California AG sues gas company over uncontrolled leak

ABC News said that the suit alleges the Southern California Gas Company violated state safety and health laws by not taking immediate actions when the leak was detected back in October.

The leak has been described as the biggest in California’s history, forcing almost 4,500 families living in the upmarket Porter Ranch area to relocate.

Health officials in Los Angeles County said Wednesday they don’t believe there will be any long-term effects from the methane gas leak in the LA … In addition to the Air Resources Board, these agencies include the California Energy Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services, the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board, the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment and the South Coast Air Quality Management District.

“No”, Nancy Davis said.

U.S. Rep. Brad Sherman, a Democrat who lives in the Porter Ranch neighborhood that has been most affected by the gas leak, said the agency’s advisory amounted to a note to industry saying, “not just please, but pretty please” follow the American Petroleum Institute’s recommended practices for gas storage. “Beyond that, we do not comment on pending litigation and will respond to the lawsuit through the judicial process”, SoCalGas spokeswoman Kristine Lloyd said in an email. In addressing the emissions, however, the gas company does not compare findings from other sources of pollution over a similar three-month period.

“There’s is a lot of emotion and passion out there”.

Several attempts to halt the methane release have failed, and the company is drilling relief wells to intersect the crippled pipeline to plug the leak, an effort that could take several more weeks. Dozens of civil lawsuits have been filed, including demands from the city and county of Los Angeles. Eleven local, state and federal agencies are now either investigating or suing the gas company, according to the paper. While federal funds will now be av…

“However, PHMSA has yet to use its existing regulatory authority regarding natural gas storage”, he said, adding that the legislation he plans to introduce, the Natural Gas Storage Safety Act, would direct the PHMSA to implement safety standards for natural gas storage facilities.

Residents have reported symptoms including headaches, nosebleeds and rashes, among other woes.

The firm has asserted that “the leak does not pose an imminent threat to public safety”, but has apologized for the annoyance of the odorant in natural gas.

“Naturally, as residents of Porter Ranch and the surrounding communities continue to grapple with the Aliso Canyon gas leak, many individuals are concerned the recent surge in gas bills is connected to the leak”, Wilk wrote in the letter.