One year ago, Lafayette residents learned of the plan for the senseless removal of hundreds of heritage oak, redwood and other trees along PG&E's gas pipelines in California. You, and nearly 2700 others, signed the petition calling for an immediate reversal of this unnecessary and destructive act by a company that time-and-time again prioritizes profit over safety. So far we've been successful, our cherished trees still remain standing! Since then, Lafayette residents have learned that the 11 miles of gas transmission pipeline are woefully and potentially dangerously mismanaged by PG&E, further proving that safety improvements -- not tree removals -- are needed in our community. Some of the safety lapses discovered: - PG&E ignores a 4' exposed pipeline that was reported 10 years ago, and does not show up on PG&E records, despite their claims of surveying the pipeline 4x a year. - PG&E has not installed a single automatic shut off valve in Lafayette, despite the recommendations of the CPUC after San Bruno. - PG&E has not strength tested or inspected the main pipeline along the Lafayette-Moraga Trail for over 30 years. They cannot determine the state of the 60-year old pipeline with any certainty. - PG&E has not conducted a single internal "smart pig" inspection of Lafayette's pipelines, which is the gold-standard of pipeline integrity testing. - PG&E will replace a segment of pipeline into Moraga to increase capacity to customers, however they will not seriously study the safety benefits of moving the pipeline into the center of Lafayette trails. - And more Lafayette's City Council has recently determined that these safety lapses are serious concerns that need further explanation before any tree cutting can be scheduled. We are working with our City to formulate our concerns, and the public has a chance to get their questions answered too. If you have a concern, please forward them to: savelafayettetrees@gmail.com. We look forward to the Lafayette City Council's involvement in holding PG&E accountable. But we remain certain that the best course of action for our community is to immediately rescind the Tree Cutting Agreement from March 27, 2017, and to look at pipeline safety as a whole. For this reason, we continue with our lawsuits in Contra Costa Superior Court, and look forward to having this matter decided on the merits of our complaints. Ways you can help: - Write to: cityhall@lovelafayette.org. Ask them to rescind the Tree Cutting Agreement. - Send your safety concerns to: savelafayettetrees@gmail.com - Donate to help our legal defense. Every dollar helps! https://www.savelafayettetrees.org/donate We are a 501(c)(3) non-profit, so all donations are tax deductible. Thank you for your continued involvement! Save Lafayette Trees