PG&E Faces Criminal Charges in Fatal San Bruno Explosion
The indictment on charges that it obstructed an investigation by the National Transportation Safety Board and violated the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act could mean as much as $1 billion in fines for the California utility, which already is facing lawsuits and $2.5 billion in civil penalties from regulators.
A federal grand jury for the Northern District of California has returned an indictment charging Pacific Gas and Electric Co. (PG&E) with obstruction of the investigation of the National Transportation Safety Board (NTSB) into the deadly San Bruno, Calif., pipeline explosion in 2010 that killed eight people, injured dozens more and destroyed 38 homes. The company also has been charged with additional violations of the Natural Gas Pipeline Safety Act of 1968 (PSA).
