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m Pacific Gas and Electric Company 2151 S.Orange Ave. Fresno,CA 93725 Description of the Proposed Project Pacific, Gas and Electric (PG&E) performed a consequence-based facility siting study (FSS) for the McDonald Island gas storage facility. The purpose of study was to perform an in-depth analysis of the site to identify potential risks and provide possible mitigation solutions. The findings of this study identified a potential life safety issue for on-site personnel working within the light wood construction trailers located at the site. Several of these trailers are purposely located within close proximity of the compressor station so that maintenance personnel are able to keep direct line of site on the operating equipment, allowing them to quickly react in case of trouble. However, being in close proximity of the station presents an explosion-based risk for these employees, as these trailers are not adequately designed to sustain the expected blast loads if there was a catastrophic event at the site. Furthermore, this puts PG&E out of compliance with API Recommended Practice 753 - "Management of Hazard Associated with location of Process Plant Portable Buildings. Therefore, the proposed project addresses this identified risk by replacing the existing light wood trailers with blast resistant modular buildings ((1) 40'x48' modular for open office space and (1) 36'x40' modular for conference room) designed to withstand the blast loads that would be expected in the case of an event. Findin s 1. There is good and sufficient cause for the Flood Variance. The natural gas storage facility at McDonald Island is one of only three such facilities located within PG&E's service territory. This facility is made up of a complex system of highly pressurized piping and equipment. In to ensure the safest and most reliable operation for this facility possible, PG&E personnel are staffed at this location 24-hours a day, 7 days a week. Having personnel located at this facility around the clock is imperative to ensure that any emergent operational issues can be addressed in the quickest manner possible. However, our employees working at this facility are currently exposed to an unmitigated hazard described in the 'Project Description' section of this document. This hazard has to be mitigated in order to eliminate the risk to staff working at the facility. In order to accomplish this, the project proposes installing blast-resistant modular buildings (BRMs). These BRMs are engineered to withstand the blast loads that would be expected at the site in the case of a catastrophic event. In addition, these units come fully engineered and substantially constructed,which would allow them to be put into use quickly, thereby allowing this risk to be eliminated as soon as possible. If a flood plain variance is not issued, the explosion-based risk that currently exists on the site will still need to be addressed. This will most likely require the construction of a platform in order to elevate the structures above the base flood elevation. The design, permitting and construction time associated with placing such a structure on the site will dramatically increase the duration of the project, thereby leaving onsite employees exposed to this hazard. Therefore, it is PG&Es belief that there is good and sufficient cause to grant this flood plain variance in order to mitigate this risk in the most expeditious manner possible. "PG&E"refers to Pacific Gas and Electric Company a subsidiary of PG&E Corporation. 1 of 2 ©2016 Pacific Gas and Electric Company.All rights reserved.