More than 2,000 families have been moved from the wealthy suburb on the edge of the San Fernando Valley since the big stink began rolling through last fall. According to the Environmental Defense Fund (EDF), one NGO taking the lead on monitoring the Porter Ranch gas leak, this disaster demonstrates why more oversight of natural gas storage facilities is needed.
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Methane is dozens of times more warming than carbon dioxide, and the storage facility, which draws on about 100 other wells, is one of the largest in the state.
The governor held a private meeting with three members of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council on Monday night and explained that he was not declaring the leak an emergency because it would allow for the use of taxpayers dollars to address the problem.
When the Health Department held a community meeting in Porter Ranch on exposure to methane and mercaptans (the foul-smelling odorants added to natural gas), officials said nausea, dizziness, vomiting, shortness of breath and headaches are among the health complaints “consistent with inhalation exposure to mercaptans”.
Southern California Gas Co., which owns the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility, has said repairs in the well will not be completed until February or March.
The methane entering the atmosphere from the leak reportedly now accounts for about a quarter of the state’s total emissions of the strong greenhouse gas. Brown only toured the leak area earlier this week. As long as California needs natural gas, the state has an obligation to strictly regulate operations to protect residents. The SoCal Gas Company is being sued for not quickly informing nearby residents of the leak.
The gas company detected the leak on October 23 and is drilling relief wells to try to fix the well after previous efforts failed.
The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors also declared a state of emergency in December, under which similar restrictions on rent increases also take effect.
The lack of regulation suggests it is unlikely that criminal charges will brought against SoCalGas, but the governor’s office said both the California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources and the California Public Utilities Commission are investigating the leak.
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The state had already prohibited SoCal Gas from injecting any more gas into the facility.
