A utility company said Monday that it has abandoned efforts to trap and burn the gas released by a huge natural gas leak in Los Angeles, but also said the 12-week-old leak should be stopped ahead of schedule by the end of February or sooner. Porter Ranch hit 87 days yesterday, and SoCalGas claims they’ll have it fixed by “late February” – five or six weeks away at best, and SoCalGas has given grossly inaccurate estimates before. Communities near the site have been dealing with foul odors and nosebleeds, headaches, nausea and other short-term ailments.
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SoCal Gas has been accused of understating the hazards of the leak, as some have raised concerns over the level of benzene being emitted into the air. Crews began drilling a relief well on December 4 and expect to hit the bottom of the well, at a depth of about 8,500 feet, sometime next month. “We are focused on stopping the leak as quickly and safely as possible, mitigating the environmental, and supporting the community”. State regulators had been scheduled to vote later this week on that plan, which was created to give quicker relief to sickened residents in Porter Ranch. The turnout was so large that the hearing had to be continued on Wednesday (AP/Fox News, 1/17).
The order originally required the utility to dispose of the gas by burning it, but district officials said at the hearing that safety concerns from local and state agencies required them to put that plan on hold. He noted that the capture-and-burn process could pose “additional fire” risk if gas is caught in a downwind and carried to incinerators nearby (Reuters, 1/16). “While that provision is now moot, the order still contains many important requirements to minimize leaking gas, monitor emissions and help prevent a similar incident in the future”.
Erin Brockovich, the legal activist whose life story story inspired an acclaimed Hollywood film, has said she contracted bronchitis after visiting a Los Angeles neighbourhood where thousands of residents have been evacuated following a massive gas leak.
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Gas is leaking from a well at the Aliso Canyon storage facility for nearly three months, since October 23. The leak has prompted the relocation of schools and more than 2,000 households from the neighborhood in northwest Los Angeles.
