Manufactured gas plants

Project overview

PG&E has completed cleanup activities addressing contaminated soil at the site of a former manufactured gas plant (MGP), located at 600 Rio Street in Red Bluff, California. All work was performed voluntarily under the oversight of the California Department of Toxic Substances Control (DTSC) and in coordination with the Bureau of Reclamation, Caltrans, the City of Red Bluff and Tehama County.

Cleanup activities included the removal and off-site disposal of roughly 15,775 cubic yards (about 1,000 truckloads) of shallow soil and on-site treatment of about 9,700 cubic yards of deeper soil impacted by historic gas making activities. Workers backfilled excavations with clean, imported soil and graded the site to promote drainage. We installed new gates, asphalt paving and landscaping.

PG&E is working with DTSC to obtain a certificate of completion. Groundwater will continue to be monitored to confirm cleanup activities were successful. With cleanup complete, PG&E is looking to sell the property so that it may be returned to productive use.

Sustainability

As part of PG&E’s commitment to sustainable remediation practices, this project used California Air Resource Board-compliant trucks, carpooling and low-emissions equipment. We also recycled materials whenever possible. This resulted in approximately 300 metric tons of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gas reductions and roughly 430 tons of asphalt, concrete and metal being recycled.

Site history

The former Red Bluff MGP operated from 1874 to 1947 and provided a constant source of energy for cooking, lighting, heating and hot water to the surrounding community before natural gas became available. PG&E purchased the plant in 1919 and operated it until 1947. PG&E removed the old gas plant equipment by 1949 and sold the property in 1959. A motel was built on the site in 1962 and operated until 2010 when PG&E repurchased the site to safely conduct its environmental investigation and cleanup work.

Site-related documents can also be found at:

Tehama County Library - Reference Desk

645 Madison Street

Red Bluff, CA

530-527-0604 ext.105