FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: September 14, 2012 

CONTACT: (415) 554-4829 or mindy.linetzky@sfdpw.org

DPW RESPONDS TO CPUC LETTER  

San Francisco, CA – Yesterday, in a letter to City Attorney Dennis Herrera, the California Public Utilities Commission criticized the Department of Public Work’s regulations for excavating and restoring streets in San Francisco.

“I want to make it clear that the Department of Public Works has never denied or prohibited PG&E or any utility from performing urgent work on San Francisco streets," said DPW Director Mohammed Nuru. “Safety is our top priority and we routinely coordinate with all utilities so that they can maintain and replace their infrastructure under the streets of San Francisco.”

Major work such as pipeline replacement is routinely coordinated between all utility companies and City agencies through the Committee for Utility Liaison on Construction and Other Projects (CULCOP) and the 5-year plan coordination tool. Planned work is forecasted to ensure uniformity and consistency across all public and private agencies.

“This coordination minimizes the disruption that occurs to residents and businesses from street work. This helps avoid costly digs into freshly paved streets, however, waivers are available and routinely used in cases of emergencies,” continued Mohammed Nuru. “Also, PG&E has not complained to DPW nor indicated that the moratorium is prohibiting them from providing safe utility service in any way. We expect PG&E to tell us if we are holding up any of their projects."

The goal of this coordinated process to minimize disruption due to excavation work in the public right of way. It is not only an inconvenience to residents and businesses, but financially inefficient to dig up and repave a street multiple times. It is always better to coordinate activities and replace any underground infrastructure at the same time. Limiting the amount of excavation work also helps to maintain the structural integrity of the street.

DPW is responsible for the care and maintenance of San Francisco’s streets and much of its infrastructure. The department cleans and resurfaces streets; plants and maintains city street trees; designs, constructs and maintains city-owned facilities; inspects streets and sidewalks; constructs curb ramps; removes graffiti from public property; and partners with the diverse neighborhoods in San Francisco to provide stellar cleaning and greening services.

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