SoCal Gas is now facing criminal charges, with Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey filing charges against the company for failing to immediately report the Porter Ranch natural gas leak to state authorities, as well as for the leak itself. On Monday So Cal Gas said it has abandoned a plan to capture and burn off the gas, which is a far more potent greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide.
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The stench of odorized methane fumes has sickened scores of people and led to the temporary relocation of thousands of residents from the Porter Ranch community of northern Los Angeles at the edge of the crippled underground gas storage field.
The leak stems from an underground pipeline rupture at the company’s 1,457-hectare Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field.
In amending an ongoing civil suit filed in early December by Los Angeles city and county officials in Superior Court, the attorney general contends the litigation is necessary to hold the utility “accountable” for the release of some 80,000 metric tons of methane, a number that continues to grow.
Crews discovered the leak last October 23 and “in response, we activated the appropriate procedures to begin to address the leak”, the company said on its website.
The leak has created a public health and statewide environmental emergency, Harris said.
The agency issued the advisory almost 15 weeks after a Southern California Gas Co. well blowout.
Sherman noted in a statement that the Department of Transportation Materials Safety Administration has established federal safety regulations for natural gas transportation.
The agency says gas storage operators should check for leaks and identify potential failures from corrosion and other damage.
Residents have reported maladies that include headaches, nosebleeds, rashes and other woes.
SoCalGas spokeswoman Kristine Lloyd said in a statement that the company had just been notified of the charges and was still reviewing them.
The natural gas, which has been treated with an odorant called mercaptan, is making local residents sick.
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Associated Press writer Ellen Knickmeyer contributed to this story from San Francisco.
