California governor declares gas leak a state of emergency

A state of emergency has been declared in California over a massive natural-gas leak that has been spewing fumes into a Los Angeles neighbourhood for months.

The U.S. health officials said thousands residents have relocated because they suffer health problems such as headaches, nosebleeds and nausea likely caused by the chemical added to the gas to make it detectable in leaks.

This community in northwest San Fernando Valley runs adjacent to Aliso Canyon, where the Southern California Gas Company keeps an underground storage facility for natural gas.

It estimated it should be able to stop the leak between late February and late March.

“This has been an emergency since day one, and we are glad that the state is putting more attention and resources behind getting this leak fixed”, O’Connor said.

The gas company was not moving fast enough for Gov. Brown, who has already been accused by Porter Ranch residents of not taking action sooner.

In his order, the governor said that California expected the utility to pay expenses related to the leak and that the state would ensure the utility’s customers were protected from paying higher rates as a result. The SoCal Gas Company is being sued for not quickly informing nearby residents of the leak.

Governor Brown’s declaration of a state of emergency requires that SoCal Gas and other gas storage facility operators throughout California start conducting daily inspections of well heads and implement infrared imaging technology to detect leaks. Regulators will monitor Southern California Gas Co.to maximize its efforts to capture leaking gas and store it elsewhere.

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. The governor said all viable actions and possible solutions will be taken to ensure the well is plugged if relief wells fail to seal the leaking well, or if the existing leak worsens.

Mr. Brown’s proclamation says the gas company must maximize its daily withdrawals of natural gas from the storage facility to lessen the amount of gas that can escape through the rupture.

On Wednesday, environmental activist Erin Brokovich along with law firm Weitz & Luxenberg planned a town hall for residents affected by the leak. According to a real-time counter created by the advocacy group Environmental Defense Fund, the rupture has so far released over 79,000 tons of methane, making it California’s single-largest contributor to climate change. Many residents have said they had no idea SoCalGas was storing so much natural gas in their area.