San Bruno Patch to Cover NTSB Hearing on Pipeline Explosion

This week, San Bruno Patch goes national.

The rare occasion of the National Transportation Safety Board holding a three-day hearing from Tuesday-Thursday on the Sept. 9 pipeline explosion in Washington, D.C., has brought about the even rarer opportunity to cover this hyperlocal story on the national stage.

You can plan on getting the same up-to-the-minute coverage of news that is relevant to San Bruno because I will be right where the action is, reporting on the testimonies given, sharing documents as they come in and bringing the hearing to your computer and mobile phone screens.

Because this hearing is so rare—the last pipeline safety hearing was held in November 2000—officials are expecting it to be eye-opening.

Last week, in a media roundtable held with reporters from throughout the country, NTSB Chairwoman Deborah Hersman said to expect testimony from a number of Pacific Gas & Electric Co. higher-ups and engineers, as well as from officials from the California Public Utilities Commission and Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. She said the NTSB will also be releasing thousands of pages of documents related to findings made public since the Crestmoor disaster. These will include interview transcripts, metallurgical exams, factual reports and materials provided by the agencies involved in the .

The California Public Utilities Commission has already stated that the pipeline explosion will likely throughout the state. Hersman seemed to indicate that she is expecting the disaster to have even more far-reaching consequences.

“The fact that the pipeline infrastructure (in this country) is aging is not necessarily a problem,” Hersman said. “But we need to make sure we do our due diligence to adequately maintain and inspect pipes, whether they’re 13 years old or 30 years old or 50 years old.”

The hearing is expected to cover three main areas: PG&E’s pipeline operations and , federal and state oversight of the pipeline industry, and pipeline technology used throughout the industry.

Several San Bruno officials will also be at the hearing, and Chief Dennis Haag will be giving a testimony on behalf of the city.

For those who want to watch the hearing throughout the week, you can view the live webcast on the NTSB’s website. The webcast will be archived for several months after the hearing, and transcripts will be available as well. For more information about public access to the hearing, email pubinq@ntsb.gov.