QUINCY, CA (MPG) - On April 11th, 2022, the District Attorneys of Plumas, Lassen, Tehama, Shasta and Butte Counties announced they have reached a settlement with PG&E over that company’s responsibility for the 2021 Dixie Fire.

The civil prosecution settlement obligates PG&E to make rapid payments by this summer to those who lost their homes in the Dixie Fire; to continue to make extensive improvements in the safety and reliability of PG&E infrastructure in the North State and the affected counties; to be subject to oversight by the District Attorneys through an independent safety monitor; to pay nearly $30 million to recompense local charities and organizations involved in mitigating the effects of the fire; and to pay penalties and costs of the investigation to the DA offices (none of which can be recoverable in customer rates).

The consortium of District Attorneys, labeled the “North State DAs” in the settlement, filed a civil rather than criminal complaint in Plumas County Superior Court accusing PG&E of unlawful business practices. After negotiations with PG&E, a stipulated Final Judgment was filed resolving the case. The DAs noted the civil Judgment allowed more flexibility in demanding changes in PG&E’s safety practices, and to obtain rapid restitution to those who lost homes and property in the Dixie Fire, while putting the company on essentially a five-year probation.

The North State DAs said the settlement was part of a larger settlement involving the Sonoma County District Attorney’s settlement of the 2019 Kincade Fire that also occurred in the Sonoma County Superior Court. The local DAs expressed appreciation for the technical and legal help by the Sonoma County District Attorney Jill Ravitch and her consumer/environmental protection staff in crafting the Dixie Fire civil complaint.

The DAs stated it was decided to pursue the Dixie Fire as a civil prosecution rather than a criminal prosecution to maximize the return to the fire victims rather than to seek criminal penalties. The DAs noted that the maximum criminal fines possible in the Dixie Fire, where thankfully no one died, was only $329,417. The civil contributions, penalties and payouts established for PG&E in the settlement judgment will instead be in the hundreds of millions of dollars.

The DAs also expressed appreciation for PG&E’s good-faith cooperation in the settlement process noting the company’s behavior and safety practices seem to be improving under its new leadership. Additionally, the DAs felt the required five-year independent DA safety monitor will give assurances to the public that PG&E will live up to its promises.

Butte County District Attorney Mike Ramsey noted that although Butte County lost no structures in the Dixie Fire, he was pleased that PG&E suggested and agreed to the “Direct Payments for Community Recovery Framework” portion of the stipulated Judgment, which will allow for rapid payments to “our neighbors to the east” who lost their homes.  Ramsey said the North State DAs were concerned that protracted litigation could prolong and delay payments – a situation many Camp Fire victims are still enduring due to the PG&E bankruptcy. “This settlement avoids both a bankruptcy and inordinate delay for the Dixie Fire homeowners and renters – particularly those without insurance.”

Ramsey said although he agreed that PG&E has made significant progress in safety efforts, the settlement will accelerate and cement those efforts. (Such as making detailed inspections of transmission towers mandatory every year rather than the pre-Camp Fire practice of approximately every five years.)

Ramsey said he was particularly adamant that PG&E agree to an independent safety monitor that would check on PG&E’s safety practices and promises with “experts in the various fields.” This independent safety monitor reports directly to the District Attorneys, Ramsey said. The engineering firm selected to be the DA safety monitor already has extensive experience with monitoring PG&E through the federal monitor program recently ended. Ramsey said the selected engineering firm is also working with the CPUC in a separate monitoring program of PG&E. The DA safety monitor contract, paid for by PG&E, is much more extensive than the CPUC program. The DA safety monitor will have actual “boots on the ground” monitoring. Ramsey said, quoting Ronald Reagan, that the required independent safety monitor is important to the DAs promise to their communities to “trust, but verify” PG&E’s ongoing commitment to safety.