California’s Massive Methane Leak Temporarily Stopped For First Time In Months

Porter Ranch area residents had mixed emotions Thursday after Southern California Gas Co.

The Southern California Gas Company began drilling a relief well in December to intercept and plug the damaged well at its Aliso Canyon storage facility outside Los Angeles, and those efforts seemed to be working. The leak began on October 23, pouring 62 million cubic feet of methane into the air daily, the Environmental Defense Fund estimated. The company was able to pump fluids into the well and has temporarily controlled the leak, according to a company statement. The stop-gap measure could permanently stop the leak, but officials said cement will still be poured into the well over the next several days to ensure a permanent stop to the leak.

Once the cement dries, state regulators will conduct a site visit to officially confirm that the leak has ended.

Utility officials told NGI on Thursday that an announcement could be coming any day now.

But Matt Pakucko, president and co-founder of the community activist group Save Porter Ranch, said residents relocated at SoCalGas’ expense need to be given more time to move back into their homes and real assurances the community is safe.

“If you see any oily resident on food or other surfaces, call SoCalGas to send staff to assess and clean-up as needed”.

The gas leak over the past three months has spewed greenhouse gases that will significantly contribute to global warming, experts have warned.

Robert Weisenmiller, chairman of the California Energy Commission, also told the LA Times that “The CPUC [California Public Utilities Commission] will be tracking all of the gas company’s costs to make sure they are not allocated to ratepayers and that the shareholders have full responsibility”. Some say they can’t remember a displacement of residents this large since the Northridge natural disaster in 1994, when 20,000 people were left homeless. ‘And I hope property values don’t suffer’. What if another leak occurs among the other 114 natural gas storage wells behind those hills, they wondered?

“I want to get back to life as I knew it as soon as possible”, Walker said. Thousands of residents evacuated the city, driven out while officials undertook the slow work of plugging the well.

Hotel dwellers will have eight days to return home once it is sealed, while those in apartments and rentals houses can stay through the end of short-term leases they signed.