State of emergency over LA gas leak

EDF claims that the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility, the largest such natural gas storage unit west of the Mississippi River, is spouting 62 million cubic feet (17.5 million cubic meters) of methane gas into the atmosphere each day.

The Los Angeles Times reported Saturday that the leak persists because workers were unable to plug it and instead have the painstaking task of drilling two relief wells.

The Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment is reviewing air quality measurements, evaluating public health concerns from the gas leak and assisting other state agencies in determining whether additional actions are needed beyond those already required by local public health agencies.

Los Angeles, CAA state of emergency has been declared over the massive Porter Ranch SoCal gas leak in California that has been sending methane into the Porter Ranch neighborhood for over two months. Southern California Gas Co. will also be required to pay for the costs generated by the response to the leak, while ensuring ratepayers will be protected from any increase.

The Porter Ranch gas leak may not stop until February or March. According to health officials, health problems including headaches, nosebleeds and nausea are believed to be caused by an odorant added to the gas. “The California Air Resources Board is measuring the leak rate and estimating total methane emissions over the duration of the leak and is using ground-level monitoring, specially equipped airplanes and satellite information to provide updates of emissions”, Brown said.

The declaration comes after residents, activists and lawyers have been pressing the Governor to make response to the leak and stop it as soon as possible.

Do you think the California governor waited too long to make the declaration? That sounds nice, but experts still say the leak will take months to fix.

President and chief executive of the company Dennis Arriola said SoCalGas stood ready to cooperate with the governor’s office, all state and local officials and regulatory agencies.

Brown’s order seems to assure that will happen.

Mitchell Englander, the Los Angeles city councilman representing Porter Ranch said, “This is the equivalent of the BP oil spill, except its on land, in a populated community”.

Officials have said that while the methane leaking from the Aliso Canyon facility poses no immediate danger to human health, its impact on the environment is significant as it is a potent greenhouse gas.

A methane leak of this scale appears to be without precedent, representatives of both an environmental group and the gas company told Lobet.

Brodetsky said that the rental market around Porter Ranch has gotten so hot that some home sellers, including a neighbor of his, have taken their houses off the market and put them on the short-term rental market.