Stop massive and possibly illegal statewide tree cutting by PG&E!

Full text of the petition:

Pacific Gas and Electric (PG&E) is unnecessarily destroying 12 to 24-foot-wide swaths of trees and shrubs along over 6,000 miles of pressured gas pipeline. Please add your voice to stop their ill-conceived and potentially illegal project, already in progress!

PG&E has begun known as their “Community Pipeline Safety Initiative” an extensive undertaking already destroying thousands of trees along with other vegetation, and promising the destruction of many thousands more along its 6,750-mile high-pressure natural gas transmission pipeline in California -- to allegedly "improve emergency access and safety”.

PG&E has only done only internal analyses to justify this on-going destruction of thousands of trees statewide in California. Significantly, PG&E has started this work without any outside environmental impact assessments and/or environmental impact reports made available for public comment, that would be required of any other entity undertaking such a project.

We already have evidence in Santa Cruz County that PG&E's internal analysis, identifying the trees and shrubs to be eliminated, has significant errors including mis-identifying targeted trees, and failing to note rare species to be destroyed, such as Shreve Oak and the unique low-elevation Ponderosa Pines of Santa Cruz County’s protected Sand Hills.

Research indicates that the only substantiated reason for this mass destruction is likely merely for PG&E’s “convenience”, to facilitate PG&E using questionable and possibly illegal methods of repairing pipeline leaks. PG&E claims that digging through living tree roots slows down access to leaking pipelines, which affects PG&E’s preferred (and probably much more dangerous) method of making repairs while gas is still leaking under pressure (a process, that in most instances is illegal since Federal regulations [49 CFR 192.615] requires, if there is danger to life or property, that gas be shut off; a practice which if adhered to would permit plenty of time to access pipes for repairs making tree-removal unnecessary.)
It would be catastrophic for the State to continue to permit this massive destruction of miles of trees, lining city streets and going through rural and remote areas, to proceed based solely on PG&E’s flawed internal data and analysis. Even worse, this is occurring at a time when California is losing untold number of trees due to the drought. This is not a time when we can afford to be reckless in cutting trees that add to property values, provide oxygen and shade, remove pollutants and provide important habitat.

While we appreciate that PG&E needs the ability to maintain, inspect and operate its system safely, the measures PG&E takes must also abide by the State’s existing environmental laws and be transparent to the public. Moreover, its measures must take into account ALL aspects of public safety to prevent unintended consequences from erosion to soil destabilization, undermining pipelines and exacerbating leaks and breaks, that will occur from such massive tree destruction.

There are valid reasons to question the rationale that PG&E has used in concluding the trees are even a significant threat at all to the transmission lines. Research indicates that living tree roots perform a beneficial role along gas transmission lines, stabilizing and protecting the pipeline, especially in erosive soils and along earthquake faults and surrounding areas.

This is a Statewide issue and that is why we urgently need your assistance to intervene at the State level.
PG&E has already started cutting the trees. There is absolutely NO reason for them to be allowed to continue.

This petition requests that the our State representatives demand that the CPUC put an immediate stop to any and all tree cutting by PG&E until this initiative can be further assessed and proper oversight can be established!

Sign the new petition here:
https://www.change.org/p/bill-monning-stop-devastating-and-unmonitored-tree-cutting-by-pg-e-in-california


In May, PG&E gave a public presentation on the tree removal project in Santa Cruz County, which was facilitated by Supervisor McPherson. View videos of the presentation:

PG&E Graham Hill Road Tree Plan - Part 1
https://youtu.be/lXPea75yYnQ

PG&E Graham Hill Road Tree Plan - Part 2
https://youtu.be/LowXIxW2djc

PG&E Graham Hill Road Tree Plan - Part 3
https://youtu.be/bkpLadyFIgc


Valley Women's Club of San Lorenzo Valley
http://www.valleywomensclub.com/
https://www.facebook.com/valleywomensclub/