In an effort to prevent gas pipeline failures like the one that resulted in the fatal 2010 San Bruno explosion, Pacific Gas & Electric in the coming weeks is informing property owners about avoiding impediments near pipelines and other safety precautions.
PG&E was planning to send out letters to 164 property owners in San Benito County whose land have areas of concern regarding pipeline locations. PG&E not only wants to prevent impediments such as tree roots negatively affecting underground pipelines, but also make sure landowners allow for adequate access for emergency responders in the event of an incident or natural disaster, according to Jeff Smith in public relations for the utility.
“We identified that in some instances, there were trees or shrubs or anything that would impeded that first-responder access,” Smith said.
He said those 164 letters are to residents—whose properties were identified through GPS analysis—living “somewhat near” the pipeline infrastructure.
The collaboration with property owners is part of a broader effort—which includes such solutions as improving the ability to use remote switches to turn off troubled systems—to improve pipeline safety. The utility has spent nearly $3 billion on the safety efforts since San Bruno, Smith said.
