PG&E's mounting losses, bankruptcy filing

By now you've heard of PG&E's planned Chapter 11 bankruptcy and their continuing woes stemming from wildfire liabilities incurred in 2017 and 2018. Legislators are publicly mulling options that include breaking up the company or initiating state ownership. We believe PG&E's mounting problems are a direct result of continued neglect toward public safety after the San Bruno pipeline tragedy in 2010.

What does this mean for saving trees in Lafayette and maintaining community pipeline safety? We don't know, but the uncertainties reinforce the need to keep focused on pipeline safety priorities which do not include needless tree destruction. We will continue to call upon the Lafayette City Council to unwind the agreement, to take the distraction of tree removal away while true safety risks are identified and prioritized for attention. 

The impact of PG&E's bankruptcy on our lawsuits

It's too early to tell how Chapter 11 bankruptcy might impact PG&E's ability to fight us in court. Currently PG&E has appealed our Court of Appeal victory from October, and whether or not the court will again take up this issue should be more clear within four weeks. We are not bankruptcy lawyers, but it seems possible that the work of PG&E's outside legal firms may be soon hindered by the bankruptcy proceeding. 

Lafayette faces unknown financial exposure should PG&E be unable to continue to cover the City's legal expenses. Will the City continue the appeal effort if they are responsible for legal costs? Is the City risking new financial burdens should we prevail in court? These are two of many questions that the City needs to consider. It's apparent the City did not follow CEQA law on this project, as could be determined by the CA Supreme Court. 

As we've expressed to City Council: it's wrong for the City to continue to spend public resources in a battle against efforts to hold PG&E accountable to true pipeline safety priorities. It is frankly unconscionable. 

2018 Highlights

We wanted to take a moment to recognize the incredible progress the Lafayette community has made the past 12 months regarding saving trees and increasing community pipeline safety. It was a banner year!

1. Lafayette's trees remain standing - Thanks to your efforts and support, the approximately 500 trees in Lafayette and Briones targeted by PG&E's discredited "safety" program still thrive, nearly two years after the agreement with the City was signed.

2. A victory in court - In October, the Court of Appeals sided with Save Lafayette Trees, overturning an earlier ruling that dismissed our initial CEQA lawsuit. 

3. Overwhelming display of community support - The Sept. 10th special City Council meeting attended by PG&E and the CPUC was an overwhelming success for trees and safety, and a turning point in our efforts. Thank you! The City Council was left wondering out loud how to unwind this agreement and return the funds to PG&E.

4. Exposed pipeline on Lafayette-Moraga trail addressed - After decades of pipeline exposure, reports to the City, and recent news stories about our safety concerns, PG&E finally replaced and buried the exposed pipeline along the Lafayette Moraga trail. This work was completed in December.  

5. Safety violations exposed - Save Lafayette Trees forwarded pipeline safety concerns to the CPUC whose subsequent audit found PG&E in violation of federal regulations including mislabeled equipment and lack of pipeline markers, important factors in preventing safety incidents and improving emergency response. 

6. Started a "Safety Alliance" with PG&E/CPUC/City  - with City Council support, SLT and other concerned citizens began real dialogue to start work on evaluating true safety concerns, and prioritizing projects appropriately. These collaborative meetings are planned to continue in 2019.

These are only a few of our successes. Thank you for your continued support.

Going forward in 2019

We've got a lot of momentum as we enter into 2019. Some upcoming activities include:
 

• The City of Lafayette has promised to schedule the next "Safety Alliance" meeting in the coming month with PG&E, CPUC, City and citizen representatives.
• We will wait to hear the fate of PG&E's latest appeal in court.
• City Council has requested the PG&E matter be put on the next City Council meeting agenda and asked City Attorney to report on the possible effects of PG&E's bankruptcy. 
• We'll continue to request that the City drop its defense of the illegal and unnecessary tree cutting agreement, especially in light of increased financial exposure.
• At CPUC request, PG&E should be sharing additional tree information with the public. We'll post this info on our website when it becomes available.
• We'll continue our efforts to directly work with PG&E's Safety Enforcement Division on PG&E information discrepancies.
• We will be presenting to the Rotary Club of Lafayette on February 21.

How to help

• Send letters and comments to our new City Council (cityhall@lovelafayette.org) with your opinions on saving trees and unwinding from the PG&E agreement.
• Comment at the Jan. 28th City Council meeting.
• Donate -- any amount is appreciated.
• Keep informed.

Latest media coverage 

"Grassroots group repeats call to end PG&E’s tree-removal project in Lafayette"

- East Bay Times, January 16, 2019

Thank you for all you do to support this work!

Save Lafayette Trees

(Image below: a new stretch of pipeline lies prior to its installation near the exposed section on the Lafayette-Moraga Trail near Beechwood Dr. The pipeline, exposed for decades, was replaced in December 2018, thanks to community focus that spurred PG&E into action.)