San Bruno Accepts $70 Million Settlement from 2010 Explosion

Photo of Daniel Horowitz

On Monday, March 12th, the city of San Bruno, California agreed to receive a settlement of $70 million from Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E), the owner of the pipeline explosion in 2010. This settlement was a result of a natural gas pipeline explosion that occurred in the Crestmoor residential neighborhood in San Bruno on September 9th, 2010. Following the explosion a fire with flames of three hundred feet high erupted which burned many nearby homes and injured many civilians. A total of eight people were reported killed in this incident and a total of thirty eight homes were destroyed.

After many attempts at negotiation, the cap was agreed upon and set at $70 million. A $50 million cap was placed on a separate PG&E fund that will pay for rebuilding utilities and streets and other direct costs for the town. San Bruno’s city council approved this settlement on Friday and San Bruno Mayor signed it on Monday. The money has been placed into an account and over time the city to will decide how to use it.

About ninety civil lawsuits against PG&E were filed by victims of the explosion but this is not included in the agreement. This San Francisco based company plans to compensate these victims and is aiming to settle the lawsuits without going to trial.

Source: SF Gate, “San Bruno OKs $70 million settlement from PG&E,” 3/13/12.