By Jeff Smith
Impressed by PG&E’s commitment to the environment and sustainable remediation practices, international teams from Singapore and China recently came to learn firsthand about the company’s cleanup programs at two California sites.
PG&E's Kevin Sullivan, director of environmental remediation, with visitors from the China Geological Survey.
PG&E and Environmental Resources Management, a leader in environmental health and consulting, hosted representatives from the Singapore Land Authority at a remediation site in downtown San Rafael. A manufactured gas plant operated from the late 1800s to about 1930 at the San Rafael site and PG&E is conducting a year-long environmental remediation project as a first step toward site redevelopment.
The Singapore Land Authority is the public agency responsible for increasing land resources for Singapore’s social and economic development. The site tour a few months ago was part of a larger nine-day tour during which the Singapore team met with various United States regulatory agencies to learn about policies and standards at national, state, and local levels.
The San Rafael tour gave PG&E the opportunity to showcase a large-scale remediation project that included viewing work taking place inside a fully enclosed tent to minimize dust and odors. The importance of community involvement and communications was also discussed.
“We are very grateful to have the chance to meet with the PG&E team and learn from their experience… especially to see the site firsthand,” said Alvin Sing, head of land and estate management with the Singapore Land Authority.
Representatives from the Singapore Land Authority learned about cleanup and remediation at a former manufactured gas plant in San Rafael.
In late May, PG&E hosted representatives from the China Geological Survey at the company’s Hinkley Compressor Stationgroundwater remediation project in San Bernardino County. The Chinese agency is a government-owned, nonprofit that researches geological conditions and mineral resources, and supports international data sharing to increase worldwide understanding of geological conditions and issues.
The tour was led by PG&E’s Kevin Sullivan, director of environmental remediation, and included four members of the Chinese group, representatives of the U.S. Geological Survey, the Santa Ana Regional Water Quality Control Board, and a Stanford graduate student. The tour provided a first-hand look into PG&E’s remediation project to learn about the latest technologies and sustainability practices used in our clean-up efforts.
PG&E often works with interested stakeholders to provide educational exchanges that both benefit the company’s programs and allow on-the-ground observation of its cutting-edge, sustainable remediation technologies.
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