The 2010 natural gas pipeline explosion in San Bruno, California resulted in eight fatalities and highlighted the urgent need for improved safety procedures in transporting natural gas.

 

Independent on-site public inspectors during the construction and testing of natural gas pipelines are the key to protecting the public against future explosions.

 

  

PECG Press Releases & Documents   PECG Public Comment on Proposed Federal Rules Regarding Older Natural Gas Pipelines 1/6/12 PECG Public Comment on Proposed Federal Rules Regarding Natural Gas Pipeline Inspection Practices 1/6/12 PECG Commends Creation of New Pipeline Safety Unit and More Inspectors at Public Utilities Commission, 07/11/11 Press Release Natural Gas Pipelines Need Heightened Safety, Public Inspectors, 06/15/11 Press Release PECG’s Public Comment Re. PHMSA Pipeline Safety Report, 06/15/11 News Articles PG&E Says Workers Lied About Inspections, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/14/12 Big Bill to Customers for PG&E Upgrades, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/12/12 San Bruno Blast: PG&E Denies Wrongdoing, San Francisco Chronicle, 09/26/12 CPUC Clears PG&E of Claims Regarding Unsafe Pipe Welds, San Francisco Examiner, 09/05/12 PG&E Ignored Gaps in Data, Engineer Says, San Francisco Chronicle, 07/31/12 PG&E Memo:  Downgrading Leaks Would Cut Costs,  San Francisco Chronicle, 07/16/12 Doubts Over PG&E Workers' Memory of Pipeline Test, San Francisco Chronicle, 07/05/12 PG&E Identifies 239 Pipelines at Risk of Failure, San Francisco Chronicle, 07/02/12  PG&E Says 1956 Pipe Test Led to San Bruno Disaster, San Francisco Chronicle, 06/26/12 Danger Underground? PG&E Gas Lines Investigated, KCRA.com, 05/02/12 PG&E, not Ratepayers, Should Fund Pipeline Safety, San Francisco Chronicle, 03/19/12 PG&E's Poor Record Keeping Poses Risk, Agency Says, San Francisco Chronicle, 03/13/12 Dan Morain: San Bruno Blast Puts PUC Chief in Spotlight, Sacramento Bee, 3/11/12 S.F. Sues to Force Feds to Improve Pipeline Safety, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/15/12 Welders Question PG&E's Gas Pipeline Work, San Francisco Chronicle, 2/08/12 CPUC Fines PG&E Millions for Safety Breaches, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/28/12 CPUC President Appoints Self in San Bruno Probe, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/26/12 John Roberts:  Profits Should Never Trump Public Safety, San Jose Mercury News, 1/23/12 PUC Audit Cries Out for Immediate Action, San Jose Mercury News Editorial, 1/14/12 PG&E Diverted Safety Money for Profit, Bonuses, San Francisco Chronicle, 1/13/12 Obama Signs Pipeline Safety Bill, San Francisco Chronicle, 01/04/12 Missing Maps Mean PG&E Lines Weren't Inspected, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/31/11 PG&E Incentive System Blamed for Leak Oversights, San Francisco Chronicle, 12/25/11 PG&E Admits Responsibility for Deadly San Bruno Blast, CSB San Francisco, 12/13/11 John Roberts: Pipeline Safety Requires More Inspectors on the Job, San Jose Mercury News, 11/13/11 Major PG&E Gas Line Ruptures During Hydro Test, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/25/11 State" PG&E Could Have 'Junked' Pipe in its System, San Francisco Chronicle, 10/20/11 Blast Survivors Launch Advocacy Group, Associated Press, 09/08/11 Pipe Regulators' Draft Found to Paint Rosy Picture, San Francisco Chronicle, 09/06/11 San Bruno Gas Explosion and Investigation, San Francisco Chronicle, September 2011 PG&E Fires Four Inspectors, San Jose Mercury News, 09/02/11 PG&E Missed Opportunity to Head Off the Disaster, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/28/11 A Year After San Bruno Blast, Are We Safer?, San Jose Mercury News, 08/28/11 Federal Gas Pipeline Proposal Could Hit PG&E Hard, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/25/11 PUC Chief Promises Stricter Oversight of Pipelines, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/18/11 PG&E Still Missing Key Documents About San Bruno, San Francisco Chronicle, 08/16/11 PUC Orders Excavation to Inspect More San Bruno Pipe Welds, San Jose Mercury News, 07/28/11 On House Energy Panel, A Rare Moment of Bipartisanship, The Hill, 07/27/11 SF Threatens Suit Over PG&E, Call Regulations Lax, San Francisco Chronicle, 07/15/11 In Court, PG&E Deflects Blame for San Bruno Blast, San Francisco Chronicle, 07/12/11 CPUC to Add 9 People to Safety Staff, Mercury News, 07/01/11 PG&E: Inspections of Underground Electrical Facilities were Falsified, Mercury News, 07/01/11 San Bruno Lawmaker Demands Answers of PG&E, Mercury News, 06/23/11 New Documents Confirm PG&E Crews Installed Pipeline That Exploded in San Bruno, Killing Eight, Mercury News, 06/22/11 Editorial: CPUC Sends Message on Gas Pipeline Safety, Sacramento Bee, 06/22/11 Criminal Investigation Opens in San Bruno Blast, San Francisco Examiner, 06/14/11 Blue-ribbon Blast Panel Rips PG&E and State PUC, San Francisco Chronicle, 06/10/11 Calif. Pipe That Blew Had Prior Leak, Associated Press, 06/08/11 US DOT Chief: New Pipeline Safety Rules Due In August, Wall Street Journal, 05/19/11 Feds Tour Site of Fatal Calif. Pipeline Blast, Mercury News, 05/19/11

Documents Read documents related to the National Pipeline Safety Action Plan: CPUC Press Release: Former U.S. Senator George Mitchell Appointed as Mediator for Negotiations Over PG&E San Bruno Pipeline Explosion Fines and Remedies, 10/15/12 CPUC Elevates Pipeline Safety with Creation of New Risk Assessment Unit and More Inspectors, 07/07/11 The State of the National Pipeline Infrastructure: A Preliminary Report, April 2011 Proceedings from the National Pipeline Safety Forum, 04/18/11 U.S Transportation Secretary Ray LaHood Announces Pipeline Safety Action Plan, 04/04/11    Reports Read reports related to the San Bruno pipeline explosion: NTSB Final Report on Natural Gas Pipeline Rupture and Fire, San Bruno, California, 9/26/11 Independent Review Panel Report on San Bruno Pipeline Explosion, 06/09/11   Legislation Lawmakers at both the Federal and State level are working to improve pipeline safety.  PECG continues to encourage policymakers at both levels of government to include the need for public inspection in any comprehensive legislation. Federal H.R. 2845: The Pipeline Safety, Regulatory Certainty, and Job Creation Act  California Assembly Bill 578 (Hill) Assembly Bill 838 (Hill) Assembly Bill 1160 (Hill)