On April 3, 2008, the Commission approves and adopts, with one condition, the full Settlement Agreement proposed by the parties in a complaint brought by the UTC Staff on May 23, 2007, alleging that PSE, through its contractor, Pilchuck Contractors, Inc. failed to: (1) follow PSE's operations and maintenance manual in conducting follow-up investigations of "phantom" leak inspections, in violation of 49 CFR § 192.605(a); (2) maintain accurate leak records in violation of WAC 480-93-187; and (3) retain leak investigation records in violation of WAC 480-93-185.
The Commission imposes a penalty of $1.25 million on PSE for the fraudulent actions of certain of its contractor employees in falsifying pipeline leak inspection records. The Commission also requires a third-party audit of the company's gas safety program and a variety of additional quality control and quality assurance measures to ensure against future misconduct in recordkeeping. The condition eliminates provisions requiring Commission Staff to forbear from taking enforcement action against PSE unless any newly discovered violation amounts to a "serious" incident. The Commission emphasizes the responsibility of regulated utilities to ensure adequate safeguards are in place to protect the public, even when relying on contractor employees to achieve portions of their mission. (Docket 060215, see "Documents" link below for more information.)
Posted/updated: 04/03/2008
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