Post by doctorwho on Sept 11, 2010 20:33:38 GMT -6
Calif. gas pipe ranked high risk
By LISA LEFF and GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press Writers Lisa Leff And Garance Burke, Associated Press Writers – 9 mins ago
SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The section of gas pipeline that ruptured and exploded in a suburban San Francisco neighborhood, killing four and injuring nearly 60 others, was ranked as high risk because it ran through a highly populated area, state and federal authorities said Saturday.
One of the victims killed in the inferno Thursday worked for the commission reviewing Pacific Gas & Electric's investment plans to upgrade its natural gas lines, including another risky section of the same pipeline within miles of her home, a colleague confirmed.
Longtime California Public Utilities Commission analyst Jacqueline Greig and her 13-year-old daughter Janessa died in the massive blast, which left a crater near their house and laid waste to dozens of 1960s-era homes in the hills overlooking San Francisco Bay.
Jessica Morales, 20, was also killed in the explosion and fire. One other victim found earlier hasn't been identified, and authorities were trying to identify remains found Saturday morning.
Five people were still missing from the blast, San Bruno police chief Neil Telford said Saturday afternoon.
Greig spent part of the summer evaluating PG&E's expansion plans and investment proposals to replace out-of-date pipes, as part of the utility's overall bid to raise consumers' rates, co-worker Pearlie Sabino said.
Sabino and Greig were members of a small commission team that advocates for consumer and environmental protections pertaining to natural gas.
"It's just so shocking because she was one of the ones who was most closely involved with this kind of work," said Mike Florio, an attorney with the San Francisco advocacy group The Utility Reform Network who worked with Greig. "Little did we know that pipe was near Jackie's own neighborhood."
Among the paperwork PG&E submitted for hearings with regulators was a document ranking a section of the same gas line about two and half miles from the blast as within "the top 100 highest risk line sections" in the utility's entire service territory, documents show.
The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration classified the 30-inch diameter transmission line, which ran for about a mile and a half near Greig's home, as a "high consequence area" requiring more stringent inspections called integrity assessments, agency spokeswoman Julia Valentine said.
Nationwide, only about 7 percent of gas lines have that classification, she said.
"Aren't we lucky - we are on the top 7% for the ones by our school"
The state commission gave that section of pipe the same classification and had conducted audits on that stretch, spokeswoman Terrie Prosper said. PG&E also had conducted leak surveys, evaluations and patrols on the gas line, she said.
The segment of pipe that blew out onto the street was 28 feet long, and the explosion sent that piece of pipe about 100 feet, National Transportation Safety Board vice chairman Christopher Hart said. The blast created a crater 167 feet long and 26 feet wide.
Hart said investigators would look into why that segment of pipe was made up of other, smaller segments of pipe. Reams of data and records have been requested from PG&E, Hart said.
NTSB has asked the utility company, as well as other state and federal agencies, to refuse to release any information about the pipe's history and whether PG&E had received complaints while the investigation is ongoing, he said.
Saturday, Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger travels in Asia, directed the commission to perform integrity assessments of all pipeline segments located in the area.
Maldonado also ordered further inspections and surveys for high consequence areas, including a detailed inspection of three transmission lines that run through San Mateo County.
A group of local, state and federal officials toured the damaged area Saturday and described a ghost-town full of remnants of cars melted in driveways and pieces of houses, some left with just the chimney standing.
Besides the 40 homes leveled by the blast, seven were severely damaged, while dozens of other houses suffered less severe damage in the fire that sped across 15 acres.
Some residents were authorized to enter a limited area Saturday to retrieve belongings. Residents of 315 homes that have been off-limits since the blaze will be allowed to return for good starting around noon on Sunday, San Bruno City Manager Connie Jackson said.
Residents of another 10 damaged homes will be allowed in just long enough to retrieve some belongings. Residents of 49 homes that were either leveled or damaged so severely they aren't safe to occupy will have to wait several more days while the cause of the blast remains under investigation.
Michelle Salinda's home was destroyed in the fire, but her husband, Ricardo, and 15-year-old son were able to escape. She said she wants to return to what's left of her home to find closure.
"I can't wait to see it, even though it's all destroyed, because I know that's where I am going to start again," she said.
___
Contributing to this report were video journalist Haven Daley in San Bruno and John S. Marshall and Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco. Burke reported from Fresno, Calif.
By LISA LEFF and GARANCE BURKE, Associated Press Writers Lisa Leff And Garance Burke, Associated Press Writers – 9 mins ago
SAN BRUNO, Calif. – The section of gas pipeline that ruptured and exploded in a suburban San Francisco neighborhood, killing four and injuring nearly 60 others, was ranked as high risk because it ran through a highly populated area, state and federal authorities said Saturday.
One of the victims killed in the inferno Thursday worked for the commission reviewing Pacific Gas & Electric's investment plans to upgrade its natural gas lines, including another risky section of the same pipeline within miles of her home, a colleague confirmed.
Longtime California Public Utilities Commission analyst Jacqueline Greig and her 13-year-old daughter Janessa died in the massive blast, which left a crater near their house and laid waste to dozens of 1960s-era homes in the hills overlooking San Francisco Bay.
Jessica Morales, 20, was also killed in the explosion and fire. One other victim found earlier hasn't been identified, and authorities were trying to identify remains found Saturday morning.
Five people were still missing from the blast, San Bruno police chief Neil Telford said Saturday afternoon.
Greig spent part of the summer evaluating PG&E's expansion plans and investment proposals to replace out-of-date pipes, as part of the utility's overall bid to raise consumers' rates, co-worker Pearlie Sabino said.
Sabino and Greig were members of a small commission team that advocates for consumer and environmental protections pertaining to natural gas.
"It's just so shocking because she was one of the ones who was most closely involved with this kind of work," said Mike Florio, an attorney with the San Francisco advocacy group The Utility Reform Network who worked with Greig. "Little did we know that pipe was near Jackie's own neighborhood."
Among the paperwork PG&E submitted for hearings with regulators was a document ranking a section of the same gas line about two and half miles from the blast as within "the top 100 highest risk line sections" in the utility's entire service territory, documents show.
The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration classified the 30-inch diameter transmission line, which ran for about a mile and a half near Greig's home, as a "high consequence area" requiring more stringent inspections called integrity assessments, agency spokeswoman Julia Valentine said.
Nationwide, only about 7 percent of gas lines have that classification, she said.
"Aren't we lucky - we are on the top 7% for the ones by our school"
The state commission gave that section of pipe the same classification and had conducted audits on that stretch, spokeswoman Terrie Prosper said. PG&E also had conducted leak surveys, evaluations and patrols on the gas line, she said.
The segment of pipe that blew out onto the street was 28 feet long, and the explosion sent that piece of pipe about 100 feet, National Transportation Safety Board vice chairman Christopher Hart said. The blast created a crater 167 feet long and 26 feet wide.
Hart said investigators would look into why that segment of pipe was made up of other, smaller segments of pipe. Reams of data and records have been requested from PG&E, Hart said.
NTSB has asked the utility company, as well as other state and federal agencies, to refuse to release any information about the pipe's history and whether PG&E had received complaints while the investigation is ongoing, he said.
Saturday, Lt. Gov. Abel Maldonado, who is serving as acting governor while Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger travels in Asia, directed the commission to perform integrity assessments of all pipeline segments located in the area.
Maldonado also ordered further inspections and surveys for high consequence areas, including a detailed inspection of three transmission lines that run through San Mateo County.
A group of local, state and federal officials toured the damaged area Saturday and described a ghost-town full of remnants of cars melted in driveways and pieces of houses, some left with just the chimney standing.
Besides the 40 homes leveled by the blast, seven were severely damaged, while dozens of other houses suffered less severe damage in the fire that sped across 15 acres.
Some residents were authorized to enter a limited area Saturday to retrieve belongings. Residents of 315 homes that have been off-limits since the blaze will be allowed to return for good starting around noon on Sunday, San Bruno City Manager Connie Jackson said.
Residents of another 10 damaged homes will be allowed in just long enough to retrieve some belongings. Residents of 49 homes that were either leveled or damaged so severely they aren't safe to occupy will have to wait several more days while the cause of the blast remains under investigation.
Michelle Salinda's home was destroyed in the fire, but her husband, Ricardo, and 15-year-old son were able to escape. She said she wants to return to what's left of her home to find closure.
"I can't wait to see it, even though it's all destroyed, because I know that's where I am going to start again," she said.
___
Contributing to this report were video journalist Haven Daley in San Bruno and John S. Marshall and Sudhin Thanawala in San Francisco. Burke reported from Fresno, Calif.
of the gas pipeline problem at MV...very well laid out...
