The Southern California Gas Co (SoCal Gas) announced recently that it has successfully stemmed its methane gas leak in Porter Ranch. State officials are currently conducting operations to verify that the leak has been permanently sealed with a cement-fortified blockage. But the legal battles have just begun for SoCal, which appeared in court on February 17 and pled not guilty to a host of criminal charges in connection with the massive gas leak.
SoCal Gas is facing charges on three counts of failure to report the emission of hazardous materials to the appropriate authorities and one count of release of air contaminants into the atmosphere. The charges against the company could result in significant penalties– up to $25,000 for each day that it did not inform the California Office of Emergency Services of the situation and up to $1000 per day for air pollution violations. The leak has been ongoing for nearly four months. In addition, the Attorney General for the state of California joined a lawsuit filed by the city of Los Angeles charging SoCal Gas with violating health and safety regulations by allowing the leak to persist and failing to properly notify authorities.
As one of the country’s major storage wells, the Aliso Canyon leak is regarded as the largest single source of pollution to induce climate change in the state. According to documents in the lawsuit, the leak is responsible for the emission of 80,000 metric tons of methane into the atmosphere. The environmental catastrophe is expected to significantly impact the state’s goals for greenhouse gas emissions reductions.
The outpouring of methane from the leak has resulted in the evacuation of approximately 6000 Porter Ranch households. Others have reported health ailments in connection with the inhalation of the gas, such as headaches, nausea and nosebleeds. SoCal Gas maintains that the leak itself does not endanger public health and that the symptoms reported by residents result from exposure to the chemical added to the gas to promote detection of leaks.
Contact Shane Coons at 949-333-0900 or visit his website at www.ShaneCoonsLaw.com to find out more about his practice.