The Pasadena Star-News - Porter Ranch Gas Leak: Federal Legislation Proposed to Ensure Safety

News Article

By Dana Bartholomew

Across the nation, a natural gas leak that forced thousands of residents and students to flee their Porter Ranch homes and schools should never happen again, anywhere.

So says Rep. Steve Knight, who represents the area, and who touted legislation Saturday that would require federal officials to enact safety standards for underground natural gas storage fields across the nation.

"Now that the cap is in place, we're not smelling the mercaptan, but that doesn't mean that this is over," said Knight, standing next to the SoCalGas Aliso Canyon Storage Facility gate in Porter Ranch, following a tour. "We want to take care of this -- and make sure it never happens again."

Knight had been joined by Rep. Jeff Denham, chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Subcommittee on Railways, Pipelines and Hazardous Materials, on a tour through the 3,600-acre field whose ruptured well had leaked more than 100,000 tons of methane from late October until it was sealed last month.

He had aimed to give Denham a first-hand look at the Southern California Gas Co. site so that the causes of the leak could be addressed by Congress. Media have not been allowed access to the site.

Introduced in January, his bill would require the U.S. Secretary of Transportation to issue adequate safety standards for underground natural gas storage facilities across the nation.

He said that meant safety issues including gas well safety valves, proximity to homes and odorants such as mercaptan, blamed for thousands of illness complaints around Porter Ranch, would all be subject to federal review.

The Natural Gas Leak Prevention Act, or H.R. 4429, currently awaits consideration in the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. It's being submitted as an amendment to a pipeline safety bill that expired last year and is up for reauthorization.

"This is new territory," said Knight, a former Los Angeles police officer in the San Fernando Valley who has visited the Aliso Canyon gas field dozens of times, of new federal regulations. "What this will do will be to talk about new ideas.

"So that this well" -- or others like it -- "could be shut down if there is a problem."

Denham said that the tour and Knight's prior testimony concerning the largest gas leak in the nation has helped his committee recognize the importance of natural gas field safety.
"I've never seen anything like this," Denham said, standing in front of the gas field hills bright green from Friday's downpour. "And because of the size, it was good to see it firsthand."

The Aliso Canyon Storage Field, which supplies gas to at least 14 power plants in a service area of 21 million residents, has been subject to repeated calls for closure.

Knight said his legislation aims to complement regulations on underground gas storage at the state level, including S.B. 380, a pipeline safety bill co-sponsored by Assemblyman Scott Wilk that passed the California State Senate early this year.

The gas company, meanwhile, announced Friday it will pay an independent contractor to conduct air quality testing inside homes near its Aliso Canyon Storage Facility. The company agreed to foot the bill for air quality testing for methane and mercaptan in 75 homes at the request of county Supervisor Michael Antonovich.

The testing will be done by an independent contractor and overseen by the county Department of Public Health. A judge has ordered the gas company to pay for residents to be relocated until March 18.

SoCalGas has now cleaned at least 200 homes where brown spots have been reported.

On Saturday, SoCalGas announced that it completed cleaning at four public parks to address community concerns about brown spots believed to be related to the once-leaking well. Exterior cleaning also began Friday at the Shepherd of the Hills Church and is scheduled next week at private parks in Porter Ranch.

"Our top priorities are helping reassure residents their community is safe to return to and making the return home as seamless as possible," said Gillian Wright, SoCalGas vice president for customer services, in a statement.

"Extensive sampling of outdoor air in the community and testing of residue from the well has shown that the community is a safe place to live and we hope these services will provide residents with additional peace of mind as they return to their normal lives."

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