- Pro Brono Attorney or Legal Representation(adsbygoogle = window.adsbygoogle || []).push({}); Help Pete find an Attorney Dear Prospectiv...
- The Metcalf Event: Assault on California Power Station Raises Alarm on Potential for TerrorismCustody of Bennett's Laptop PG&E Software Sub-Contractor alleges PG&E data breach was well prep...
- The Benny chetcuti Jr. Connection to Deceased BART OfficersBART DIRECTORS Important Message Benny chetcuti Jr. Knows CNET, Butler, and Wielsch The...
- Dear Senator Feinstein : I Am Forced to Beg for Help and Witness Protection From US GovernmentThe Honorable Senator Diane Feinsten, United State Senate One Post Street, Suite 2450San Francisc...
- Christiansen, chetcuti, Lapus and Butler - The real estate links that lead to the Seeno'sLafayette CA: For several decades of perhaps longer, a series of major fires, incidents and acciden...
- Benny chetcuti Jr. Walnut Creek Real Estate Investor Indicted For FraudWalnut Creek Real Estate Investor Indicted For Fraud FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2014...
- Obituary Analysis of Charles Silverman, San Bruno Fire and the chetcuti FamilyWalnut Creek CA: During summer 2013 a break came via a brief conversation with someone who was the ...
Attorney Mayhem - Unbelievable amount of deaths near the legal community
Attorney Mayhem
Some Win and Some Never Loose
- Pro Brono attorney or Legal RepresentationHelp Pete find an attorney Dear Prospective attorney, Please accept my highly unusual approach...
- Letter to State attorneyGeneral OfficesSent to the SAG https://oag.ca.gov/victimservices/contact Comments: I live in Contra Costa Cou...
OFFICE OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL, PIPELINE SAFET Y DIVISION
OFFICE OF THE STATE FIRE MARSHAL, PIPELINE SAFETY DIVISION
Pipeline Safety Seminar
May 1, 2014 • Crowne Plaza Concord
Agenda
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Registration, Continental Breakfast and Exhibit Viewing
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Welcome and Opening
Mike Richwine, Assistant State Fire Marshal, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Facility Piping: What is it and what do I need to know about it?
Bob Gorham, Division Chief, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal,
Pipeline Safety Division
A discussion of local, state and federal definitions, interpretations and MOU’s relating to DOT
regulated facilities.
• What is DOT piping and equipment?
• When is it exempt from local jurisdiction?
• What types of testing and inspections must an operator conduct?
9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Damage Prevention Toolbox
Geoff Price, One Call Specialist, Chevron Pipeline
The toolbox is a collection of damage prevention shared learnings and practices for onshore,
hazardous liquid transmission pipeline operation. The learnings and practices outlined may
be utilized by an operator as information to be considered when analyzing, reviewing and/or
modifying existing procedures. It is not intended to be utilized as a recommended practice or
basis for regulation.
10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Break and Exhibit Viewing
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PHMSA Western Region: What We Do, and Updates
Thomas Finch, Community Assistance and Technical Services Manager,
United States Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Division, Pipeline Safety, Western Region
• PHP Western Region Facts – for lessons learned from these facts
• Western Region CATS Focus Areas – what CATS do to assist operators and the public
• Integrity Management (IM) – lessons learned from IM
• Regulatory Update – cover any new and current rulemakings in process to cover what is in
the works
• State Programs Division – brief on federal state cooperation
• What DOT Regulates – the pipeline miles covered
PHMSA Western Region: Integrity Management
Huy Nguyen, Operations Supervisor, United States Department of Transportation,
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Division, Pipeline Safety, Western Region
IMP facts and regulations.
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch and Exhibit ViewingAgenda
(continued)
1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Integrity Testing Requirements for California Hazardous Liquid Pipelines
Dan Le, Pipeline Safety Engineers, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal
Xuan Nguyen, Pipeline Safety Engineers, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal
Tom Williams, Pipeline Safety Engineers, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal
Existing and new pipeline integrity testing requirements mandated by both federal and
California codes.
1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Overview of Environmental Review and Permitting
Marcia Grefsrud, Environmental Scientist, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
An overview of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Lake or Streambed Alteration
Program and the California Endangered Species Program. The presenter will discuss the
permitting requirements, which also include compliance with the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA).
2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Break
2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Effective 24/7 Pipeline Damage Protection
Brandon Porter, Vice President, Western Plant and Pipeline Products,
Rhino Line Marking and Damage Prevention
Protecting your pipeline from hits by effective marking and public awareness.
3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Trench Safety/Competent
Gary Shepherd, DSFM Pipeline Safety (Retired), Shepherd Risk and Safety Advocates
Recognition of safe trench operations and the needed competency to perform this task.
3:45 p.m. Seminar Adjourns
Pipeline Safety Seminar
May 1, 2014 • Crowne Plaza Concord
Agenda
8:00 a.m. – 8:30 a.m. Registration, Continental Breakfast and Exhibit Viewing
8:30 a.m. – 9:00 a.m. Welcome and Opening
Mike Richwine, Assistant State Fire Marshal, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal
9:00 a.m. – 9:30 a.m. Facility Piping: What is it and what do I need to know about it?
Bob Gorham, Division Chief, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal,
Pipeline Safety Division
A discussion of local, state and federal definitions, interpretations and MOU’s relating to DOT
regulated facilities.
• What is DOT piping and equipment?
• When is it exempt from local jurisdiction?
• What types of testing and inspections must an operator conduct?
9:30 a.m. – 10:15 a.m. Damage Prevention Toolbox
Geoff Price, One Call Specialist, Chevron Pipeline
The toolbox is a collection of damage prevention shared learnings and practices for onshore,
hazardous liquid transmission pipeline operation. The learnings and practices outlined may
be utilized by an operator as information to be considered when analyzing, reviewing and/or
modifying existing procedures. It is not intended to be utilized as a recommended practice or
basis for regulation.
10:15 a.m. – 11:00 a.m. Break and Exhibit Viewing
11:00 a.m. – 12:00 p.m. PHMSA Western Region: What We Do, and Updates
Thomas Finch, Community Assistance and Technical Services Manager,
United States Department of Transportation, Pipeline and Hazardous
Materials Safety Division, Pipeline Safety, Western Region
• PHP Western Region Facts – for lessons learned from these facts
• Western Region CATS Focus Areas – what CATS do to assist operators and the public
• Integrity Management (IM) – lessons learned from IM
• Regulatory Update – cover any new and current rulemakings in process to cover what is in
the works
• State Programs Division – brief on federal state cooperation
• What DOT Regulates – the pipeline miles covered
PHMSA Western Region: Integrity Management
Huy Nguyen, Operations Supervisor, United States Department of Transportation,
Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Division, Pipeline Safety, Western Region
IMP facts and regulations.
12:00 p.m. – 1:00 p.m. Lunch and Exhibit ViewingAgenda
(continued)
1:00 p.m. – 1:45 p.m. Integrity Testing Requirements for California Hazardous Liquid Pipelines
Dan Le, Pipeline Safety Engineers, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal
Xuan Nguyen, Pipeline Safety Engineers, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal
Tom Williams, Pipeline Safety Engineers, CAL FIRE, Office of the State Fire Marshal
Existing and new pipeline integrity testing requirements mandated by both federal and
California codes.
1:45 p.m. – 2:30 p.m. Overview of Environmental Review and Permitting
Marcia Grefsrud, Environmental Scientist, California Department of Fish and Wildlife
An overview of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Lake or Streambed Alteration
Program and the California Endangered Species Program. The presenter will discuss the
permitting requirements, which also include compliance with the California Environmental
Quality Act (CEQA).
2:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m. Break
2:45 p.m. – 3:15 p.m. Effective 24/7 Pipeline Damage Protection
Brandon Porter, Vice President, Western Plant and Pipeline Products,
Rhino Line Marking and Damage Prevention
Protecting your pipeline from hits by effective marking and public awareness.
3:15 p.m. – 3:45 p.m. Trench Safety/Competent
Gary Shepherd, DSFM Pipeline Safety (Retired), Shepherd Risk and Safety Advocates
Recognition of safe trench operations and the needed competency to perform this task.
3:45 p.m. Seminar Adjourns
Sheriff: Cal Fire official missing after killing fiancee
SACRAMENTO, Calif. (KCRA) —The white pickup truck belonging to a Cal Fire battalion chief suspected of killing his 26-year-old fiancee has been found in Elk Grove.
But 55-year-old Orville Fleming remains at large, according to the Sacramento County Sheriff's Department on Thursday night.
The vehicle is a 2007 Chevy with a Cal Fire logo painted on its side. Officers with the Elk Grove Police Department found the unoccupied truck about 8 p.m. at Black Kite Drive and Apricot Woods Way.
Neither an air nor a ground search has revealed any sightings of Fleming.
He does have ties to the Elk Grove neighborhood where police found the truck, said sheriff's spokeswoman Lisa Bowman, although she didn't indicate what those were.
Witnesses in the neighborhood said it's possible the truck could have been parked in the area since the early morning hours.
Fleming is accused of killing Sarah Douglas in the couple's South Sacramento home, and then taking off -- possibly to the Fresno/Clovis area, officials said Thursday.
Douglas' aunt, Trina Werly, said the pair had been together "a couple years."
"(People) said he was a good guy, but he was very obsessive and controlling and possessing over her," Werly said. "I believe he has firearms."
Fleming works as a Cal Fire instructor in Ione, and has been with the state fire agency for 24 years. Cal Fire officials are working with the sheriff on the investigation.
"Right now, we have to let the sheriff's office do their investigation (and) figure out what happened -- who was involved," Cal Fire spokesman Daniel Berlant said. "Because of how serious this is though, we are absolutely supporting them in (every) way that we can."
Douglas' sister found Sarah dead in a bedroom, the aunt told KCRA 3.
" ... You never want to find a family member like this -- the way that he left her was tragic," Werly said. "It was extremely violent. You can see there was a serious struggle."
It was around 9 a.m. Thursday when deputies learned of the body found inside the home, which sits in the 9300 block of Fox River Way. It's not clear how they were tipped off to Fleming as a suspect.
"(Douglas') mom said that when she met (Fleming), she felt he would try to do something to Sarah," Werly said.
Investigators said earlier Thursday that they believed Fleming wouldn't stick around the Sacramento area.
In addition to the Fresno region, he has ties to several other parts of California, the sheriff's department said.
Fleming has brown hair and brown eyes, stands at 6 feet 1 inch tall and weighs about 190 pounds, deputies said.
Anyone who has had any contact with Fleming, or spotted the man, is asked to to call 916-874-5115. Homicide detectives are working the case.
"We're wondering how this is going to all turn out," Werly said. "My family is going to take a lot to recover from this. Sarah is a good girl. She'll be really missed."
KCRA 3's Claire Doan contributed to this report.
Read more: http://www.kcra.com/news/detectives-search-for-suspect-in-south-sac-homicide/25764856#ixzz30bXWmboZ
Dennis Sandoval -56-year-old man killed after car plunges into canal
petercbennett123April 30, 2014Accidents, attorney, BANTA, BART, Las Lomas High School, Mormon, Mormons, Obituaries, Pittsburg, Sandoval
The Man in the Canal
Sheets
Special title treatment
Man speaks out against BART in November 2013 and is dead by April 2nd, 2014. I know that it's another Cold Case County accident where residents like Bennett who speak out are nearly killed in Walnut Creek crosswalks, that his friends like Kellie Reed or his attorneys brother in-law are killed and damn even when Bennett's truck exploded on the Freeway nothing -
I have witnesses and they are Mormon's that are friends with Supervisor Anderson who knows James Greenan where they happily drink that Mormon Swill known as Kool-Aid and Jello -
More to come
Just kinda of weird
When speaking up on BART issues you should be careful as someone might
pull a Sandoval on you.
Dennis Sandoval
, 56, of Pittsburg has been riding BART for four decades, and he is fed
up by the two strikes and ongoing labor dispute, in which the transit
agency board is refusing to ratify the tentative contract because of a
family medical leave section it says was accidentally included.
"The state should take over the entire operation," he said, questioning
whether either BART management or its unions are taking commuters into
consideration.
"The voice of the commuters, the hundreds of thousands of people who
ride BART every day, is not being heard at the negotiation table," he
said. "What about us?"
Trost said the transit agency's priority is its riders and that it tries to keep them informed of potential or actual shutdowns, whether caused by strike, computer failures or someone or something on the tracks.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BART-riders-grumble-over-lingering-uncertainty-5018166.php#photo-5522443
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/man-dies-when-car-plunges-pittsburg-canal/nfQpm/
Trost said the transit agency's priority is its riders and that it tries to keep them informed of potential or actual shutdowns, whether caused by strike, computer failures or someone or something on the tracks.
http://www.sfgate.com/bayarea/article/BART-riders-grumble-over-lingering-uncertainty-5018166.php#photo-5522443
http://www.ktvu.com/news/news/local/man-dies-when-car-plunges-pittsburg-canal/nfQpm/
Pro Bono Attorney or Legal Representation
petercbennett123April 29, 2014Accidents, attorney, BANTA, contra Costa Bar Association, Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Taskforce, Homeless, Homeless Victims, Las Lomas High School
Please accept my highly unusual approach in reaching out for counsel. The type of firm doesn't matter nor does your field of expertise this email is desperate plea for legal representation, repeated violation of my civil right, attack on the court, officers of the court and redlining of litigant to homelessness.
In 2004 I was attacked and beaten in Danville CA, a month earlier my truck was rigged for arson and exploded on 680 nearly burning me alive. You won't find a police report for the fire nor will you find a police report for the July 20th 2011 hit and run in Lafayette CA where once again my car was destroyed.
2005- Mid Year Beat the Attorney
Be Well Prepared
After that accident it was clear someone was after me. In June 2011 the FBI arrested Danville Police Officer Stephen Tanabe, Steve was in my cubscout den, he was in my house often and knew I carried nearly a million of life insurance payable to my then wife and sons.
The PG&E Internal Conspiracy
During Spring / Summer of 2011 I was working for PG&E developing software connected to the deadly PG&E San Bruno Pipeline Explosion
but the previous fall I had a PG&E Engineer standing my for former offices next to a retired San Francisco Police Officer Lt. David Oberhoffer. Oberhoffer is a well known entity to East Bay Police officers but there is another side that places him close to numerous fires and incidents. Oberhoffer was in my offices with PG&E High Performance Engineer Hugh Smith just days after the PG&E San Bruno Fire
Crime victims are entitled to justice and due process. Their rights include, but are not limited to, the right to notice and to be heard during critical stages of the justice system; the right to receive restitution from the criminal wrongdoer; the right to be reasonably safe throughout the justice process; the right to expect the government to properly fund the criminal justice system, so that the rights of crime victims stated in these Findings and Declarations and justice itself are not eroded by inadequate resources; and, above all, the right to an expeditious and just punishment of the criminal wrongdoer.
Crime victims are entitled to justice and due process. Their rights include, but are not limited to, the right to notice and to be heard during critical stages of the justice system; the right to receive restitution from the criminal wrongdoer; the right to be reasonably safe throughout the justice process; the right to expect the government to properly fund the criminal justice system, so that the rights of crime victims stated in these Findings and Declarations and justice itself are not eroded by inadequate resources; and, above all, the right to an expeditious and just punishment of the criminal wrongdoer.
Letter to State Attorney General Offices
Sent to the SAG
https://oag.ca.gov/victimservices/contact
Comments:
I live in Contra Costa County and I have a target on my back the persons carrying the badges are the ones I have to worry about. I have had so many murders near me, so many attempts to harm me, my family and my friends I no longer believe the court system in this county is able to function.
I appear in a public forum and the next few months persons near my complaints were murdered.
Following has happened to me
2004 Beating and hospitalization by Danville Building Inspector,
2004 My truck exploded from an arson
2005 Poisoning Event - near fatal event
2005 Tainted medicine
2007 Hospitalization for bizarre infections
2007 Attacked by different inspector
2008 Cars vandalized
2010 Business Targeted by Police Offices
2011 FBI Arrests Commander Wielsch -Butler
that would your employee
2013 Mugging in Oroville
2011 car totaled in Hit and Run Lafayette Chief won't investigate, once dated ex-wife - attempted murder -
2012 Laptop Stolen with PG&E data now part of domestic terrorism case
2013 Roommate beaten and hospitalized
2013 Nearly killed in Crosswalk
2012 Brother in-law of divorce attorney murdered
2005 Former Attorney mugged in Walnut Creek
2001 Former Attorney offices hit by arsonist
2012 Friend murdered
2012 Friend dies in Suspicious Fire
2014 Friend Murdered - Bartender
2012 Music Friend Murdered - nephew of former State Senator
2014 Music Friend Murdered - Local Bartender
2014 Friend Murdered
This is just the recent stuff
Butler-o-rama no drama Butler gets 1 year knocked off from Sentence
petercbennett123April 28, 2014CNET, Contra Costa Narcotics Enforcement Taskforce, Tanabe links, US Grand Jury
http://www.sfgate.com/crime/article/Dirty-DUI-mastermind-gets-sentence-reduced-5436915.php
(04-28) 21:08 PDT SAN FRANCISCO --Christopher Butler, the former private investigator convicted of framing men for drunken-driving arrests, selling drugs and opening a brothel as part of the "Dirty DUI" scandal, had a year shaved from his federal sentence Monday because he had cooperated with prosecutors.
In a one-page order, U.S. District Judge Charles Breyer in San Francisco said he was reducing Butler's sentence from eight to seven years at the request of the U.S. Attorney's Office. The judge didn't elaborate.
Butler's attorney, William Gagen, said Monday, however, that his client was eligible for a reduced sentence because he had agreed to testify against two other defendants in the case.
"It is good news," Gagen said. "A person is benefited in the eyes of the government if they accept responsibility and, in the course of that acceptance of responsibility, they are truthful about the participation of others."
Butler, 52, is serving time at Englewood, a low-security federal prison in Littleton, Colo.
Butler had testified for the prosecution against former Contra Costa County sheriff's Deputy Stephen Tanabe.
Tanabe was sentenced to a year and three months in prison after being convicted of charges that he accepted a pistol from Butler in exchange for arresting two men who the private investigator had baited into driving drunk.
Butler, a former Antioch police officer, was also prepared to testify against San Ramon divorce attorney Mary Nolan, but she pleaded guilty to tax evasion and hiring Butler to plant a listening device in a car of a client's ex-husband. She was sentenced to two years in federal prison.
Butler and Norman Wielsch, the former commander of an elite county narcotics task force, were the masterminds of a corruption scheme involving several other law-enforcement officers. Wielsch was sentenced to 14 years in federal prison after being convicted of stealing narcotics from evidence lockers and trying to sell them back on the street.
Henry K. Lee is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. E-mail: hlee@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @henryklee
The Metcalf Event: Assault on California Power Station Raises Alarm on Potential for Terrorism
petercbennett123April 28, 2014Data Breach, Domestic Terrorism, Fiber Optics, Public Utilities, Sabotage, sniper, Terrorism, The Metcalf Substation Attack
Custody of Bennett's Laptop |
When Bennett was hired for PG&E in March 2011 it was too good to be true, he was homeless seeking a job but instead he discovers links to his PG&R project to persons standing in his offices days after the PG&E fire that killed eight in 2010 but as research progressed discovers links between his 2004 Arson fire and Walnut Creek CA Broadway Extensions Pipeline Explosion known locally as the Kinder Morgan Fire. When Bennett discovers the link between Alicia Driscoll (The Driscoll Murders) and the heavy equipment operator for Mountain Cascade it was clear the original fire investigation might be flawed.
A critical leg to the story occurred on July 7th 2011 with the arrest of Bennett but more important how that arrest links to the Walnut Creek Bomb Squad and the Benny Chetcuti Jr. US Grand Jury Indictment. which links to Regional Parking who towed Bennett's truck off who happens to be partnered with Chetcuti whose sister is married to Chris Butler convicted for his role in the Dirty DUI Story who happens to know Bennett's former Danville who knows the Mormons who are suspects in Bennett's truck arson fire which precedes the 2004 Pipeline fire by 90 days but there is no police report even though there were police officers on-scene.
Does anyone believe that this is possible? You should because it happened but fortunately the FBI investigated another arson fire connected to Bennett's other attorney where Chetcuti,Butler, Wielsch and others know the commercial property owner whose is listed on Chetcuti's bankruptcy petition. At this point I'd say that Chetcuti and Butler are arsonists.
SAN JOSE, Calif.—The attack began just before 1 a.m. on April 16 last year, when someone slipped into an underground vault not far from a busy freeway and cut telephone cables.
Within half an hour, snipers opened fire on a nearby electrical substation. Shooting for 19 minutes, they surgically knocked out 17 giant transformers that funnel power to Silicon Valley. A minute before a police car arrived, the shooters disappeared into the night.
A sniper attack in April that knocked out an electrical substation near San Jose, Calif., has raised fears that the country's power grid is vulnerable to terrorism. WSJ's Rebecca Smith has the details. Photo: Talia Herman for The Wall Street Journal
With over 160,000 miles of transmission lines, the U.S. power grid is designed to handle natural and man-made disasters, as well as fluctuations in demand. How does the system work? WSJ's Jason Bellini has #TheShortAnswer.
To avoid a blackout, electric-grid officials rerouted power around the site and asked power plants in Silicon Valley to produce more electricity. But it took utility workers 27 days to make repairs and bring the substation back to life.
Nobody has been arrested or charged in the attack at PG&E Corp.'s PCG +0.73%Metcalf transmission substation. It is an incident of which few Americans are aware. But one former federal regulator is calling it a terrorist act that, if it were widely replicated across the country, could take down the U.S. electric grid and black out much of the country.
The attack was "the most significant incident of domestic terrorism involving the grid that has ever occurred" in the U.S., said Jon Wellinghoff, who was chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission at the time.
The Wall Street Journal assembled a chronology of the Metcalf attack from filings PG&E made to state and federal regulators; from other documents including a video released by the Santa Clara County Sheriff's Department; and from interviews, including with Mr. Wellinghoff.
The 64-year-old Nevadan, who was appointed to FERC in 2006 by President George W. Bush and stepped down in November, said he gave closed-door, high-level briefings to federal agencies, Congress and the White House last year. As months have passed without arrests, he said, he has grown increasingly concerned that an even larger attack could be in the works. He said he was going public about the incident out of concern that national security is at risk and critical electric-grid sites aren't adequately protected.
The Federal Bureau of Investigation doesn't think a terrorist organization caused the Metcalf attack, said a spokesman for the FBI in San Francisco. Investigators are "continuing to sift through the evidence," he said.
Some people in the utility industry share Mr. Wellinghoff's concerns, including a former official at PG&E, Metcalf's owner, who told an industry gathering in November he feared the incident could have been a dress rehearsal for a larger event.
"This wasn't an incident where Billy-Bob and Joe decided, after a few brewskis, to come in and shoot up a substation," Mark Johnson, retired vice president of transmission for PG&E, told the utility security conference, according to a video of his presentation. "This was an event that was well thought out, well planned and they targeted certain components." When reached, Mr. Johnson declined to comment further.
A spokesman for PG&E said the company takes all incidents seriously but declined to discuss the Metcalf event in detail for fear of giving information to potential copycats. "We won't speculate about the motives" of the attackers, added the spokesman, Brian Swanson. He said PG&E has increased security measures.
Utility executives and federal energy officials have long worried that the electric grid is vulnerable to sabotage. That is in part because the grid, which is really three systems serving different areas of the U.S., has failed when small problems such as trees hitting transmission lines created cascading blackouts. One in 2003 knocked out power to 50 million people in the Eastern U.S. and Canada for days.
Many of the system's most important components sit out in the open, often in remote locations, protected by little more than cameras and chain-link fences.
Transmission substations are critical links in the grid. They make it possible for electricity to move long distances, and serve as hubs for intersecting power lines.
Within a substation, transformers raise the voltage of electricity so it can travel hundreds of miles on high-voltage lines, or reduce voltages when electricity approaches its destination. The Metcalf substation functions as an off-ramp from power lines for electricity heading to homes and businesses in Silicon Valley.
The country's roughly 2,000 very large transformers are expensive to build, often costing millions of dollars each, and hard to replace. Each is custom made and weighs up to 500,000 pounds, and "I can only build 10 units a month," said Dennis Blake, general manager of Pennsylvania Transformer in Pittsburgh, one of seven U.S. manufacturers. The utility industry keeps some spares on hand.
A 2009 Energy Department report said that "physical damage of certain system components (e.g. extra-high-voltage transformers) on a large scale…could result in prolonged outages, as procurement cycles for these components range from months to years."
Mr. Wellinghoff said a FERC analysis found that if a surprisingly small number of U.S. substations were knocked out at once, that could destabilize the system enough to cause a blackout that could encompass most of the U.S.
Not everyone is so pessimistic. Gerry Cauley, chief executive of the North America Electric Reliability Corp., a standards-setting group that reports to FERC, said he thinks the grid is more resilient than Mr. Wellinghoff fears.
"I don't want to downplay the scenario he describes," Mr. Cauley said. "I'll agree it's possible from a technical assessment." But he said that even if several substations went down, the vast majority of people would have their power back in a few hours.
The utility industry has been focused on Internet attacks, worrying that hackers could take down the grid by disabling communications and important pieces of equipment. Companies have reported 13 cyber incidents in the past three years, according to a Wall Street Journal analysis of emergency reports utilities file with the federal government. There have been no reports of major outages linked to these events, although companies have generally declined to provide details.
"A lot of people in the electric industry have been distracted by cybersecurity threats," said Stephen Berberich, chief executive of the California Independent System Operator, which runs much of the high-voltage transmission system for the utilities. He said that physical attacks pose a "big, if not bigger" menace.
There were 274 significant instances of vandalism or deliberate damage in the three years, and more than 700 weather-related problems, according to the Journal's analysis.
Until the Metcalf incident, attacks on U.S. utility equipment were mostly linked to metal thieves, disgruntled employees or bored hunters, who sometimes took potshots at small transformers on utility poles to see what happens. (Answer: a small explosion followed by an outage.)
Last year, an Arkansas man was charged with multiple attacks on the power grid, including setting fire to a switching station. He has pleaded not guilty and is undergoing a psychiatric evaluation, according to federal court records.
Overseas, terrorist organizations were linked to 2,500 attacks on transmission lines or towers and at least 500 on substations from 1996 to 2006, according to a January report from the Electric Power Research Institute, an industry-funded research group, which cited State Department data.
An attack on a PG&E substation near San Jose, Calif., in April knocked out 17 transformers like this one.Talia Herman for The Wall Street Journal
To some, the Metcalf incident has lifted the discussion of serious U.S. grid attacks beyond the theoretical. "The breadth and depth of the attack was unprecedented" in the U.S., said Rich Lordan, senior technical executive for the Electric Power Research Institute. The motivation, he said, "appears to be preparation for an act of war."
The attack lasted slightly less than an hour, according to the chronology assembled by the Journal.
At 12:58 a.m., AT&T fiber-optic telecommunications cables were cut—in a way that made them hard to repair—in an underground vault near the substation, not far from U.S. Highway 101 just outside south San Jose. It would have taken more than one person to lift the metal vault cover, said people who visited the site.
Nine minutes later, some customers of Level 3 Communications, an Internet service provider, lost service. Cables in its vault near the Metcalf substation were also cut.
At 1:31 a.m., a surveillance camera pointed along a chain-link fence around the substation recorded a streak of light that investigators from the Santa Clara County Sheriff's office think was a signal from a waved flashlight. It was followed by the muzzle flash of rifles and sparks from bullets hitting the fence.
The substation's cameras weren't aimed outside its perimeter, where the attackers were. They shooters appear to have aimed at the transformers' oil-filled cooling systems. These began to bleed oil, but didn't explode, as the transformers probably would have done if hit in other areas.
About six minutes after the shooting started, PG&E confirms, it got an alarm from motion sensors at the substation, possibly from bullets grazing the fence, which is shown on video.
Four minutes later, at 1:41 a.m., the sheriff's department received a 911 call about gunfire, sent by an engineer at a nearby power plant that still had phone service.
Riddled with bullet holes, the transformers leaked 52,000 gallons of oil, then overheated. The first bank of them crashed at 1:45 a.m., at which time PG&E's control center about 90 miles north received an equipment-failure alarm.
Five minutes later, another apparent flashlight signal, caught on film, marked the end of the attack. More than 100 shell casings of the sort ejected by AK-47s were later found at the site.
At 1:51 a.m., law-enforcement officers arrived, but found everything quiet. Unable to get past the locked fence and seeing nothing suspicious, they left.
A PG&E worker, awakened by the utility's control center at 2:03 a.m., arrived at 3:15 a.m. to survey the damage.
Grid officials routed some power around the substation to keep the system stable and asked customers in Silicon Valley to conserve electricity.
In a news release, PG&E said the substation had been hit by vandals. It has since confirmed 17 transformers were knocked out.
Mr. Wellinghoff, then chairman of FERC, said that after he heard about the scope of the attack, he flew to California, bringing with him experts from the Joint Warfare Analysis Center in Dahlgren, Va. After walking the site with PG&E officials and FBI agents, Mr. Wellinghoff said, the military experts told him it looked like a professional job.
In addition to fingerprint-free shell casings, they pointed out small piles of rocks, which they said could have been left by an advance scout to tell the attackers where to get the best shots.
"They said it was a targeting package just like they would put together for an attack," Mr. Wellinghoff said.
Mr. Wellinghoff, now a law partner at Stoel Rives LLP in San Francisco, said he arranged a series of meetings in the following weeks to let other federal agencies, including the Department of Homeland Security, know what happened and to enlist their help. He held a closed-door meeting with utility executives in San Francisco in June and has distributed lists of things utilities should do to strengthen their defenses.
A spokesman for Homeland Security said it is up to utilities to protect the grid. The department's role in an emergency is to connect federal agencies and local police and facilitate information sharing, the spokesman said.
As word of the attack spread through the utility industry, some companies moved swiftly to review their security efforts. "We're looking at things differently now," said Michelle Campanella, an FBI veteran who is director of security for Consolidated Edison Inc.ED +0.90% in New York. For example, she said, Con Ed changed the angles of some of its 1,200 security cameras "so we don't have any blind spots."
Some of the legislators Mr. Wellinghoff briefed are calling for action. Rep. Henry Waxman (D., Calif.) mentioned the incident at a FERC oversight hearing in December, saying he was concerned that no one in government can order utilities to improve grid protections or to take charge in an emergency.
As for Mr. Wellinghoff, he said he has made something of a hobby of visiting big substations to look over defenses and see whether he is questioned by security details or local police. He said he typically finds easy access to fence lines that are often close to important equipment.
"What keeps me awake at night is a physical attack that could take down the grid," he said. "This is a huge problem."
—Tom McGinty contributed to this article.
PG&E Hillside Covenant Church possesed Metcalf Sub Station Documents fought Bennett for six months - Lynds knows WCPD Bomb Squad
Letter Regarding Claim #1185580 - it took over six months to get Hillside
Covenant Church to open the claim - in between a domestic terrorism event
known as the Metcalf Event occurred in San Jose. One Pete Bennett core
allegations was the PG&E data that was placed on Bennett's laptop could be
used for a domestic terrorism event.
To see an obfuscated representation please check my
FBI Sting >> King Funding Group
Contact Us
King Funding GroupMichael A. King
770-281-8910
2180 Satellite Boulevard, Suite 400
Duluth, GA 30097
Office: 770-281-8910
Email: info@kingfundinggroup.com
Name | |
Company Name | |
Contact Phone | |
Message | |
Benny Chetcuti Jr. Walnut Creek Real Estate Investor Indicted For Fraud
By Pete Bennett CNET Scandal
Date: April 25th, 2014
More About Benny Chetcuti Jr.
Walnut Creek CA -- Walnut Creek Real Estate Investor Indicted For Fraud FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE March 28, 2014 OAKLAND – A federal grand jury returned a two count indictment for wirie
More About Benny Chetcuti Jr.