A year and a half after a natural gas explosion in San Bruno killed eight people, indignant officials in the devastated city on Wednesday accused PG&E of delaying efforts to resolve the city’s financial claims against the utility.
“We are very frustrated that PG&E doesn’t understand its negligence was responsible for the biggest natural gas disaster in our nation’s history,” San Bruno Mayor Jim Ruane said at a hastily called news conference. “We will not let that happen.”
Commenting directly to the company, he asked, “why can’t you take care of us?”
But PG&E officials — who said they met with San Bruno officials as recently as Tuesday — denied talks have stalled with the city over compensation following the Sept. 9, 2010, blast, which killed eight people, injured dozens of others and destroyed or damaged 108 homes.
The city’s demands, which are separate from the dozens of lawsuits filed by individuals seeking financial damages, are part of a growing litany of expenses that PG&E faces in the wake of the explosion. The total cost will depend on the outcome of the suits, whatever regulatory fines are levied against the company and the extent of pipeline repairs PG&E makes. But some analysts have estimated that PG&E’s San Bruno-related bills could reach several billion dollars, though it’s unclear how much of that might be borne by its customers.
The ruckus Wednesday also highlights the uncertainty over how long it will take to satisfy the claims of the various victims.
When PG&E President Chris Johns conferred with San Bruno officials last week, “he left that meeting candidly feeling, OK, the process is moving forward, we’re getting closer to resolution,” said company Senior Vice President Greg Pruett, adding that Johns promised at that time to set up another meeting with the city this week.
Shortly after the explosion, Johns vowed to “do what’s right to help rebuild the community” and PG&E established a $70 million trust fund to fix city property destroyed in the disaster as well as a separate $100 million fund to help residents affected by the blast. But in December last year, San Bruno officials formally began negotiating for additional money to possibly create a scholarship fund for children in the blast-ravaged neighborhood, build a memorial, set up youth sports leagues or establish mental health resources for city workers, Ruane said. The dispute with PG&E centers on those recent demands.
Although San Bruno and PG&E officials declined to discuss how much money the city wanted, saying that part of their negotiations is confidential, Ruane said he met with Johns on Feb. 6 over his concerns that the talks had faltered. He claimed it wasn’t until the city announced a news conference Wednesday to discuss the problem that he finally heard back from PG&E. An hour before the conference, Ruane said, Johns called to set up a Friday meeting to continue the negotiations.
“We did hit a stone wall,” Ruane said. “But it looks like we have broken through that wall.”
Besides its negotiations with PG&E, San Bruno also has asked to be included in a California Public Utilities Commission investigation of PG&E’s gas-line operations, which could result in substantial fines against the utility. Ruane said the city might be compensated through that investigation, if San Bruno’s talks with PG&E fail.
“We’re here for the people of San Bruno, and if we can help, we will,” PUC spokeswoman Terry Prosper said. “We’re reaching out to the city to find out what additional assistance they need from us and what our next steps can be to help them.”
Assemblyman Jerry Hill, D-San Mateo, said he believes San Bruno has a legitimate claim for money beyond the $70 million trust fund PG&E set up to repair its property.
“What they are not getting reimbursed for is for the pain and suffering and stress and trauma that the city endured and that will last, I believe, for generations to come,” he said. “I think they are entitled to some restitution for that.”
Rep. Jackie Speier, D-Hillsborough, also is closely monitoring the situation.
“From day one I’ve been committed to seeing that the residents and the city of San Bruno are made whole,” she said in a statement issued by her office. ” I intend to make good on that promise. I’ve talked to Mayor Ruane and received a message from Chris Johns today. It is important to note that the city and PG&E are returning to the negotiation table. There was a bump in the road. There was a news conference. There is a meeting Friday. The rebuilding continues.”
Contact Steve Johnson at 408-920-5043.
