San Bruno | SEONewsWire.net

San Bruno Officials Seeks Settlement with PG&E Over 2010 Pipeline Explosion

admin — Fri, 29 Nov 2013 12:31:48 +0000

City officials from San Bruno, Calif., have expressed their desire to resume settlement talks with Pacific Gas & Electric Company over the 2010 explosion of a natural gas pipeline in the San Francisco suburb that killed eight people.

State regulators are nearing a decision on a proposed $2.25 billion penalty for the company. Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Anthony Earley said in an interview in August that a fine of that size could bankrupt the utility. San Bruno officials say PG&E’s own expert witness refuted that idea.

Earley, who became CEO in 2011, canceled a meeting planned with city officials for April 30, 2013, as his office expressed “a level of dissatisfaction” with statements the city made to the press, according to City Manager Connie Jackson.

Jackson said that the time for settlement talks is running out, as the administrative law judges in charge of the penalty process are nearing a conclusion.

San Bruno has already received a $50 million trust and $70 million in restitution for the blast, according to PG&E spokeswoman Brittany Chord.

To complicate matters, corrosion was recently discovered on a pipeline beneath San Carlos, some 15 miles from San Bruno. Jackson said the discovery shows that PG&E has not learned the lessons of the fatal 2010 blast.

Chord said the San Carlos line is operating within safety parameters established following the San Bruno incident.

In a recent interview, San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane said that PG&E has to pay. “And it has to hurt,” he added.

We Focus our Practice Exclusively on Wrongful Death and Critical Injury Cases – Contact a personal injury lawyer at The Lietz Law Firm by calling 866-554-1238 or learn more by visiting http://www.lietzlaw.com/.

The post San Bruno Officials Seeks Settlement with PG&E Over 2010 Pipeline Explosion first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.

Fuel Pipeline Explodes Beneath Iowa Corn Field

admin — Sun, 29 Sep 2013 09:51:54 +0000

A fuel pipeline explosion is always a serious incident. Each one is a reminder of our nation’s need to move quickly to replace, repair and upgrade our vast underground infrastructure of pipelines. Moreover, they are often accompanied by catastrophic loss of life and/or property. It is fortunate, then, that the only damage caused by the most recent explosion was to a field of corn.

On a recent Monday at about 11:15 p.m., an underground pipeline carrying a mixture of propane and ethane exploded in a cornfield in Whiteside County in western Illinois. The flames shot hundreds of feet into the sky, and a 15-foot crater was left in the ground, but no injuries were reported. Dozens of nearby residents had to evacuate their homes as a safety precaution. The flames were visible for miles, and the sound was like a jet engine, according to eyewitnesses.

The pipeline’s owner, Enterprise Products Partners, said it was too soon to know what caused the blast, but the company was investigating the accident along with the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Just a few months ago, a pipeline exploded in a Louisiana neighborhood, destroying a mobile home. That home was empty, and nearby residents escaped injury as well. Victims of pipeline explosions are not always so lucky. In 2010, eight people perished in an explosion in San Bruno, Calif. Pipeline operators and governments at all levels need to work together to make U.S. pipelines as safe as they can be before another disaster happens.

The post Fuel Pipeline Explodes Beneath Iowa Corn Field first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.

Commission Recommends Two Billion Dollar Fine Against PG&E for 2010 Pipeline Explosion

admin — Thu, 13 Jun 2013 08:35:35 +0000

The California Public Utilities Commission recently announced a recommended fine against Pacific Gas & Electric Co. in connection with a 2010 gas pipeline explosion: $2.25 billion. According to officials, that would be the largest fine ever assessed by a state regulatory agency. The commission said the fine should be shouldered by the company’s shareholders, not its customers.

On September 9, 2010, a gas pipeline exploded in San Bruno, a suburb of San Francisco. The blast killed eight, injured dozens, and destroyed some 38 homes.

In 2011, the National Transportation Safety Board ruled unanimously that the explosion was caused by a “litany of failures” by the company as well as insufficient oversight by safety officials.

The City of San Bruno issued a separate recommendation that PG&E be fined not less than $1.25 billion, plus pay at least $1 billion toward inspecting and upgrading its pipelines. PG&E is expected to file its own proposal soon, and a utilities commission judge will issue a final ruling on how much the company will pay later this year.

The utilities commission’s recommendation calls for the entire $2.25 billion to be spent on inspecting, upgrading, and replacing hundred of miles of gas pipelines rather than being added to the state’s general revenue fund.

An attorney for consumer advocate group Utility Reform network pointed out that the required infrastructure investments will lessen the impact of the fine on PG&E.

“This is a very big penalty, but it’s not quite as big as it seems when you account for the tax benefits PG&E would accrue,” Marcel Hawiger said.

The post Commission Recommends Two Billion Dollar Fine Against PG&E for 2010 Pipeline Explosion first appeared on SEONewsWire.net.