Taking Responsibility

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At PG&E, we hold ourselves accountable for all of our actions, including protecting the environment. If one event exemplifies this better than any other does, it may be the settlement that resolved 10 years of litigation related to the use of chromium decades ago. In our announcement, we took accountability for PG&E's actions in the 1950s, 60s and 70s, and we unequivocally reaffirmed that our conduct must always align with our values.

We continue to further develop and enhance our environmental management system, which is a comprehensive approach to managing our impacts on the environment and reducing potential environmental risks. Our environmental policy also requires that we develop and implement risk-based audit plans, ensuring periodic independent review of all aspects of our environmental performance.

Reaching an Important Milestone

PG&E successfully led a multi-year effort to clean up a geothermal waste facility in Lake County, California, with oversight from several government agencies. The operator abandoned the facility, which left PG&E and numerous other companies with the responsibility for securing the site, which we completed. PG&E has committed to long-term monitoring and maintenance to ensure the property’s ongoing stable management and security.

Key milestones include:

• Excavating and solidifying 186,000 cubic yards of waste and evaporating 21 million gallons of wastewater
• Planting 32 acres of trees, which are helping to lower the groundwater table in order to protect it from contact with solidified waste, and enlisting 900 goats for weed abatement
• Creating and managing a 40-acre conservation easement containing three acres of new wetlands on the property

As an example of working closely with a community, we helped transform a former electrical substation site into a location for new state-of-the-art green housing. Located in Martinez, one of California's first towns, the site originally housed a substation built in the early 1900s. To prepare the site for new development, PG&E removed 1,378 tons of existing soil and replaced it with clean fill. We worked closely with local developers throughout the process to meet stringent city and county requirements for remediating the land to residential-use standards.

The site now features Villa del Sol, a complex of eight new LEED™-certified affordable luxury homes. Designed by a local architect, the homes incorporate a variety of sustainable design and construction practices, including ENERGY STAR appliances, windows, and central air and heating. This project is an example of PG&E's broader support for brownfield development, sustainable communities, and policies and initiatives that advance urban infill as a key component of smart growth.

In 2007, this support also included hosting a California Center for Land Recycling workshop for agencies, developers, and consultants. In the workshop, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Cal/EPA, and private financial firms educated attendees on public and private funding sources available for redeveloping brownfields (sites where development may be complicated by a hazardous substance, pollutant, or contaminant).