i have an exand pl in california that's local to the san francisco, puc, the california commission has listed grant under their renewable fuels program and they are reported to supply several millions of dollars to demonstrate the viability of product that can be commercialized. all the good establishments in urban areas to convert to bio diesel fuel. these collaborative opportunities are available and have been used for many years now throughout the various states and, i think the opportunity is right in front of us to take advantage of these opportunities. in this particular case you have the state of california, you have the region nine, epa, so you have a regulator, san francisco ucuc. all contributing to funds offered by the california commission. so i'd like to suggest that we, as a group here, recognize that those opportunities are out there and that we leverage those opportunitys for the sake of reducing the carbon footprint and if we do that, these are near turn gains we can do as we get to the long-term as far as uncertainties and hydrological issues that might take a longer

the san francisco puc, and each of those agencies spoke and presented the kinds of issues that they address when they provide that kind of environmental regulatory oversight. once that was done, some other community issues were raised. the most important one was some concerns about public health risks associated with exposure to odorous emissions from the plant. so we left and prepare for the second meeting with that in mind, that we came back and at the second meeting address fire safety and planning issues, address building permit process issues, and the port came back with a consultant who is a specialist in odor emissions, had been a regulator, and was a certified engineer. darling brought an environmental toxicologist, both of whom stated that there was no evidence that emissions from a plant like this would lead to public health risks. nonetheless, the concerns of the community remained, and at the second meeting, darling agreed to conduct a systematic evaluation of the health risks associated with those zero risky missions. that involved the preparation of a health risk assessment, s

we are willing to volunteer our staff of the san francisco, puc, is willing to be the group that convenes the different communications heads. all of you have public relations people or head of external affairs, and we'd be willing to pull together that committee of different communication heads of different agencys to see about getting and energy gaming public outreach. any of us going to do heavy lifting with planning, legislation, we have to get the public to buy in and say, that's right way to spend our money, and yes, i will make that tough decision about conservation. i'll get off my soap box now but i hope you join me and e-mail and say, we're in. >> susan, i urge you to say what they can do about it's a well. not just how serious it is people are looking for that. and i'm sure you meant that but i wanted to add that. >> we have one response here and then we'll go to the floor. >> i just wanted to follow the very important point about educating the public. two of the questions inevitably come up, is what is the scale of the problem we face, and what might be done about it. and i was

start i want to thank our general manager leyall who has done an extraordinary job here at the san francisco puco i want to recognize two people that just walked in, our vice president commissioner ann (inaudible) and commissioner dennis nolan that just arrived. thank you very much. i want to echo what miss leyall said, welcome everyone to this historic summit here in san francisco. the next couple days we're going to tackle very tough issues, the issues of global warming, issues of waste water, hydropower, the electric power in the city and i'm very proud that california is leading the nation in those efforts. we're leading the nation with our u.s. senator barbara boxer, who chairs the most powerful committee of the environment and public works; our governor, arnold schwarzenegger, who is a leader in reducing green house emissions, and our legislator don perada and gerald huffman who you will hear from later on in the program, and of course our mayor, gavin newsom. gavin newsom has been a leader of the environment before it was the sexy thing to do. he has been responsible for putting solar pow

the last speaker is tom franza with san francisco puc. we will have some questions among the panelists and a little bit of discussion, but our goal is to leave a minimum of half an hour for interaction with the audience so we will try to get on with it briskly here, starting with will. . >> thanks so much, mary. first off, what i would like to do is acknowledge somewhere out in the audience is leslie lako of our staff. leslie, can you stand up? there she is. leslie lako is the creator and manager of the project that we have at bcdc to deal with climate change and sea level rise. as usually is the case, she does all the work and so of course i get invited to speak. i want to make it clear that any errors, omissions, oversight or inappropriate comments are my responsibility. any facts, solid analysis and clear logic belong to leslie. leon canetto likes to tell the story about the learned professor and scientist who is on the rubber chicken circuit making speeches about a particular subject and the university provides a driver to him as he g

exclusive, subsurface easements from cargill, inc., for the purpose of constructing the san francisco public utilities (sf puc) commission water system improvement program-funded project no. cuw36801, bay division pipeline reliability upgrade - bay tunnel, for a purchase price of $650; adopting environmental findings under the california environmental quality act (ceqa), ceqa guidelines, and administrative code chapter 31; adopting findings of consistency with city planning code section 101.1; and authorizing the general manager of sfpuc to execute documents, make certain modifications and take certain actions in furtherance of this resolution. >> good morning, members of the committee. real-estate division. the item before you today is a pc they-division reliability project. in particular, a tunnel facility that will lie within two different easements' acquired from cargill inc.. the length of these tunnels, one is 2,000 feet long, another is a data 37 feet long. this is a tunnel that will live approximately 80 feet in depth below grade at the bay. i have on the overhead a shot of the area. this is south of

this morning the san francisco chronicle is reporting the puc sent the utility a letter a year ago warning them about potential safety problems in its gas distribution system. the letter suggests that pg and e was having trouble following federal law and putting the public at risk. it chips that workers were not properly train to check for gas leaks, and the utility did not follow guidelines when it linked up gas lines with different pressure. >>> the san bruno city council approved a plan to demolish three more homes too damaged to live in, bringing the total number of homes destroyed to 38. the blast on september also claimed the lives of 8 people. pg and e will pay the city $90,000 for the demolition. >>> a big surprise at the old virgin mega store on market street in san francisco. a car containing four women crashed through the front doors and into the lobby last night. there was one minor injury, but no one hit as the car crossed the sidewalk on its way into the vacant store. >>> the pressure on to finish the suspension tower of the new bay bridge, but weather could get in the way. t

san francisco. amatto accused puc of dodging the issue of accountability for the explosion and fire that killed seatjured dozens and leveled more than 30 homes. at one point assemblyman accused a puc representative of trying to worm out of the question about repairs to the san bruno pipeline that were never made. >> they were supposed to use that $5 million revenue for maintenance on this specific pipe and they didn't do it. where did the money go? >> the money went to other projects. pg&e didn't pocket that money, they spent it on other pipeline projects. >> a group of experts there saying that pg&e is not using the latest in technology in detecting problems with its pipelines. pg&e has set aside $100 million to compensate fire victims. they can cover repairs of that not been covered by insurance. live in san bruno, terry mcsweeney, abc 7 news. >> terry, thanks a lot. a man charged with sexually assaulting a two-year-old in a union city dollar tree store is due back in court this morning to enter a plea. eugene ramos is a registered sex offender. he aat that timed the girl in a matter of minutes wi

and this morning, the "san francisco chronicle" reports the puc sent the utility a letter a year ago warning them about persistent safety problems in its gas distribution system. that letter suggests that pg&e was having trouble following federal law and putting the public at risk. it claims the workers were not properly trained to check for leaks and the utility did not followed guidelines when it linked gas lines with different pressure. >>> meantime the san bruno city council has approved a plan to demolish three more homes that are just too damaged to live bringing the total number of homes destroyed to 38. the blast on september 9 claimed the lives of eight people. pg&e will pay the city $90,000 for the demolition. >>> more testimony about dna evidence is expected today in the preliminary hearing for seven suspects in a richmond rape case from last fall. an expert in forensics testified yesterday that dna from four of the suspects was found on the victim's body or at the scene of the richmond high school campus. witnesses have said the other three suspects were also at the scene

this morning, the "san francisco chronicle" reports the puc sent the utility a letter a year ago warning them about persistent safety problems in its gas distribution system. that letter suggests that pg&e was having trouble following federal law and putting the public at risk. it claims that workers were not properly trained to check for gas leaks. and the utility did not follow guidelines when it linked gas lines with different pressure. >>> strong winds and heavy rain forecasted for this week could delay construction on the suspension tower of the new bay bridge. caltrans is working around the clock to finish the third section of the tower by next friday christmas eve. initially the plan was to finish by sunday but a storm in the forecast is now expected to slow them down. >>> 6:06. let's go to tracy in the weather center with more on that storm. what's ahead for all of us? >> forecast for this morning, starting things off with temperatures ranging from 30 degrees all the way down to the mid-50s, 33 in napa, 33 in santa rosa and 36 in san rafael. 45 in san francisco and 44 in pacifica

worked with the department of the environment as well as the puc to collect some 30,000 gallons of restaurant grease per month in san francisco and use it for biofuels and we work with the department of the environment. i just want to say i want to thank the court staff for the work that they did going out into the community to educate them about this. especially rich. he did a fantastic job under very difficult circumstances. we had several community meetings. darling came out. the court was there. all of the bio diesel community came out to these meetings to understand what this project really means. i'm also the vice chair of the city's bio diesel task force. we are supportive of the project. we think it is important. the city right now uses about 3 million gallons, but most of it comes from the midwest. it comes from solely and canola. despite the stories we have heard about food versus feels, that is pretty much a ploy by the grocery industry. the cattle farmers did very well during the so-called crisis. this is important because darling plans on making 10 million gallons of biodiesel made from waste feedstock. that is s

san francisco. i want to say how much i appreciate the lafco commissioners, i colleagues, and the puc commissioners for your commitment to this. we conclude this year on hopefully the highest know we can, and that is, with that reinforced commitment that we will deliver upon what we have set out to for the last few years, and even before i came into elected office, that my predecessors had wanted to see. that is that san francisco has a seat at the table in deciding what its destiny should be, as well, it's destiny delineated by our goals and objectives while diversifying our energy portfolio as much as possible. so thank you, everybody for collaborating in this meeting today. it will certainly add to that more institutional step to get us where we need to go. director vietor? >> thank you, i could not have said it better. i would also like to welcome our new commissioner, mr. torres, and by understand there is a new lafco commissioner as well? i would like to welcome you as well. we look forward to continuing to work together to bring cca online. it is an exciting opportunity. as far as expectatio

only other thing i wanted to add was, now that the puc is going to respond to this motion, it might really make sense to hold back on the san francisco energy electricity resources plan. that is a road map for san francisco's of electricity future. you are going to look at how to represent this program, it should be put into the report. we should delay that until the findings or study or result of this motion can be incorporated. commissioner mirkarimi: good point. any other public comment? public comment is close. -- closed. there is no further approval necessary. please read the next item. >> item number 4, an update on the pole mounted solar from the september 17m

san francisco. they hope to halt smart meter installations until public hearings are held on health linkings. a pucdministrative law judge halls proposed dismissing the consumer group's petition saying it would fall in the expertise of another agency. pg&e's smart meter program initially came under attack involving accuracy but an independent study found the technology to be fundamentally sound. >> pg&e is offering $25 to customers in san francisco and san mateo counties who conserve on gas this month. they want to turn down the pressure in that pipeline that exresponded. the company wants customers to cut their use of natural gas this month so it can avoid increasing pressure on the pipeline. >> we'll look at customers' bill over the previous three december and average that out and then we'll look and if you saved any gas we'll send you the $25 prepaid debit card. >> federal investigators are still trying to determine the cause of the deadly san bruno explosion. >> california regulators have approved a pesticide for use by fruit and vegetable growers despite its links to cancer. environmental grou

san francisco. they hope to persuade the panel to halt smat meter installations until hearings are held on possible health links. a pucnistration law judge said the technical concerns will fall into the expertise of another agency. >> pg&e is offering $25 to customers in san francisco and san mateo county who conserve on natural gas. the explosion resulted in the pressure dropping. the company wants customers to cut their use of natural gals so it can avoid increasing pressure on the pipeline. federal investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the explosion and firefighters. >> california regulators are proved a pesticide by fruit and vegetable growers despite its link to cancer. they have rejected to the use of the pesticide that will replace another being phase the out because it depeter the ozone layer. the $1.6 billion strawberry industry. >> who said there's no free ride? bart is giving away free rides. this morning bart passing our one-way tickets to about 60,000 riders this morning. they began doing it about a half hour ago. each rider will get two tickets good for the next three weekends. they'r

san francisco. they hope to persuade the panel to halt installations until public hearings are held on possible health links. the san jose mercury news reports the pucdismissing the petition saying technical concerns fall into the expertise of another agency. pg&e's smart meter program came under attack over questions involving its accuracy. an independent study found the technology to be fundamentally sound. >> pg&e is offering $25 to customers in san francisco and san mateo county who conserve on gas this month. the explosion back in september resulted in the utility turning down the pressure. as temperatures drop pg&e expects demand for natural gas to increase as people try to keep warm. the company wants customers to cut their use so it can avoid increasing pressure on that pipeline. federal investigators are still trying to figure out the cause of the san bruno explosion and fire. directors of the state's high speed rail authority are set to meet in sacramento today and hear staff recommendations on starting the project between two tiny central california towns. officials are proposing the first tracks being built between borden and cork ran, s

puc's website. from sfgov. org. it's available on line. >> i want to talk about the hydrants. we have 2 types of hydrants in san francisco one is a backup water supply with big black plugs that's not drinking water. on the original roll out of the 100,000 hand outs they put a drinking water drop on the big hydrant. the reprints have the skinny knobby hydrants. the small little you know the british style smaller plugs much the big round one with the smooth head is not drinking water. the smaller standard white hydrant is the drinking water and the new reprint has the correct photo on it. >> that's a good thing to know. >> let me get through this last question of this and then we can open it up. how do a get a consultant to assess what i need to do to improve my building in the event of an earthquake and to help me to find softest spots in my house? >> urn fortunately dbi is not here they have a great table downstairs the dcht building inspection and they do all inspections they often offer classes free to the community where you go to the site and have an hour lunch training on what you are talking about. i want to promot

that agency that live in san francisco and are looking for a work, so i was totally confused by that article as well. just to mention, during the past week, i met with the puc regarding the calaveras dam project, and had a very pleasurable situation yesterday morning of attending a groundbreaking jointly. actually, two major projects in this case by martin buildings that are with amazingly complicated financing, coming forward. the financing is just unbelievable when they went into the details of nine years of work altogether, but at least we have two major rental housing projects that have broken ground, and that was an absolute pleasure to be on. >> thank you, commissioners. we can now move forward to directors' report. directors announcement and review, and the historic preservation commission. >> have to do the year, but sorry to report that the reason i'm here is because the planning director is sick today, so he sends his apologies. i do have a brief directors report and a report from the board of appeals. i wanted to let you know that we did have a public meeting last saturday morning at the planning department. we reached out to our group that we ca

san francisco residents will be able to access construction jobs. that is its. supervisor avalos: think you have. -- thank you. >> i want to echo fred's comments without repeating all of them. the puc has a lot of projects going on. we have not had a tool with teeth in it, want to applaud you for giving us that tool so we can make this happen as opposed to hope for it to happen. a lot to thank you for the openness. a lot of different issues to get things to work. we have the regional nature that fred talked about. we have had a lot of work to try to get people up to speed to work on our projects. this will give us some funding for it and it will give us the requirement to have the jobs available. we always struggled with some projects not working. you can't get a lot of people working on tunnels because it is a specialized thing. with the jobs folks, we are starting a series of clashes in january that will educate 45 local people. we are getting enough projects to create jobs that will be lasting for people. it takes some time and effort. we are supportive of this. will forward to working on at once if passes. [applause] supervisor avalos: you are actually next. [reads names] a cou