jackie

March 11, 2011

Dear Friends,

Regardless of what PG&E does in the future, I can’t help but return to the tragedy of eight lives lost, the continued suffering of burn victims and 38 homes destroyed, all due to a failed PG&E natural gas transmission line. I remain fully committed to seeing that survivors are made as whole as possible. And I will not rest until I am confident that PG&E is fully engaged in providing natural gas in a safe and reliable manner throughout the Peninsula.

I write to update you on new developments on the investigation of the rupture, actions by state regulators and proposals by PG&E.

Unfortunately, PG&E wavers between making bold pro-consumer moves and those that may endanger public safety. Most troubling is the manner in which PG&E tried to apply the law in its favor. Specifically, in January 2011 the California Public Utilities Commissioner (CPUC) ordered PG&E to document the maximum allowable operating pressure (MAOP) on 1,805 miles of pipeline in the Bay Area. On March 15 PG&E reported that 425 miles of the 1,805 miles of pipeline subjected to the CPUC order have never been pressure tested. These older pipelines are called legacy pipelines because a 1962 state law setting mandatory pressure testing allowed pipelines installed prior to July 1961 to have their MAOP based on the highest operational pressure of the prior five years—these lines were “grandfathered” into compliance. PG&E contends that these untested pipelines don’t need testing documentation because they’ve been operating under the “grandfather” method;” i.e., the pipeline pressure has not exceeded the MAOP of the five prior years. Neither state nor federal regulators support this interpretation of the law and, as a result, the CPUC will consider fining PG&E at a March 24 hearing. I would remind PG&E that the San Bruno line that ruptured was a “grandfathered” pipeline.

On the positive side, I introduced HR 22 this year to require that automatic and remote shut-off valves be installed on pipelines, especially those near earthquake faults. The bill also requires natural gas operators to notify people who live within 2,000 feet of a gas transmission line. Rather than wait for the bill to be acted on, PG&E has committed to installing 12 automatic or remote shutoff valves in the Peninsula and it will begin informing customers by mail if they live within 2,200-feet of a transmission line. The letters are scheduled to be sent at the end of this month.

The National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) held a rare three-day hearing earlier this month on the rupture. Witnesses from regulatory agencies, trade associations and PG&E testified under oath. This was not a courtroom environment—there were no “gotcha” questions--instead, the NTSB asked fact-based questions. The responses will be used in the board’s final report due for completion by August 30, 2011.

A key moment occurred on day two of the hearing when a PG&E representative was recalled to the witness table to repeat an earlier response. He had been asked to identify the threats to the segment of the line prior to the rupture. He initially had responded with “corrosion, land movement and age of the pipe,” but subsequently admitted that PG&E didn’t consider the “age of the pipe to be a threat prior to the rupture. Pipeline age will be a factor in the future for PG&E, he said.

Ms. Deborah Hersman, chair of the NTSB, will be joining me in a tour of the San Bruno rupture site in early June of this year. She is intimately familiar with the area via video of the fire on September 9, 2010. I’d like her to see the area first-hand during the final stages of this federal investigation.

I am following the investigation closely since it is revealing shortcomings that will require legislative correction. I hope to introduce a bill soon to eliminate some of the vagueness and the loopholes that exist in current federal law covering natural gas operations.

PG&E has informed the CPUC that this year it will replace or test 152 miles of pipeline similar in construction to the pipeline that ruptured in San Bruno last year--about 40 miles of pipeline are in San Mateo County. It would appear that all but a few miles of pipeline will subjected to testing.

The test involves filling the pipeline with water and raising the pressure substantially higher than the pipeline’s normal operating pressure. The good news is that the replace or test actions will happen this year so that the pipelines in question will be ready for next winter. We’ve been fortunate to have a mild winter so far.

Finally, I will be holding a town hall in San Bruno in mid-April regarding post-rupture issues. I will be joined by regulators and PG&E.

Please check my website for updates on the town hall and pipeline issues in general and for all upcoming events like Telephone Town Halls and Job Hunters Boot Camps.

All the best,

jackie


Capitol Hill Office
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Phone: (650) 342-0300
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