California panel to vote on increasing storage at site of worst US methane leak despite risks
A proposal to vastly increase natural gas storage at the site of the nation’s largest-known methane leak is prompting opposition from California lawmakers
LOS ANGELES — California officials are expected to vote Thursday on a proposal to increase storage capacity at the site of the nation's largest known methane leak that sickened thousands of families and forced them from their Los Angeles homes in 2015.
The proposal for the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility has sparked protests from residents, environmentalists and politicians, but utilities and state regulators say its necessary to guard against fuel price spikes this winter.
“This is an unnecessary danger to people,” said Issam Najm, an environmental engineer and resident of Los Angeles’ Porter Ranch suburb, where thousands of residents were sickened by the leak.
Each day the facility remains open, it is emitting cancer-causing chemicals including benzene, said Najm, citing reports by the South Coast Air Quality Management District, the regulatory agency monitoring air pollution in the area.
He and other opponents, including Democratic lawmakers, say the state should be expediting its long-term plan endorsed by California Gov. Gavin Newsom to shut down the facility, not increase its capacity. The facility is slated for closure by 2027.
The 2015 gas leak, which took four months to control, released more than 120,000 metric tons of methane and other gases into the atmosphere over the communities in the San Fernando Valley.
Thousands of residents were forced to move out of their homes to escape a sulfurous stench and maladies including headaches, nausea and nose bleeds. SoCalGas and its parent company, Sempra Energy, agreed to pay up to $1.8 billion in
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