Hundreds of residents of Porter Ranch in Los Angeles County rallied Saturday before a South Coast Air Quality Management District hearing to demand an immediate shutdown of the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility as a noxious gas blowout detected 79 days ago continued unabated in their community, reported Alexandra Nagy, Southern California Organizer for Food & Water Watch.
The disaster is considered by many to be the worst of its kind since the BP Horizon Oil Spill in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010. This gas blowout has displaced 12,000 Porter Ranch residents from their homes since October 23.
Residents testified that an AQMD-stipulated Order of Abatement negotiated with SoCalGas over the massive leak at its Aliso Canyon Storage Facility falls short of what is necessary to protect residents’ health and property, and the climate, from this ongoing disaster and from future leaks. Residents urged the Hearing Board to amend the Order for Abatement to include the shutdown of the facility. The AQMD decided to extend the hearing to January 16, according to Nagy in a news release.
“Hundreds of Porter Ranch residents spoke up loud and clear: they want to protect their health, families and property from future disasters at the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility. The noxious blowout that began on October 23 is not an isolated incident at Aliso Canyon. South Coast Air Quality Management District now has an important decision to make, and anything less than an Order for Abatement to set in motion the shutdown of the Aliso Canyon Storage Facility won’t go far enough to protect this community from future incidents,” said Nagy.
“There is a way to protect Porter Ranch more quickly: California Governor Jerry Brown, who on Monday – the 74th day of the disaster – declared a state of emergency in Porter Ranch, has the authority to intervene and close the facility. 22,000 people have signed a petition circulated by Food & Water Watch urging him to do so. The City of Los Angeles and L.A. County could support this plan by rejecting increased reliance on natural gas and committing to a rapid transition to 100% clean, renewable energy for the region,” Nagy explained.
“The severity and persistence of the Aliso Canyon disaster highlights the grim reality that this facility and some 400 others like it across the United States are ticking time bombs that threaten the health and safety of communities and our climate. It is beyond time for leaders at the federal level, starting with President Obama, to stop promoting expanded use of natural gas. To protect Americans and the climate, leaders at all levels must accept that natural gas is a bridge to nowhere and advance policies that result in a rapid transition to 100% truly clean and renewable energy. This is the only path to a safe, energy secure future,” she concluded.
State Senators introduce bills in response to gas disaster
Then on Monday, January 11, a group of California Senate leaders led by SenatorFran Pavley announced a legislative package in response to the ongoing gas disaster at Aliso Canyon Storage Facility in Porter Ranch.
In a statement, Nagy responded to the announcement of the introduction of the legislative package:
“Food & Water Watch looks forward to working with Senator Pavley and the Senate leadership to enact an emergency moratorium on all operations in the SoCalGas Aliso Canyon Storage Facility and surrounding operations in the Aliso Canyon Oil Field. This gas disaster, which has displaced 12,000 Porter Ranch residents from their homes since October 23, requires a strong and swift response.
“This package of bills is an important first step toward the complete shutdown of Aliso Canyon, the only real way to prevent this facility from causing further harm to communities and our climate. This massive leak, which accounts for a quarter of California’s methane emissions, demonstrates why we cannot rely on natural gas and we must make a swift transition off of all fossil fuels toward 100% clean energy.”