The Hearing Board of the Southern California Air Quality District on Jan. 16 once again postponed making a decision on which steps should be taken to stop the massive methane leak from Southern California Gas Company's Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility near Porter Ranch.
Roughly 12,000 residents have been displaced and sickened by the fumes, which contain carcinogens including benzene, and the disaster has emitted methane at a rate of 50,000 kilograms per hour, which is equivalent to 25% of the state’s total emissions of this heat-trapping gas. Residents urged the Hearing Board to amend the Order for Abatement to include shutting down the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility.
The next hearing date is scheduled for Jan. 20, and it will be held at the Air District's headquarters in Diamond Bar, over an hour's drive south of Porter Ranch. The previous hearings were held directly in the community affected by the leak.
Matt Pakucko of Save Porter Ranch issued the following statement:
"The Air District doesn't need to stall any longer because it has all the information it needs to make the right decision right now: shut down the Aliso facility once and for all. We appreciate the Board hearing from the public, but this decision needs to be made fast. To do other would be an insult to all of us who have been displaced from our homes, and our kids who have been forced out of their schools because the air is too toxic to breathe. And it's a peculiar choice to hold the hearing so far away from the people affected by the leak -- there's plenty of space available here in Porter Ranch.
"It's clear that dirty fuels and people don't mix, and oil and gas sites don't belong where people live. As a first step in Porter Ranch, we need to shut down the SoCalGas Aliso Canyon Storage Facility and make reparation plans for the people who were displaced. But ultimately, the answer is to move Los Angeles to 100% clean energy as soon as possible and leave dirty fuels in the ground where they can no longer do any harm to our health and climate."
Related stories:
Porter Ranch: Shut it all down!
The frustration and folly of the #PorterRanchGasLeak
Press coverage:
SoCalGas: Aliso Canyon Storage Facility Project
December 28, 2015: Ars Technica
Infrared video of huge Southern California methane leak makes plume visible
January 7, 2016: Scientific American
Dangerous Methane Leak Requires Emergency Measures
January 7, 2016: Carbon Brief Website
January 8, 2016: Living On Earth
Massive Natural Gas Disaster Hits Los Angeles
January 11, 2016: Science Daily
Aliso Canyon methane leak emissions sky-high, pilot scientist find
January 12, 2016: RT
'This is a mini-Chernobyl': LA County supervisor on California methane leak
[Note: Article reports occurrence of high benzene levels; some wells drilled before 1953]
January 13, 2016: National Geographic
The World Is Hemorrhaging Methane, and Now We Can See Where
January 13, 2016: Sempra Energy SoCalGas Co. , Gas Company Public Relations PRWire* Release:
Southern California Gas Aliso Canyon Progress Update
SoCalGas’ Aliso Canyon Information Center
January 14, 2016: Inside Climate News
Leaking Methane Plume Is Found Spreading Across L.A.'s San Fernando Valley,
January 14, 2016: AP
Utility May Have Understated Health Threat From Porter Ranch Gas Leak
January 15, 2016: KTLA
Blowout Risk Worsened by Efforts to Plug SoCal Gas Leak; Fire Also a Major Concern
January 15, 2016: AP
State Regulators Investigate New Health Concerns Caused By Natural Gas Leak In Porter Ranch