Southern California Gas Co.’s Aliso Canyon gas leak, near Porter Ranch, Calif., so far has triggered a special federal task force, new U.S. Environmental Protection Agency gas pipeline and storage emissions rules, and a criminal case.
Even as drilling crews are getting closer to capping a natural-gas well that has spewed thousands of metric tons of methane since last fall, Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey has filed criminal charges against utility Southern California Gas Co. for failing to immediately notify authorities of the rupture within the largest underground natural-gas storage facility west of the Mississippi River.
California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) declared a state of emergency in Porter Ranch, Calif., on Jan. 7, following the failure of one of the world’s top drilling contractors to plug Southern California Gas Co.’s Aliso Canyon gas leak.
