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.

Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility

SAN DIEGO, Dec. 7, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Sempra Energy and Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) today released the following update on the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility:

On Oct. 23, SoCalGas crews discovered a leak in one of the company's wells at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, located in the northern part of the San Fernando Valley in Los Angeles County.

The Aliso Canyon facility, which has been operated by SoCalGas since 1972, is situated in the Santa Susana Mountains. The leaking well is more than one mile away and 1,200 feet above the closest homes. It is one of more than 100 injection and withdrawal wells at the storage facility and is not impacting the company's ability to safely and reliably provide natural gas to its customers, which includes electric generators in the region.

SoCalGas has been working closely with several of the world's leading experts to stop the leak and determine the best way to cap emissions from the well site, as well as reduce the impact of the odorant that is required to be added to the natural gas for safety purposes.

On Dec. 4, SoCalGas commenced drilling of a relief well that will be used to intercept the leaking well and stop the leak. This activity is expected to take three to four months. SoCalGas continues to withdraw natural gas from the storage facility to serve customers. These withdrawals reduce the overall pressure in the storage facility, which also should reduce the amount of natural gas that is emitted from the impacted well.

SoCalGas has been providing temporary relocation assistance to some local residents who have been concerned with exposure to the odorant used in the natural gas.

SoCalGas does not believe it is possible at this time to accurately measure the amount of natural gas being lost from the leak. Once the gas leak is terminated, SoCalGas will conduct a fact-based measurement of natural gas lost from the leak and provide that information to the relevant regulatory bodies.

At this point, any estimates published in the news media or elsewhere on the potential costs of this incident are premature and purely speculative. Sempra Energy and SoCalGas are documenting the costs and plan to provide an update in Sempra Energy's Form-10K filing in late February 2016.

SoCalGas maintains customary third-party insurance for its business activities, including its natural gas storage operations. The company is working with its insurance carriers on this incident.

SoCalGas' top priority is to safely and expeditiously stop the leak, reduce the amount of natural gas emitting into the environment, and support the impacted customers during this unfortunate situation. The company will continue to work closely with all of the relevant authorities, including California's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, the agency that has regulatory oversight on this incident.

This press release contains statements that are not historical fact and constitute forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995. These statements can be identified by words like "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "plans," "estimates," "projects," "forecasts," "contemplates," "intends," "depends," "should," "could," "would," "will," "confident," "may," "potential," "possible," "proposed," "target," "pursue," "goals," "outlook," "maintain" or similar expressions, or discussions of guidance, strategies, plans, goals, opportunities, projections, initiatives, objectives or intentions. Forward-looking statements are not guarantees of performance. They involve risks, uncertainties and assumptions. Future results may differ materially from those expressed in the forward-looking statements. Forward-looking statements are necessarily based upon various assumptions involving judgments with respect to the future and other risks, including, among others: local, regional, national and international economic, competitive, political, legislative and regulatory conditions and developments; actions and the timing of actions, including issuances of permits to construct and licenses for operation, by the California Public Utilities Commission, California State Legislature, U.S. Department of Energy, Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, Nuclear Regulatory Commission, Atomic Safety and Licensing Board, California Energy Commission, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, California Air Resources Board, and other regulatory, governmental and environmental bodies in the United States and other countries in which we operate; the timing and success of business development efforts and construction, maintenance and capital projects, including risks in obtaining, maintaining or extending permits, licenses, certificates and other authorizations on a timely basis and risks in obtaining adequate and competitive financing for such projects; energy markets, including the timing and extent of changes and volatility in commodity prices, and the impact of any protracted reduction in oil and natural gas prices from historical averages; the impact on the value of our natural gas storage assets from low natural gas prices, low volatility of natural gas prices and the inability to procure favorable long-term contracts for natural gas storage services; delays in the timing of costs incurred and the timing of the regulatory agency authorization to recover such costs in rates from customers; deviations from regulatory precedent or practice that result in a reallocation of benefits or burdens among shareholders and ratepayers; capital markets conditions, including the availability of credit and the liquidity of our investments; inflation, interest and currency exchange rates; the impact of benchmark interest rates, generally Moody's A-rated utility bond yields, on our California Utilities' cost of capital; the availability of electric power, natural gas and liquefied natural gas, and natural gas pipeline and storage capacity, including disruptions caused by failures in the North American transmission grid, pipeline explosions and equipment failures and the decommissioning of San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station (SONGS); cybersecurity threats to the energy grid, natural gas storage and pipeline infrastructure, the information and systems used to operate our businesses and the confidentiality of our proprietary information and the personal information of our customers, terrorist attacks that threaten system operations and critical infrastructure, and wars; the ability to win competitively bid infrastructure projects against a number of strong competitors willing to aggressively bid for these projects; weather conditions, conservation efforts, natural disasters, catastrophic accidents, and other events that may disrupt our operations, damage our facilities and systems, and subject us to third-party liability for property damage or personal injuries; risks that our partners or counterparties will be unable or unwilling to fulfill their contractual commitments; risks posed by decisions and actions of third parties who control the operations of investments in which we do not have a controlling interest; risks inherent with nuclear power facilities and radioactive materials storage, including the catastrophic release of such materials, the disallowance of the recovery of the investment in, or operating costs of, the nuclear facility due to an extended outage and facility closure, and increased regulatory oversight, including motions to modify settlements; business, regulatory, environmental and legal decisions and requirements; expropriation of assets by foreign governments and title and other property disputes; the impact on reliability of San Diego Gas & Electric Company's (SDG&E) electric transmission and distribution system due to increased amount and variability of power supply from renewable energy sources and increased reliance on natural gas and natural gas transmission systems; the impact on competitive customer rates of the growth in distributed and local power generation and the corresponding decrease in demand for power delivered through SDG&E's electric transmission and distribution system; the inability or determination not to enter into long-term supply and sales agreements or long-term firm capacity agreements due to insufficient market interest, unattractive pricing or other factors; the resolution of litigation; and other uncertainties, all of which are difficult to predict and many of which are beyond our control.

These risks and uncertainties are further discussed in the reports that Sempra Energy has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission. These reports are available through the EDGAR system free-of-charge on the SEC's website, www.sec.gov,and on the company's website at www.sempra.com.

Investors should not rely unduly on any forward-looking statements. These forward-looking statements speak only as of the date hereof, and the company undertakes no obligation to update or revise these forecasts or projections or other forward-looking statements, whether as a result of new information, future events or otherwise.

Sempra International, LLC, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, and Sempra Partners, LP, are not the same companies as the California utilities, San Diego Gas & Electric (SDG&E) or Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), and Sempra International, LLC, Sempra U.S. Gas & Power, LLC, and Sempra Partners, LP, are not regulated by the California Public Utilities Commission. Sempra International's underlying entities include Sempra Mexico and Sempra South American Utilities. Sempra U.S. Gas & Power's underlying entities include Sempra Renewables and Sempra Natural Gas.
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California Methane Leak “Will Take Months” to Fix

Andy Rowell, January 5, 2016


It is increasingly being seen as America’s worst environmental disaster since BP’s Deepwater Horizon blowout in 2010 and has led to thousands of people being evicted from their homes.


However, the massive methane leak from a natural gas storage well in California, which has been occurring since last October, could well be months away from being fixed.

The leaking gas is coming from the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Field, the largest underground methane storage facility in the region and the fifth largest in the US.

The storage facility is located near the community of Porter Ranch, some 40 odd kilometres from Los Angeles. The gas is stored here before being shipped to customers in LA.

The leaking well, which is owned by the Southern California Gas Company, or SoCal for short, has been emitting the highly potent greenhouse gas methane for months forcing the residents of Porter Ranch to flee their homes.

Two schools have been forced to close too, with local residents suffering from headaches, nausea and nosebleeds. Some have experienced more severe symptoms such as bleeding from the eyes and the gums. Some 2,200 residents have been relocated. A further 7,000 people are waiting to be moved too.

An estimated 150 million pounds of methane has been emitted since October. This is equivalent to 25 percent of daily greenhouse gas emissions in the state, and has been likened to the same amount of emissions as driving 160,000 cars for a year or consuming 90 million gallons of gas.
Because the gas is invisible it cannot be seen by the naked eye, but infrared images show clouds of methane leaking from the site (see image).

The cause of the original leak remains unknown, and efforts to stem the flow have become as farcical as those of the Deepwater Horizon. At first local residents were told by the company that everything was OK. It was only days later that they were officially informed that there was a major leak.
Original efforts to plug the leak with a mixture of brine and mud failed and the company is now drilling two relief wells to try and seal the leaking well.

But that could take months the company has now conceded, with the drilling of the second well not due to commence until January 20th. It is not likley to be finished until late February or early March.

The leak is causing outrage. “The amount of methane and natural gas that’s coming out of the Aliso Canyon Facility really is probably one of the largest volumes of gas ever recorded from a single leak,” says Tim O’Connor, an oil and gas specialist with Environmental Defense Fund.


One Porter Ranch resident who says the methane is making her sick is Laurie Rosenberg. “I’ve had migraine headaches … itchy eyes, and runny nose 24/7,” she says.

Another local resident, Christine Soderlund, adds “I’ve been nauseous. I’ve felt lethargic. My kids have had nosebleeds, they’ve had headaches. “It’s surreal. We are a living science experiment I believe.”
Erin Brockovich, the celebrated consumer advocate, whose story was told in the Oscar-winning film starring Julia Roberts, has been helping local residents.

“It’s been going on for months. It’s going to continue to go on for more months”, says Brockovich: “It’s outrageous. It’s frightening, at its best. It’s horribly concerning to this community. They are sick. And the impacts keep going on. And that’s what makes it so catastrophic”.

Jason Marshall, chief deputy director of the California Department of Conservation, which regulates California’s oil and gas wells believes the accident will force regulators to change industry practices. “We need to ask questions about well construction and operation,” he told the Los Angeles Times. “There are going to be changes in how gas is stored,” he argues.

Ironically later this year the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will issue long-awaited regulations to control methane emissions from the oil and gas sector.

In the light of this disaster, surely they will now have to be reviewed and strengthened.

http://priceofoil.org/2016/01/05/cal...months-to-fix/


They want to frack our national parks too. Romney was DONE when he announced he was for that - it is still being pushed. EPA administrator Gina McCarthy received a lot of flack for saying she was against fracking our national parks. Why should we allow it? It is for corporate profits by a reckless industry that they will EXPORT to other countries. Some gas they will liquefy, transport thru our cities to new LNG ports - all very dangerous, highly explosive and polluting to liquefy too.

Do we really want to give up our state lands/parks to THIS? For corporate profits!

Doctors Sound Alarm as State of Emergency Declared over CA Gas Leak: Leave Now Claire Bernish
January 7, 2016

(ANTIMEDIA) Los Angeles, CA — California Governor Jerry Brown finally declared a state of emergency on Wednesday, concerning the ongoing, currently unstoppable methane gas leak spewing from Aliso Canyon that has created a nightmare for residents of Porter Ranch.


“I will tell you, this goes well beyond Porter Ranch. We’ve had complaints from as far as Chatsworth, Northridge, and Granada Hills,” emphasized Los Angeles City Councilman Mitchell Englander during a Porter Ranch town hall meeting on December 28. “Apparently this plume of toxic chemicals and whatever it might be, doesn’t know zip codes […] This is the equivalent of the BP oil spill on land, in a populated community.”


Aliso Canyon sits less than two and a half miles from Porter Ranch and less than 30 miles from the city of Los Angeles — the second most populous city in the United States — whose outlying total statistical area includes nearly 18 million residents, as of 2013.


Brown has been widely criticized for lack of decisive action on the leak, which is erupting from its underground storage area with all the force “of a volcano.” Under Wednesday’s declaration, “all state agencies will utilize state personnel, equipment, and facilities to ensure a continuous and thorough state response to this incident.”


Porter Ranch residents have been evacuating the area for some time, though SoCalGas’ rather maladroit handling of the relocation procedure has been a nightmare — and the cause for a mounting number of lawsuits, including one from the L.A. city attorney’s office.


Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer filed a civil lawsuit last month concerning the massive methane leak’s impact on area residents’ health and damage to the environment — which alleged failure by SoCalGas to prevent the leak and further exacerbation of “the effects of that failure by allowing acute odor and health problems faced by the community to persist for more than a month, to say nothing about the indefinite time it will persist into the future.”
Pediatrician Dr. Richard Kang gave an ominous warning during the Porter Ranch meeting, saying, “Unfortunately, the only real way to get away from the symptoms is… you have to relocate — you have to get away from the environment.” Health complaints include severe headaches, nosebleeds, respiratory issues including increasing cases of asthma, and a number of other issues.


SoCalGas, in the meantime, stated they were “providing air filters for people’s homes,” but though “the odor added to the leaking gas can cause symptoms for some, the gas is not toxic and county health officials have said the leak does not pose a long-term health risk.”


But, as the Los Angeles Daily News reported on December 25, “Los Angeles County health officials said prolonged exposure to trace chemicals, some of which are known carcinogens, can cause long-term health effects.” Nevertheless, they also “cautioned that levels examined so far here are not believed to be associated with long-term health problems.”
“The gas company says, ‘This is just the smell you’re reacting to, it’s just temporary, it’s not a problem, it’s not serious’ — these people aren’t stupid,” said attorney Rex Paris. “How could somebody possibly say that? We have children whose noses are bleeding every day, we have people who suffer from chronic headaches [and] are nauseous every, single day. How does that not become a serious issue? Why are they saying something nobody here believes? […] They’re trying to convince everybody that it’s all in our heads. It’s a trick.”


In fact, as Erin Brockovich pointed out, “no one really knows the long-term side effects of benzene and radon, the carcinogens that are commonly found in natural gas.”


Additionally, area house pets seem particularly vulnerable — possibly acting the part of unwitting canaries — as veterinarian Dr. David Smith described in the town hall meeting. Noting he has seen dozens of sickened animals, Smith said, “I’ve seen dogs, cats, birds, pocket pets… the primary symptoms I’ve seen are gastrointestinal vomiting […]These are not things you should be inhaling.” He added, “We have seen dermatological issues as well, some very unusual bacterial infections in dogs,” including one case in which a dog had such an infection on its face, and “the client developed almost the exact same kind of symptoms soon after that […] their physician thinks it’s related [to exposure from the gas leak] and so I tend to think these correlations are real.”


Though the declaration of emergency states “the Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources shall continue its prohibition against Southern California Gas Company injecting any gas into the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility,” it does not make that moratorium dependent on stoppage of the leak; rather, only “until a comprehensive review, utilizing independent experts […] is completed.”


Physician Dr. Brooks Michaels, addressing the town hall meeting, gave the sternest advice to those still in the area surrounding the unprecedented leak:
“If you have a chance to leave, if you’re able to leave… if you have a chance to relocate, do it now. I’m telling you, it’s really critical.”
Understandably, Brown’s state of emergency seems almost too little, too late for many.

Watch the Town Hall Meeting here:




http://theantimedia.org/doctors-soun...-now/?AID=7236

Gas leak at Porter Ranch well is temporarily stopped


Since the leak began Oct. 23 near Porter Ranch, it has sent about 80,000 metric tons of gas, mostly methane, into the atmosphere.
(Brian van der Brug / Los Angeles Times)


Louis Sahagun, Alice Walton and Abby Sewell Contact Reporters


Southern California Gas Co. announced Thursday it has temporarily controlled the flow of gas from a well near Porter Ranch, a crucial first step in the effort to stop the leak that has forced thousands to flee their homes.

The gas company said that a relief well reached the base of the leaking well and that officials are now pumping "heavy fluids to temporarily control the flow of gas out of the leaking well."

That could keep the leak plugged permanently.

But officials stressed this is a first step and that cement must now be poured to fully block the leak. That could take several days.

"We have temporarily controlled the natural gas flow from the leaking well and begun the process of sealing the well and permanently stopping the leak," Jimmie Cho, senior vice president of gas operations and system integrity, said in a statement released by the gas company.

State regulators then would conduct inspections and pressure tests to certify that after nearly four months of environmental contamination, civic disruption and worry, Aliso Canyon Natural Storage Facility's Standard Sesnon Well 25 was plugged.

It’s a moment of celebration, though there is still a lot of work ahead, said Paula Cracium, president of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council.

“It changes from a controlling the crisis to now navigating recovery. Homeowners have been injured. Property values have been injured.

There’s going to be a version of PTSD as they get a whiff of any odor in their home,” Cracium said.

“Most of the families in the community are very excited to get back but they will not be distracted by the leak stoppage. They still want to know that their homes are safe,” she added.

Once the leak is stopped, residents who have temporarily relocated to leased houses and hotel rooms will have seven nights to move back to their homes, in accordance with terms of a recent agreement between the gas company and the Los Angeles city attorney's office.


Porter Ranch-area gas leak

However, Rep. Brad Sherman(D-Porter Ranch), said Wednesday he wants to delay the start of the seven-day clock until another step is taken.

Sherman wants the California Air Resources Board to certify that the air surrounding the Aliso Canyon field is free of natural gas.

Over the past three months, the well has spewed more greenhouse gases than any other facility in California. The release of so much methane, a greenhouse gas several times more powerful than carbon dioxide, will contribute significantly to global warming, experts say.

Odorants added to the gas to aid in detecting leaks have prompted hundreds of complaints of nausea, respiratory problems and nosebleeds and have displaced residents from more than 4,400 homes in Porter Ranch and its surrounding communities in the foothills of the northern San Fernando Valley.

The leaking well is one of 115 injection wells at the 80-year-old, 3,600-acre Aliso Canyon facility, which stores 86 billion cubic feet of gas that serves 11 million people in the Los Angeles basin.

Many of those wells are corroded and mechanically damaged, the gas company said.

Yet it is the only field in a distribution area stretching from Porter Ranch 60 miles south to Santa Ana that can ensure reliability in both winter, when homes and businesses use significant amounts of natural gas for heating, and summer, when gas-fired generators supply power to air conditioners.

Efforts to kill the well are being conducted under new orders imposed by the Safety and Enforcement Division of the California Public Utilities Commission in consultation with the state Department of Conservation's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources.

The gas company, which is the subject of ongoing criminal investigations and civil litigation, has been ordered by the PUC not to "remove, temporarily store, bury or raze" anything within a 400-foot radius of the wellhead.

Materials to be protected for use as possible evidence include all metal and concrete well casings, tubing, valves and valve parts, wire, gas and mud samples, gravel, cement mixtures and soil.

"It's clear the costs of this incident are the gas company's," Robert Weisenmiller, chairman of the California Energy Commission, said in an interview Wednesday. "The CPUC 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."

Weisenmiller said he expected the issue to be highly contested.

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/l...211-story.html