FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Media Contact: PUC Press Office, 415.703.1366 - news@cpuc.ca.gov
PUC AND PG&E ANNOUNCE FIRST MEETING OF STEWARDSHIP COUNCIL CREATED TO
OVERSEE MASSIVE LAND DONATION
SAN FRANCISCO, April 27, 2004 - More than a hundred thousand acres of California's wildlands are about to be protected forever and unparalleled recreation opportunities will be offered to urban youth because of a California Public Utilities Commission (PUC)-negotiated settlement to get Pacific Gas and Electric Company (PG&E) out of bankruptcy.
The people who will make the new arrangement work will meet for the first time in San Francisco this week.
WHAT: Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council inaugural meeting
WHEN: Thurs., April 29, 2004, 2 p.m.
WHERE: PUC, 505 Van Ness Ave., 1st Floor Training Room (corner of McAllister, nearest BART station: Civic Center)
WHO: Michael R. Peevey, President of the PUC; Robert D. Glynn, Jr., Chairman, CEO and President of PG&E Corporation; and the newly appointed Stewardship Council that includes representatives from conservation groups, the Legislature, the PUC, and business.
VISUALS: Photos of several protected watershed areas will be available.
As reported by the San Francisco Chronicle (April 2, 2004) the PUC settlement with PG&E includes a "monumental" settlement to protect 140,000 acres (almost twice the size of the Golden Gate National Recreation Area) in perpetuity. One conservationist quoted in the story calls it "one of the top transactions for preserving valuable habitat in this state in the last century." ("Monumental deal for PG&E land" http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2004/04/02/MNG405VM1G1.DTL)
"Many government and corporate actions affect people for a few years or a generation. This action will continue to benefit Californians for generations," said PUC President Peevey. "We have the outlines of a masterpiece and I am sure the Council will fill it in well."
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