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San Francisco Sues Federal Agency for Lax Oversight of PG&E Gas Line in San Bruno Explosion

<http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-14/san-francisco-sues-u-s-for-enforcement-failure-in-explosion-2-.html>

San Francisco Sues U.S. for Enforcement Failure in Explosion
By Joel Rosenblatt - Feb 14, 2012

San Francisco sued a federal agency for failing to enforce safety standards before the 2010 explosion of a PG&E Corp. (PCG) gas line in San Bruno, California, that killed eight people.

The lawsuit, filed today in federal court in San Francisco, claims the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ignored safety standards for more than 10 years before the explosion, City Attorney Dennis Herrera said in an e-mailed statement today.

"One of the most troubling findings to emerge in the 18 months since the San Bruno tragedy is that regulators were either asleep at the switch or far too cozy with the industry they're supposed to regulate," Herrera said in the statement.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which is part of the U.S. Transportation Department, "continues to flout recommendations" from the National Transportation Safety Board, which faulted PG&E and inadequate governmental enforcement for the explosion, Herrera said. The suit seeks a court order requiring the agency to enforce gas pipeline standards, Herrera said.

The U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is "committed to its core responsibility to protect people and the environment" and "devoted hundreds of hours of staff support and technical expertise agency" to understanding the San Bruno explosion, spokeswoman Jeannie Layson said in an e-mailed statement.

The agency will work with California and San Francisco officials, who "share a common responsibility to improve pipeline safety," Layson said.

A California Public Utilities Commission report last month determined that PG&E's violations of state and federal laws caused the natural-gas pipeline explosion that destroyed 38 homes. The commission has yet to vote on the report. PG&E said in a statement on Jan. 12 that "past gas operations practices were not what they should have been."

In August, the transportation safety board determined that San Francisco-based PG&E's inadequate quality controls coupled with deficient company management led to the explosion.

The case is City and County of San Francisco v. U.S. Department of Transportation, 12-cv-0711, U.S. District Court, Northern District of California (San Francisco).

To contact the reporter on this story: Joel Rosenblatt in San Francisco at jrosenblatt@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Hytha at mhytha@bloomberg.net.

Missing At-Risk Person

The Daly City Police Department request that citizens please be on the lookout for missing person Jaeson Chong, last seen Thursday, January 19 at 2 a.m. at 158 Crestwood Drive. Jaeson, 66 years old, suffered a stroke and cannot communicate. He was last seen wearing a blue jacket and tan pants. He is 5'5" and 160 pounds, with gray hair and brown eyes. Jaeson walks the area and is believed to be on foot with no money or ID. Residents should check their property and call 911 if the missing person is located or seen earlier in the area.

Deputy Kovach, OES17, San Mateo County Sheriff's Office.

Pacifica Firefighters Rescue Boy Trapped Under Boulder

Firefighters rescued a teenage boy who got trapped under a boulder that fell from a cliff in Pacifica on Saturday, officials said. Firefighters responded to a call for a cliff-side rescue near the 800 block of Palmetto Avenue at about 5 p.m., North County Fire Authority spokesman Matt Lucett said. The 13-year-old boy had been climbing on rocks near the beach when a large boulder came loose, trapping him and crushing his legs, Lucett said. Using hydraulic rescue equipment, firefighters took about 90 minutes to lift the boulder and extricate the boy. He was taken to San Francisco General Hospital with serious injuries.

CAMDEN SWITA

PACIFICA PATCH

City of Pacifica Offers Residents Free Sandbags

The City of Pacifica has sandbags and sand available at the Public Works Corporation Yard at 675 Oceana Boulevard from 7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. and behind the Linda Mar Fire Station at 1100 Linda Mar Boulevard (open 24 hours a day). Residents may be required to fill bags with sand. Maximum of 25 sandbags per resident. Please call 650-738-3760 for more information.

Jaywalking Fisherman Gets a Rude Warning from Pacifica Cop

I saw an incident on Saturday, December 3 that I thought was perhaps indicative of problems within the Pacifica Police Department. A fisherman was crossing the street in front of the Chit Chat Cafe on the pier carrying a crab net and fishing pole. A Pacifica police car came up on him on Beach Boulevard. Over his loudspeaker, the policeman said, "No walking in the street." The fisherman hurried to finish crossing and the police car sped on its way.

It seemed evident to me that the policeman was annoyed at having to wait for the fisherman to cross the street. The fisherman wasn't breaking any laws that I could see. It's a small thing, I know, but perhaps the police (or at least this policeman) could  stand to learn a little common courtesy, instead of treating everyone like lawbreakers.

JOHN K

Who Rules the World?

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Pacifica Historical Society: New Riptide Category, New Wiki

Welcome to a new category on our right sidebar: PACIFICA HISTORICAL SOCIETY. We dug through Riptide's archives from the past five years of our existence and found a bunch of fine items about PHS projects, personalities, and authors. So scroll down and visit our local historians to see what they are up to.

Pacifica Historical Society (PHS) has a wiki—a simple online database. Wiki software allows users to freely create and edit Web page content using any Web browser. The wiki makes it easier to document and share Pacifica history, from the Native American period to the present day. Help PHS preserve Pacifica history by sharing your stories and images. PHS welcomes additions and correction to existing pages, and suggestions for additional categories and pages. Email your contributions to Rick Della Santina: rick@pacificahistory.org. If you are interested in becoming a wiki editor, ask Rick for details.

CLICK HERE FOR PHS WIKI

Did You Feel the Earth Move (Twice)?

At 2:41 p.m. on October 20, an earthquake centered just east of Berkeley, of all places, was felt here in Pacifica and elsewhere around the San Francisco Bay Area. (Did you feel it? Leave a comment below.) Originally reported as 4.2 on the Richter scale, the quake later was downgraded to 4.0. Then at 8:16 p.m. an aftershock occurred at the same general epicenter and magnitude. The temblors came just three days after the 22nd anniversary of the 1989 Loma Prieta earthquake that devastated the San Francisco Bay Area.

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