maintenance program, which would identify problems in
the pipeline that need to be repaired.
It appears that PUC and of course PG&E did not have an agreed upon
maintenance schedule for this pipeline or perhaps any other pipeline in the
State of California. The Attorney
General can correct this problem by supporting legislation, which will mandate
periodic inspection of all pipelines in the State of California. The legislation would require that PUC
supervise the inspection program.
During
the original construction of the pipeline there was faulty welding (NTSB
Report) in the longitudinal and circumferential girth welds. Figures 1-3 show that there are defects
in the welding of the pipes. To me,
this means that there are defects such as these in all of PG&EÕs
pipelines. This is a good case for
the Attorney General, as these examples
only scratch the surface of what is likely to keep occurring in the State of
California. I strongly
recommend that the Attorney General, Kamala Harris, immediately direct the PUC
to identify every PG&E pipeline in the State of California and require an
immediate inspection of those pipelines for defective welds. ItÕs essential that the Attorney General
take action right away. The AG must
be aware that pipelines that were built more than 50 years ago are exploding
all around the country, costing lives and destroying property. Recent incidents in late 2010 and 2011 include
the explosions in Michigan (Wayne
2 dead, 2 injured), Philadelphia, (Tacony 1 dead, 5 injured), and Pennsylvania (Allentown
3 dead, 2 missing). We must not
wait for another explosion to occur in California before the Attorney General
acts.
On
every occasion where there is a need to protect the public health and the
environment, I was pro-active. In 1987, I took legislative action to oppose the
Southern California Pipeline System (SCPS), a joint venture between ARCO,
Chevron, Texaco and Shell. The
other members of the Los Angeles City Council joined me in stopping the
construction of the SCPS (Council
File: 85-1359-S2 Angeles Pipeline).
Attorney General Kamala Harris,
Transition Team Environmental Justice – Holden / Datig
02.09.11
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