Construction Company, City 'Surprised' by Panel's Findings About 2008 Sewer Project

A construction company that was fingered in last week's as likely contributing to the Sept. 9 pipeline explosion is disputing the report's findings, saying that the cause of the blast was solely PG&E's responsibility.

The report, which was completed by a five-member panel of experts that were appointed by the California Public Utilities Commission after the fire, concluded that a 2008 sewer construction project the firm D'Arcy and Harty completed near Line 132 could have been a factor in triggering the explosion, which destroyed 38 homes and left eight people dead.

The report was done independently of the investigation being performed by the National Transportation Safety Board, which is pinpointing the cause of the rupture.

But the company quickly fired back after the report came out Thursday, saying its project—which used a procedure called pipe bursting to replace an adjacent sewer line—never affected the gas transmission pipeline.

"The work D’Arcy and Harty conducted for the city of San Bruno on its adjacent sewer line, was concluded more than two years before the gas pipeline incident and in compliance with the city’s plans and specifications," the company said in a statement. "Nothing in either the NTSB’s report or the CPUC’s findings suggest any deficiencies in D’Arcy and Harty’s work.”

City Manager Connie Jackson also took issue with the report's findings about the 2008 sewer construction project, and she said she is waiting for the NTSB's final report to be released in September before settling on a conclusion.

"We are somewhat surprised by the CPUC's Independent Panel's conclusions related to the 2008 sewer project, especially considering the fact that the CPUC's Panel never interviewed City representatives or asked for specific documents or information about the project," Jackson said in an email.

Overall, the panel's report blasted PG&E's technical competence and pipeline integrity management procedures and said the accident was a direct result of multiple shortcomings in PG&E's oversight of the safety of its gas transmission system.