PG&E said today (Oct. 15) that it supports the decision by the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) to appoint former U.S. Sen. George Mitchell to serve as mediator in talks to resolve a series of cases stemming from the September 2010 natural gas pipeline accident in San Bruno.
“We support the Commission’s decision,” said Tom Bottorff, PG&E’s senior vice president of regulatory affairs. “Senator Mitchell has a distinguished career, including experience presiding over many complex negotiations. We are committed to working with Senator Mitchell and the Commission to achieve a fair and comprehensive settlement of these issues.”
Mitchell is best known for his role as the U.S. Special Envoy for Northern Ireland, where he brokered the landmark Good Friday Peace Treaty in April 1998, and more recently as President Obama’s Special Envoy to the Middle East.
He was nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize for his success in the Northern Ireland peace process. He is the chairman emeritus of DLA Piper, an international law firm, and he will be assisted by lawyers from that firm in his role as mediator.
Mitchell served as a U.S. Senator from Maine from 1980 to 1995.
