State Senator Henry Stern (D-Los Angeles), representing the district containing the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility in Los Angeles, wrote to the Public Utilities Commission (PUC) calling its recent ruling to expand the natural gas storage capacity of the facility, rather than closing it, “unwise and unsafe.”
The public has called for the closure of the facility ever since October 23, 2015, when a gas leak, started from well SS-25 at SoCal Gas’ Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, released more than 100,000 metric tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas.
As a result, nearby public schools had to be closed during the leak to protect the children and staff, and literally thousands of people in the surrounding communities had to temporarily move during the leak to protect their and their loved ones’ health from the pollution.
Due to the incident, many have called for the facility’s closure, including Senator Stern and his predecessor, former Senator Fran Pavley.
“[Your recent ruling] suggests the possibility of raising, not reducing, the maximum authorized natural gas storage capacity at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility. All other alternatives and options must be fully explored to ensure natural gas storage levels are not increased,” Stern stated.
The letter was written in response to a Phase 2 and Phase 3 Scoping Memo and Ruling dated July 9, 2021, to maintain existing limitations on storage facility capacity.
“The PUC has a clear mandate by Governor Newsom to shut down Aliso Canyon to protect health, safety and climate. Talk of expanding this dangerous gas facility is a slap in the face to all Californians suffering daily now from the climate emergency and drought, wildfires, and heat waves,” said Food & Water Watch California Director Alexandra Nagy.
