Planned Gas Release Underway In Petaluma

PETALUMA, CA — A planned natural gas release by Pacific Gas and Electric Company was underway Wednesday in Petaluma, police said.

PG&E is conducting the release in the 1300 block of North McDowell Boulevard through Friday, according to police.

The work being done is to improve PG&E’s ability to inspect the natural gas pipe in the future with greater efficiency by allowing the pipe to have a special in-line inspection tool — dubbed a “robotic pig” — that travels inside the pipeline and uses probes and sensors to precisely measure the thickness of the pipeline to ensure there are no corrosion or anomalies, a PG&E spokesperson said in an email to Patch.

"The pipe now has portions with bends and angles that won’t allow the robotic pig to travel so we’ll replace portions of the pipe to smooth out bends and angles," Spokesman Paul Moreno said.

"The In-Line-Inspection (ILI) technology is PG&E’s preferred method of inspecting our natural gas pipelines. It helps us ensure there are no defects or damage. Identifying these issues quickly and efficiently helps keep our communities safe."

According to Moreno, work on the pipe in the 1300 block of N. McDowell was scheduled to continue through Friday but the actual gas release took place Monday and Wednesday.

"We will be doing work on the pipe on Friday on the 1300 block of McDowell and it’s possible there will be some gas odor but it’s not a voiding of gas from the pipe as that has already occurred."