A gas pipeline that runs over the San Andreas Fault just outside
San Juan Bautista between Highway 156 and Crazy Horse Road was
placed on Pacific Gas and Electric’s list of 100 long range
pipeline repairs, the power company announced this week.
A gas pipeline that runs over the San Andreas Fault just outside San Juan Bautista between Highway 156 and Crazy Horse Road was placed on Pacific Gas and Electric’s list of 100 long range pipeline repairs, the power company announced this week.
The report comes after the large gas line explosion in San Bruno earlier this month, killing at leas four people and destroying a neighborhood of houses. In response to the explosion and its investigation, PG&E has come under increased scrutiny from its customers and the government to release more information regarding other pipelines that run through the state.
PG&E is responsible for the maintenance of all its 42,141 miles of natural gas distribution pipelines and 6,438 miles of transportation pipelines, according to the company’s website. PG&E supplies its resources to nearly 15 million people throughout Northern and Central California.
According to a map released by PG&E on Monday, San Benito County has multiple pipelines that run through the area that wraps around both San Juan Bautista and Hollister and down Airline Highway. The pipelines cross through the north and east sides of Hollister.
The county has no involvement with the maintenance of the pipelines, and doesn’t know exactly how many miles of pips run through the county, Public Works Administrator Steve Wittry said. The department rarely is in contact with PG&E regarding the pipelines.
“If there is an issue they fix it,” he said. ‘They are a large system that does its own maintenance.”
In Monday’s report, PG&E highlighted 100 projects or pipelines that it believes will eventually be replaced or repaired because of simple wear and tear, PG&E spokeswoman Nicole Liebelt said.
The company uses a criteria of four measurements that help determine if the pipeline has the potential to be on the list, Lieblet said. The list includes a potential for third-party damage from construction, corrosion, ground movement and the pipe’s actual design.
The top 100 list is one of the many guidelines the company uses to maintain and check it gas lines, according to its website. The tool is used mostly to help plan for future construction in the upcoming years
The pipe that runs through San Benito County is highlighted because of its placement on top of the San Andreas Fault, a location that is high risk for ground movement.
The pipeline runs along the San Benito and Monterey county borders and lies five to six miles west of San Juan Bautista, San Juan Mayor Ed Laverone said.
The pipeline is described in two segments on the list that spans a total of 3,415 feet. The project calls for a replacement of two segments within the larger pipeline.
The segments were highlighted because of possible soil erosion because of the ground’s seismic activity, Leibelt said.
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