SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - State regulators might finally penalize PG&E $26 million for a deadly pipeline explosion that occurred nearly two years before the blast in San Bruno.
On Christmas Eve 2008, a pipeline exploded in the Sacramento suburb of Rancho Cordova, killing one person and injuring five others. A federal investigation into the incident revealed that PG&E was in violation of several safety requirements.
Despite those findings, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) only opened a penalty case against PG&E in December 2010, after the San Bruno explosion had brought pipeline safety under close public scrutiny.
Now, CPUC staff has announced a settlement that would fine the utility $26 million in shareholder funds for its failure to comply with safety regulations. The settlement must still be approved by the full commission.
Showing posts with label gas pipeline regulation. Show all posts
Showing posts with label gas pipeline regulation. Show all posts
Thursday, June 30, 2011
Monday, October 18, 2010
California PUC regulators refuse to fine PG&E for violations
SAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - California regulators did not levy a single fine against Pacific Gas and Electric Co. for violations of natural gas safety laws during a six-year period in which the utility racked up more such infractions than the rest of the state's major pipeline operators combined, according to a San Francisco Chronicle records review.
PG&E, which operates 42 percent of the state's gas pipeline mileage, accounted for almost 60 percent of the probable violations of federal safety laws that regulators found from 2004 through 2009, according to records from the California Public Utilities Commission.
The commission, which enforces the gas safety laws in California on behalf of the federal government, has taken a largely hands-off attitude toward PG&E - even in the face of apparently serious violations.
The commission has yet to open an official investigation into a fatal gas explosion in December 2008 in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, an accident that federal investigators blamed in part on PG&E's failure to act on previous safety warnings.
The state agency is now forming a panel to conduct an independent review of the PG&E pipeline blast on Sept. 9 that killed eight people in San Bruno. The explosion's cause has not been determined.
The commission's recent history suggests penalties are unlikely.
Richard Clark, head of consumer protection and safety for the commission, said it's been at least seven years since his agency fined PG&E - or any other utility operating gas pipelines in the state. He said the industry has a history of fixing its problems voluntarily.
"We operate under the assumption they are interested in having a safely operated system," Clark said. "If we saw a trend that gave us concerns in terms of what we are finding out there, we would take enforcement action."
Clark added, however, that "we don't see problems that warrant that level of enforcement actions. We don't see it. This is an anomalous event that took place in San Bruno."
PG&E, which operates 42 percent of the state's gas pipeline mileage, accounted for almost 60 percent of the probable violations of federal safety laws that regulators found from 2004 through 2009, according to records from the California Public Utilities Commission.
The commission, which enforces the gas safety laws in California on behalf of the federal government, has taken a largely hands-off attitude toward PG&E - even in the face of apparently serious violations.
The commission has yet to open an official investigation into a fatal gas explosion in December 2008 in Rancho Cordova, Sacramento County, an accident that federal investigators blamed in part on PG&E's failure to act on previous safety warnings.
The state agency is now forming a panel to conduct an independent review of the PG&E pipeline blast on Sept. 9 that killed eight people in San Bruno. The explosion's cause has not been determined.
The commission's recent history suggests penalties are unlikely.
Richard Clark, head of consumer protection and safety for the commission, said it's been at least seven years since his agency fined PG&E - or any other utility operating gas pipelines in the state. He said the industry has a history of fixing its problems voluntarily.
"We operate under the assumption they are interested in having a safely operated system," Clark said. "If we saw a trend that gave us concerns in terms of what we are finding out there, we would take enforcement action."
Clark added, however, that "we don't see problems that warrant that level of enforcement actions. We don't see it. This is an anomalous event that took place in San Bruno."
Friday, June 25, 2010
50 members of Congress ask State's Clinton to delay Keystone XL approval
WASHINGTON - In a letter to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, some 50 members of the U.S. House of Representatives said the agency "must determine whether the project is in the national interest" in terms of "clean energy and climate change priorities" before rubber-stamping it.
As of June 23, the letter had been signed by 50 members of the House, many of whom sit on the Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure committees. All are Democrats.
Tar sands mining emits three times more greenhouse gas pollution than traditional oil, the letter stated.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), one of the lead signatories, further said the pipeline, which is slated to pass over the nation's largest underground aquifer, would leave "irreparable" environmental scars in its wake.
"This poses a direct threat to America’s heartland," Cohen told reporters. "It cuts through sensitive ecosystems, crosses rivers, invades ranches and farms and could scar this land forever."
On a conference call with reporters on June 23, Rep. Cohen asked jokingly whether "XL" stands for "extra long" or "extra-large."
"Right now we don't need to be doing extra long or extra large pipelines, particularly with what we've seen in the Gulf," said the Tennessee politician, referring to the ongoing BP oil spill off the Louisiana coast.
"As oil continues to pour into the Gulf, we should take a step back and reconsider the wisdom of trusting these oil companies out to make a profit and with no thoughts of anything but oil, oil, oil.
TransCanada, which is building the Keystone and Keystone XL pipelines to transport tar sands bitumen to U.S. refineries, has been pressing for presidential approval of the $12 billion Keystone XL Pipeline, which would export up to 900,000 b/d and double U.S. consumption of the controversial fuel source.
Two other pipelines have already been okayed by the State Department - Keystone , which will eventually carry crude to Cushing, Okla., and the Alberta Clipper, that runs from Canada to Superior, Wis.
If all three get built, tar sands would make up 15 percent of U.S. fuel supply, up from four percent today.
Turning tar sands into usable oil involves mining bitumen, a tar-like petroleum that's buried beneath the boreal forests in Alberta. Extraction requires substantial energy and water and creates sprawling tailing ponds that some analysts estimate are leaking three million gallons of contaminated waste into the ground each day, endangering wildlife and perhaps public health.
To read the rest of this story, please visit www.energypipelinenews.com
As of June 23, the letter had been signed by 50 members of the House, many of whom sit on the Energy and Commerce, Natural Resources and Transportation and Infrastructure committees. All are Democrats.
Tar sands mining emits three times more greenhouse gas pollution than traditional oil, the letter stated.
Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.), one of the lead signatories, further said the pipeline, which is slated to pass over the nation's largest underground aquifer, would leave "irreparable" environmental scars in its wake.
"This poses a direct threat to America’s heartland," Cohen told reporters. "It cuts through sensitive ecosystems, crosses rivers, invades ranches and farms and could scar this land forever."
On a conference call with reporters on June 23, Rep. Cohen asked jokingly whether "XL" stands for "extra long" or "extra-large."
"Right now we don't need to be doing extra long or extra large pipelines, particularly with what we've seen in the Gulf," said the Tennessee politician, referring to the ongoing BP oil spill off the Louisiana coast.
"As oil continues to pour into the Gulf, we should take a step back and reconsider the wisdom of trusting these oil companies out to make a profit and with no thoughts of anything but oil, oil, oil.
TransCanada, which is building the Keystone and Keystone XL pipelines to transport tar sands bitumen to U.S. refineries, has been pressing for presidential approval of the $12 billion Keystone XL Pipeline, which would export up to 900,000 b/d and double U.S. consumption of the controversial fuel source.
Two other pipelines have already been okayed by the State Department - Keystone , which will eventually carry crude to Cushing, Okla., and the Alberta Clipper, that runs from Canada to Superior, Wis.
If all three get built, tar sands would make up 15 percent of U.S. fuel supply, up from four percent today.
Turning tar sands into usable oil involves mining bitumen, a tar-like petroleum that's buried beneath the boreal forests in Alberta. Extraction requires substantial energy and water and creates sprawling tailing ponds that some analysts estimate are leaking three million gallons of contaminated waste into the ground each day, endangering wildlife and perhaps public health.
To read the rest of this story, please visit www.energypipelinenews.com
Thursday, May 13, 2010
Minnesota stiffens gas pipeline rules following sewer line blast
MINNEAPOLIS, Minn. - State safety officials on May 10 issued new requirements, effective immediately, for documenting the safe installation of gas lines.
The requirements from the Department of Public Safety Office of Pipeline Safety were sent to all 57 gas distribution operators in Minnesota three months after a contractor hit an Xcel Energy pipeline and caused a blast that destroyed a house in St. Paul, Minn.
Pipeline safety director Jerry Rosendahl said on May 10 that Minnesota is the first state to issue such requirements.
Operators who ignore the rules are subject to citations and fines, Rosendahl said.
The requirements are intended to prevent "cross-boring," where underground gas pipelines intersect and puncture privately owned sewer pipes.
On Feb. 1, a roto-rooter contractor punctured a natural gas pipeline that had been inadvertently installed through a sewer service lateral.
The gas escaped into a home and ignited, causing an explosion and fire that destroyed the home.
The requirements from the Department of Public Safety Office of Pipeline Safety were sent to all 57 gas distribution operators in Minnesota three months after a contractor hit an Xcel Energy pipeline and caused a blast that destroyed a house in St. Paul, Minn.
Pipeline safety director Jerry Rosendahl said on May 10 that Minnesota is the first state to issue such requirements.
Operators who ignore the rules are subject to citations and fines, Rosendahl said.
The requirements are intended to prevent "cross-boring," where underground gas pipelines intersect and puncture privately owned sewer pipes.
On Feb. 1, a roto-rooter contractor punctured a natural gas pipeline that had been inadvertently installed through a sewer service lateral.
The gas escaped into a home and ignited, causing an explosion and fire that destroyed the home.
Friday, January 15, 2010
FERC said ready to approve Ruby and Bison gas pipelines in West
BILLINGS, Mont. - Federal regulators are recommending approval of two natural gas pipelines that could increase fuel shipments from the Rockies to population centers in the Midwest and on the West Coast.
The Rockies hold an estimated 375 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, almost as much as the Gulf of Mexico.
Combined, the two latest proposed pipelines would move almost two billion cubic feet of natural gas a day.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to make final decisions on the Bison and Ruby pipelines in the next two to three months, said agency spokeswoman Tamara Young-Allen. Construction could begin by spring.
Building the pipelines - each hundreds of miles long - entails crossing more than 1,200 streams and other bodies of water and disturbing thousands of acres of undeveloped land, according to recent environmental studies by the commission's staff.
TransCanada's $610 million, 310-mile Bison pipeline would run from Gillette, Wyo., through southeastern Montana to Morton County, N.D. From there, the line would feed into other pipelines serving the Midwest.
El Paso Corp.'s $3 billion Ruby pipeline would run from Opal, Wyo., to Malin, Ore., passing through Utah and Nevada along a 675-mile route.
Environmentalists have singled out the Ruby pipeline as particularly damaging because of its route through the remote wilds of northern Nevada. Also, horse advocates claim the project is prompting the removal of wild mustang herds along the proposed route by the Bureau of Land Management.
But commission staff concluded the environmental effects would be outweighed by the economic benefits of the pipelines, including roughly $30 million in annual property taxes. They also said the routes chosen minimized harm to the environment.
In Wyoming, officials have pushed hard for the projects. In December, they approved a state investment in Ruby of up to $300 million.
The Ruby project is intended to fill a gas supply gap on the West Coast as imports from Canada taper off, while Bison would give energy producers in Wyoming's remote Powder River Basin new access to markets, company officials said.
That could give producers across the Rockies opportunities to get better prices for their fuel.
The Rockies hold an estimated 375 trillion cubic feet of natural gas, almost as much as the Gulf of Mexico.
Combined, the two latest proposed pipelines would move almost two billion cubic feet of natural gas a day.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission is expected to make final decisions on the Bison and Ruby pipelines in the next two to three months, said agency spokeswoman Tamara Young-Allen. Construction could begin by spring.
Building the pipelines - each hundreds of miles long - entails crossing more than 1,200 streams and other bodies of water and disturbing thousands of acres of undeveloped land, according to recent environmental studies by the commission's staff.
TransCanada's $610 million, 310-mile Bison pipeline would run from Gillette, Wyo., through southeastern Montana to Morton County, N.D. From there, the line would feed into other pipelines serving the Midwest.
El Paso Corp.'s $3 billion Ruby pipeline would run from Opal, Wyo., to Malin, Ore., passing through Utah and Nevada along a 675-mile route.
Environmentalists have singled out the Ruby pipeline as particularly damaging because of its route through the remote wilds of northern Nevada. Also, horse advocates claim the project is prompting the removal of wild mustang herds along the proposed route by the Bureau of Land Management.
But commission staff concluded the environmental effects would be outweighed by the economic benefits of the pipelines, including roughly $30 million in annual property taxes. They also said the routes chosen minimized harm to the environment.
In Wyoming, officials have pushed hard for the projects. In December, they approved a state investment in Ruby of up to $300 million.
The Ruby project is intended to fill a gas supply gap on the West Coast as imports from Canada taper off, while Bison would give energy producers in Wyoming's remote Powder River Basin new access to markets, company officials said.
That could give producers across the Rockies opportunities to get better prices for their fuel.
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