In yet another side story to a toxic contamination and natural gas transmission pipeline saga that spans decades and inspired an Academy Award-winning motion picture, Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) made local news just before the Thanksgiving holiday by offering to buy up to 100 properties in the town of Hinkley, CA, about 130 miles northeast of Los Angeles. That move comes in the wake of residents and the local board for state water regulators expressing new concerns about PG&E’s handling of ongoing toxic mitigation work corralling a 2.5-by-1-mile plume of groundwater tainted with hexavalent chromium, which was previously used by PG&E in its gas transmission pipeline operations in the Hinkley area (see Daily GPI, Nov. 16). A report in the Los Angeles Times quoted a utility spokesperson confirming that if residents in the plume zone want to sell, PG&E will be willing to buy the properties. Meanwhile, the regional water board is still investigating PG&E’s work in containing the plume and is considering options proposed by the utility. Tests have shown elevated — albeit not necessarily dangerous — levels of hexavalent chromium in domestic and agricultural water supplies. The utility and more than 600 residents reached a $333 million settlement in 1997.
Decades
Articles from Decades
Marcellus Shale Development to Impact Pennsylvania Forests, Says Study
Natural gas drilling in Pennsylvania’s Marcellus Shale over the next two decades could impact the state’s forests and alter several thousand acres of habitat, The Nature Conservancy said Monday in a study.
Shale Gas Bounty Tests Pipe Network During Difficult Time
Between the recent pipeline accidents near Marshall, MI, and in San Bruno, CA, and the fact that the current natural gas pipeline network was set up decades ago to serve the eastern mega-market that now is developing its own supply, the natural gas transmission sector faces a number of challenges going forward.
Offshore Drilling Recovery May Take Longer Than Expected
The timing and magnitude of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) drilling recovery will be more “asset-specific” than any cyclical offshore drilling upswing in decades, the energy team at Raymond James & Associates said last week.
Shale Gas Bounty Tests Pipe Network During Difficult Time
Between the recent pipeline accidents near Marshall, MI, and in San Bruno, CA, and the fact that the current natural gas pipeline network was set up decades ago to serve the eastern mega-market that now is developing its own supply, the natural gas transmission sector faces a number of challenges going forward.
Offshore Drilling Recovery May Take Longer Than Expected
The timing and magnitude of the U.S. Gulf of Mexico (GOM) drilling recovery will be more “asset-specific” than any cyclical offshore drilling upswing in decades, the energy team at Raymond James & Associates said Monday.
Shale Gas Creates ‘Paradigm Shift’ in Markets
The growth in production from U.S. natural gas shale basins will keep the country supplied for decades, but the global market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) will continue to grow, which may prove to be a detriment long term, a Rice University economist said last week.
U.S. Shale Gas Creates ‘Paradigm Shift’ in Markets
The growth in production from U.S. natural gas shale basins will keep the country supplied for decades, but the global market for liquefied natural gas (LNG) will continue to grow, which may prove to be a detriment long term, a Rice University economist said Tuesday.
California Report: New Supply Doubtful, 20-Year Outlook Flat
Projecting flat demand for natural gas in the state for the next two decades, the latest California Gas Report released by the state’s major utilities and regulators essentially makes it difficult to support new interstate pipeline capacity, a former regulatory attorney told the Law Seminars International “Energy in California” conference last week in San Francisco.
California New Supply Doubtful, 20-Year Demand Flat, Report Shows
Projecting flat demand for natural gas in the state for the next two decades, the latest California Gas Report released by the state’s major utilities and regulators essentially makes it hard to support new interstate pipeline capacity, a former regulatory attorney told the Law Seminars International “Energy in California” conference Monday in San Francisco.
