While the Aliso Canyon well was spilling massive amounts of methane into the atmosphere, another environmental hazard was occurring in the Aliso Canyon Oil Field. In recent weeks, regulators fined Termo Company (Termo), an oil and gas company based in Long Beach, California, for deliberately allowing climate altering gases to be discharged into the air. The California Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources announced that it would impose a $75,000 penalty for this violation.
The penalty imposed on the company for an “unreasonable waste of gas, improper disposal of oil field waste and failure to maintain and monitor production facilities” further emphasizes the need for stringent and comprehensive regulation of storage facilities. Termo’s oil wells often generate natural gas as a byproduct of their operations. Normally, Termo transfers the gas to Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas), which deposits the gas into underground storage facilities. Recently, however, gases were detected in the atmosphere during a flyover inspection to monitor the SoCalGas leak at Aliso Canyon.
While infrared technology was able to identify the gases, the pipe causing the leak was deliberately concealed from regulators. Termo employees are accused of covertly installing a 300-foot underground pipe to vent the gas. In addition, the operator of the facility was suspected of dismantling the pipe before investigators could examine it. It is uncertain how long Termo was venting gases, but it is possible that these actions began when the primary methane leak erupted.
The company has insisted that its actions were permissible because it was prevented from transferring the gases to the SoCalGas storage facility as a result of an order to halt natural gas instillations at the site. Gas injections are not permitted to resume until all of the Aliso Canyon wells are inspected. For over 16 weeks, a methane leak at the storage facility operated by SoCalGas caused the spillage of 107,000 tons of gas into the atmosphere resulting in significant health issues for hundreds of residents.
Contact Shane Coons at 949-333-0900 or visit his website at www.ShaneCoonsLaw.com to find out more about his practice.