Thread: Massive Methane Leak Displaces Thousands in Southern California

DEC 29 2015, 12:55 PM ET

Massive Methane Leak Displaces Thousands in Southern California

by MATTHEW DELUCA


Storm clouds hang over the city as people continue to be affected by a massive natural-gas leak in the Porter Ranch neighborhood of the of the San Fernando Valley region of California on Dec. 22, 2015. DAVID MCNEW / AFP - Getty Images

Utility officials in Southern California say they have determined the underground location of a pipe leak that has spewed natural gas into the air since late October — but it could be months before they are able to fix the rupture that has driven up the state's methane emissions and chased thousands of families from their homes.

Los Angeles Mayor Eric Garcetti has called the leak an "environmental disaster," and the Los Angeles Unified School District shuttered two area schools for the rest of the year.

Politicians and environmentalists in California are particularly sensitive to the toll the leak may take on the environment, especially after Gov. Jerry Brown doubled down earlier this year on the state's efforts to slash greenhouse gas emissions.

The massive underground leak at a storage facility north of Los Angeles was reported by the Southern California Gas Co. on Oct. 23, and since then has emitted more than 72,000 metric tons of methane, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, which released an aerial video in conjunction with the nonprofit Earthworks that used an infrared camera to make the gas visible.

"Methane is in a category of greenhouse gases known as short-lived climate pollutants," California's Air Resources Board says on its website. "These types of gases remain in the atmosphere for a much shorter period of time than longer-lived climate pollutants, such as carbon dioxide (CO2); but when measured in terms of how they heat the atmosphere, their impacts can be tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times greater than that of carbon dioxide."

The ARB said in a November estimate that the leak may have added as much as a quarter to California's methane emissions between Oct. 23 and Nov. 20. As of 2013, methane emissions made up 9 percent of California's overall greenhouse gas output.

"SoCal Gas recognizes the impact this incident is having on the environment," company chief executive Dennis Arriola said in a letter to the governor earlier this month. "I want to assure the public that we intend to mitigate environmental impacts from the actual natural gas released from the leak and will work with state officials to develop a framework that will help us achieve this goal."

Thousands of residents of the nearby Porter Ranch community have been voluntarily relocated after many complained of nausea and other illnesses, and the company is paying to move those who say they have been made sick by the gas.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer asked for a temporary restraining order on Dec. 22 that would force the company to speed relocation of affected residents and allow him to take depositions from SoCal Gas employees about the leak.

The company has said it is doing everything it can to plug the well that extends more than 8,000 feet underground, and help people who have reported illnesses. State and local agencies have been monitoring the air quality for weeks around the leak site in Aliso Canyon and in surrounding areas. While the levels of methane measured in the surrounding air aren't currently considered a serious health risk, according to the LA County Department of Public Health, substances called mercaptans that give the otherwise-odorless methane a pungent, "rotten egg" smell can cause irritation, dizziness and some breathing issues.

As of Monday, the company had placed 2,258 families in temporary housing, a spokeswoman told the Associated Press.

"For those experiencing health symptoms due to the odorant, we are continuing to offer home solutions that will help to reduce the smell indoors," Arriola, the SoCal Gas CEO, wrote to Brown on Dec. 23. "Our highest and most urgent priority is to stop the leak. We have hundreds of our employees, expert consultants and suppliers working around the clock to resolve this issue."

After attempting other methods to stop the leak, the company has begun drilling relief wells that would allow it to seal off the gas by pumping cement underground. SoCal Gas has said that the work to plug the well may not be complete until late March.

On Sunday, the company said that it has drilled about 3,800 feet toward the target well, and that it is beginning work to drill a second, backup relief well.

"We are working as quickly and safely as possibly to complete this operation," Arriola wrote in his letter.

http://www.nbcnews.com/tech/tech-new...fornia-n487381

Disgusting! Rules are needed - greedy corporations need to be more responsible instead of reckless! They are making a fortune at our health's expense. They also prevent, & squash progress of renewable energy forms while they continue to receive taxpayer funded subsidies & pay no taxes!

Stop the need for "Races for the Cures" by cleaning up energy forms, eliminating dangerous pesticides, preventing GMOs in our food chain and ban toxins in our consumer goods.


Methane Pollution per year - 7.3 million metric tons

That's how much methane the gas industry spills into our nation's air every year. Considering that methane is 86 times worse for climate change than carbon dioxide and is emitted alongside air toxics and other unhealthy pollutants, that spells bad news for our future.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) proposed the first ever rules to cut methane pollution & should be enforced.

http://www.cleanair.org/program/outd...hane_pollution

An aerial view of the damage at the site of the leak at the Aliso Canyon storage site. Photo by Earthworks, courtesy Environmental Defense Fund.

Why we can’t plug Southern California’s massive methane leak

• By Joel Hruska on December 29, 2015 at 1:09 pm
• 3 Comments

There’s a burgeoning environmental disaster playing out in Southern California — but unlike the widespread media coverage on the Deepwater Horizon, this leak has been invisible until quite recently. In late October, the Southern California Gas Company detected an underground methane leak spewing an estimated 110,000 lbs of gas per hour into Aliso Canyon. Since it discovered the problem, the company has evacuated an estimated 1,700 people and closed two schools.

The leak is normally invisible, but an infrared video taken by the Environmental Defense Fund captured the massive leak and the methane escaping from it at multiple points.

Several of the problems associated with a leak this size are purely practical. The methane reeks of rotting eggs, because we add a chemical called tert-Butylthiol to the normally odorless gas to make certain people can smell a leak.

Remember Templeton from Charlotte’s Web? It’s that, times a billion. Image bySailorLoveSong

Reeking like an unventilated football stadium on $1 steak and free draft beer night ought to be punishment enough for anyone in one lifetime, but methane is also explosive, an asphyxiant, and a potent greenhouse gas.

CO2 vs. methane

Most of the conversation around greenhouse gas emissions revolves around carbon dioxide, or CO2. According to the EPA, CO2 emissions account for about 82% of anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change. Methane, in contrast, only accounts for about 10% of total warming. Pound-for-pound, methane is about 21x more potent than CO2 over a 100-year cycle, and as much as 72x more potent within shorter timeframes.

The potency discrepancy reflects the different environmental persistence between the two gases. Methane persists in the environment for 10-12 years after it’s released, but ultimately reacts with water vapor in the upper atmosphere and is converted into carbon dioxide and water.

The fact that methane still takes a decade or more to dissipate out of the atmosphere, however, means that a massive leak like this one is still capable of having an impact for a significant period of time.

Current estimate of the total gas leak is around 800,000 metric tons. That’s enough methane gas to boost California’s estimated methane emissions by 25% for the year — and bear in mind, this leak is thought to have begun on October 23.

Why can’t we plug the leak?

There’s another parallel between the Deepwater Horizon leak and the current methane problem in Aliso Canyon — in both cases, the depth and ferocity of the leak made it extremely difficult to plug. In this case, the methane is pouring out of a massive underground containment facility more than 8,000 feet below the surface. Traditional methods of sealing the broken pipe have already failed, so SoCalGas has drilled a second well to intersect the broken pipe.

Once the new well intersects the old one, fluid and eventually concrete will be injected to seal the pipe, rather than attempting to perform the injections at the surface. As of this past weekend, the drillers had located the broken pipe responsible for the leak. That’s no small feat, considering that the second well must be drilled far enough away to prevent any risk of explosion, and the broken line is just seven inches in diameter.

Unfortunately, we’re still months away from actually sealing off the problem. The relief well is currently at 3,800 feet, but the rest of the operation is expected to take until February or March. By that point, enough methane will have been released into the atmosphere to make an impact on the United States’ total yearly emissions — to say nothing of the costs and upheaval residents of Aliso Canyon have endured, or the financial cost of repairing the broken line.

Residents of the area have already filed suits against the company, and it’s not clear what penalties or lawsuits it might face from the government of California.

http://www.extremetech.com/extreme/2...e-methane-leak

About SoCalGas®

As the nation's largest natural gas distribution utility, we provide safe and reliable energy to 21.4 million consumers through 5.9 million meters in more than 500 communities.

Our service territory encompasses approximately 20,000 square miles in diverse terrain throughout Central and Southern California, from Visalia to the Mexican border.

SoCalGas is a regulated subsidiary of Sempra Energy (NYSE: SRE). Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company. For additional information, please visit the Investor Relations section.

For more than 140 years, SoCalGas has served Central and Southern California as a responsible and engaged environmental leader, employer and neighbor.

With safe, clean, affordable, reliable and abundant domestic sources of natural gas, SoCalGas' innovation is fueling new possibilities in California.

Southern California is our home, too. We strive to improve the quality of life in our communities by maintaining a diverse workforce, working with suppliers that represent and reflect the communities we serve and giving back through our charitable contributions and employee volunteer activities .

Like other investor-owned utilities in the state, SoCalGas' operations are regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission and other state and federal agencies.

https://www.socalgas.com/about-us/company-profile

These reckless corporations are so full of it.

Understand fracking fluids aka "wastewater, a million gallons of pristine water with 80,000 lbs of cancer causing chemicals PER WELL" and some of it has been used to "water" our food crops due to California's drought conditions. Nobody tests that water for radio-activity either. And water "treatment" plants don't TREAT for radio-activity.

The fresher the gas from the ground, the more RADON it contains. Radon kills, that is why we have radon detectors.