[californiadisasters] San Bruno Rips State Panel's Findings on Blast

San Bruno rips state panel's findings on blast

Jaxon Van Derbeken, San Francisco Chronicle Staff Writer

San Francisco Chronicle July 15, 2011 04:00 AM Copyright San Francisco Chronicle. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

07/15/11

A state blue ribbon panel's report blaming a 2008 sewer project for the natural-gas pipeline explosion that later devastated a San Bruno neighborhood was poorly researched, unsubstantiated and ignored more likely explanations, the city's officials say.

The findings on the blast's probable cause that the panel submitted to the California Public Utilities Commission last month were marred by "numerous omissions and erroneous conclusions," attorneys for San Bruno wrote in an unusually sharp response filed with the state Thursday.

In pointing the finger at the sewer project for weakening the Pacific Gas and Electric Co. pipeline that eventually exploded, the five-member panel of academics, attorneys and business leaders and its consultants failed to interview the sewer contractors, review the project specifications or talk to San Bruno engineers who signed off on the work, the city said.

Instead, the state-chartered panel relied on a gas industry group's report that incorrectly described the scope of the sewer project and the findings of a consultant who did not know all the facts, San Bruno said.

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View entire article here: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2011/07/15/BA8E1KB1CR.DTL#ixzz1SFSjNOtR

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