SAN FRANCISCO (AP) - Pacific Gas & Electric Co., the nation’s largest utility, has agreed to pay up to $190 million to clean up and revitalize a San Francisco harbor that was polluted by a long-closed gas plant, it was announced Friday.
The agreement, announced by City Attorney Dennis Herrera, involves the Marina Small Craft Harbor, which is the city’s oldest recreational marina.
The city sued PG&E in 2001 over pollution from a coal gasification plant near the harbor that closed nearly 90 years ago. The plant produced gas for San Francisco customers.
The settlement, which requires approval from the Board of Supervisors, calls for PG&E to pay for cleaning up pollution in the East Harbor, replace failing docks and help fund a bayside park and other recreational opportunities under a design from the city’s Recreation and Park Department.
The utility could get some of that money back from future marina boat fees.
“I’m pleased that PG&E is finally doing the right thing in this instance and paying to clean up its pollution,” Herrera said in a statement. “It’s unfortunate we had to take them to court and then negotiate for years to get this outcome.“
The settlement was part of an ongoing discussion with the city “as part of PG&E’s commitment to environmental responsibility and public safety,” spokesman Jeff Smith said in a statement to the San Francisco Chronicle.
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