Politics & Government

With CPUC Investigation, Crestmoor Residents Skeptical Over Promise That Neighborhood's Voice Would Be Heard

The CPUC promised the residents that they would be allowed to be represented on the commission's expert panel that is conducting an investigation into the explosion. But nothing has been heard of that promise since October.

Shortly after making the announcement in October that the California Public Utilities Commission would be appointing its own the Sept. 9 explosion and fire, commission President Michael Peevey wanted to take it one step further to show the public that the CPUC was being proactive.

So he organized a meeting at the state capitol with Mayor Jim Ruane, former Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, CPUC executive director Michael Clanon and several residents from the Crestmoor neighborhood and made the city a promise: In addition to the panel of experts selected, San Bruno would have a voice in the investigation.

That promise was followed up a week later with an email from a cabinet secretary from the governor’s office giving Kathy DeRenzi, the neighborhood advocate for Crestmoor—where eight people died and 38 homeowners lost their homes in the fire—confirmation that the neighborhood would have a seat at the table.

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“The PUC is very much interested in facilitating this request and will be working with the mayor and city staff to work out the details,” Scott Reid, the cabinet secretary, wrote in the email. 

Months have passed now, and none of the Crestmoor residents have gotten any word from the CPUC about whether they will still be involved in the process of finding out what happened on Sept. 9, despite the commission’s recent announcement that the expert panel will start holding public meetings.

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All too familiar with being kept in the dark before, Crestmoor residents couldn’t help but think, “Is this promise really going to be kept?” DeRenzi said.

The communication between officials and residents of the neighborhood since the fire hasn’t been the best. At nearly every public meeting that has been held, residents have left with more questions than answers as PG&E, state and federal officials have tried to help people cope with the explosion.

San Bruno officials didn’t help matters with their that was donated to those affected by the fire.

But City Manager Connie Jackson said there is a reason why the information about the explosion has been released in piecemeal segments, at least from the city’s standpoint.

“We’ve been working nonstop to make sure we’re able to cooperate with the task of providing assistance to the NTSB with its investigation,” Jackson said in a recent interview.

The National Transportation Safety Board is the lead organization , and because the city is one of the agencies providing information to the NTSB, Jackson said, the city is prohibited from sharing all discoveries with the public.

As far as the CPUC’s promise to the Crestmoor residents that they would be involved in the commission’s investigation, Jackson said that promise will indeed be kept.

Jackson said the city has found someone who will serve as a liaison between the CPUC’s expert panel and the city and that the person has the technical experience to “add value to the process.” The city is expected to introduce the person to the public soon, Jackson said.

Jackson added that she expects more information about the explosion to come to light when the NTSB holds its three-day public hearing in Washington, D.C., from March 1-3.

A spokeswoman for the CPUC deferred to the city manager all comments on any promises made regarding the neighborhood’s involvement in the commission’s investigation.

When asked what role the city could play in fostering better communication about the aftermath of the fire, Jackson said she feels the city could do better at demanding clearer information from the agencies involved in the investigation.

She said PG&E’s explanations about its pipeline practices haven’t been helpful and have confused people more than anything.

“So we’re trying to figure out if we can be a conduit so that there could be a better way of providing information,” Jackson said.

DeRenzi said she just wants to make sure everyone is held accountable for his or her actions and, in this case, words.

“The hope is that it would be a transparent investigation,” she said.


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