5 Facts to Know About the California Methane Leak

[rangerrebew]

5 Facts to Know About the California Methane Leak
by Tia Ghose, Senior Writer   |   December 30, 2015 05:08pm ET
 
giant methane leak
[Pin It] A giant methane leak in Southern California could take months to seal. Here, colored infrared images reveal the extent of the leak.
 

A methane leak in Southern California has forced thousands of people from their homes. Although the gas first began spewing from a leaky underground well in October, the gas company only recently identified the source of the leak.

Now, officials with the company say it could be months before the methane leak is stopped.

But what exactly caused the methane leak in the first place, and how will it affect those in the surrounding areas? Here are five things to know about the Southern California methane leak.

1.Methane is the main component of natural gas

Methane is a simple hydrocarbon made up of one carbon atom and four hydrogen atoms, and is produced when microorganisms called methanogens combine carbon dioxide and oxygen. It is the main constituent in the natural gas that is used for heating and cooking in some homes.

By itself, methane is colorless and odorless. When it is processed for use in homes, an odorant is added, so that people will be able to smell it if there is a gas leak.

Scientists say that vast stores of methane are buried beneath the seafloor, locked into a cagelike crystal of water molecules, making it stable. Other huge sources of methane are the organic matter frozen into the permafrost in the Arctic.

The methane that's leaking probably isn't part of California's natural reserves. Most of the methane that is used in Southern California homes actually comes from somewhere else (typically West Texas or Southern Colorado). It is transported to California via a massive network of interstate pipelines, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

2. The leak originated underground

The source of the methane leak, which began on Oct. 23, is the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Field, the largest underground methane storage facility in the western United States. The storage facility is located in a mountain near the community of Porter Ranch.

3. It's an environmental disaster

Since October, the leak has released 150 million pounds (72,000 metric tons) of methane into the environment, according to the Environmental Defense Fund, which has tracked the leak using infrared cameras. [6 Unexpected Effects of Climate Change]

That could be bad news for the climate. Methane is a greenhouse gas like carbon dioxide, but pound for pound, methane can be 25 times more powerful than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.

Methane that enters the atmosphere takes about 12 years to break down — it is mostly removed from the air by chemical reactions with other compounds.

All told, the current leak could be responsible for a quarter of all of the state's methane emissions this year, and could be the worst methane leak in California's history.

4. It's dangerous

The methane leak could also be dangerous for people who live in Porter Ranch. Methane is highly flammable (not surprising, as it is used for combustion in both gas stoves and rockets).

Depending on its concentration in the air, it can also be dangerous to inhale methane fumes, because methane can occupy the same place in blood cells that oxygen normally does. Symptoms of methane exposure include headache, nausea, vomiting, dizziness, weakness and loss of coordination, according to the National Institutes of Health. In serious cases, people may black out or die.

More than 2,000 residents of Porter Ranch, California, have been evacuated from their homes after people complained of headaches and nosebleeds, NBC News reported. Two Los Angeles Unified School District schools have closed in response to the methane leak. 

5. It could take months to fix

The Southern California Gas Company has identified the location of the leak in a well 3,000 feet (914 meters) below ground. However, they still don't know what caused it.

To stop the leak, the gas company said it plans to drill a "relief" well at 5,000 feet (1,524 m), or below the level of the current leak, to divert the methane flow. Then, the company plans to temporarily plug the leaking well with a mixture of mud and fluids, before sealing it permanently with cement, CBS news reported.

But this will all be a tricky process, as it involves using magnetic-ranging techniques to find a 7-inch (17.8 centimeter) pipe located within 1,500 feet (457 m) of rock, while not damaging other pipes nearby, according to the Southern California Gas Company.

The workers will also have to stop their work if air concentrations of methane get too high and pose either a possibility of explosion or a health risk.

The whole process could be completed by late February or early March, the gas company said.

http://www.livescience.com/53233-facts-california-methane-leak.html

[flowers]

I am glad you posted this about Porter Ranch. I will try to remember to post more info here. Did you know they have asked Jerry Brown to declare a emergency and have asked for months to help relocate people out of the area. The answer.....***crickets*** His sister is on the board of directors for the company that owns these fields.

Did you know that in 79 the company took off the safety valve off the one leaking now? did you know most of these storage tanks are over 50 years old? One more thing......in the land of cali that is regulated on EVERYTHING....how did this area not get regulated?? Can we say...bribes????

[alicewonders]

I am glad you posted this about Porter Ranch. I will try to remember to post more info here. Did you know they have asked Jerry Brown to declare a emergency and have asked for months to help relocate people out of the area. The answer.....***crickets*** His sister is on the board of directors for the company that owns these fields.

Did you know that in 79 the company took off the safety valve off the one leaking now? did you know most of these storage tanks are over 50 years old? One more thing......in the land of cali that is regulated on EVERYTHING....how did this area not get regulated?? Can we say...bribes????

Good to know, thanks.

[rangerrebew]

I am glad you posted this about Porter Ranch. I will try to remember to post more info here. Did you know they have asked Jerry Brown to declare a emergency and have asked for months to help relocate people out of the area. The answer.....***crickets*** His sister is on the board of directors for the company that owns these fields.

Did you know that in 79 the company took off the safety valve off the one leaking now? did you know most of these storage tanks are over 50 years old? One more thing......in the land of cali that is regulated on EVERYTHING....how did this area not get regulated?? Can we say...bribes????

They were so busy taking care of illegal immigrants, they completely forgot.  The other thing missing is coverage by the MSM.  Can you imagine the "outrage" if this were in a state with a republican governor?

[truth_seeker]

I must ask why the political accusations?

I live in the county, and heard nothing of it. Maybe it isn't as big a deal.

No deaths to date. Oil and natural gas are a "natural" occurrence in the area.

Leaks to the surface do occur. Like in the offshore area, where people often mistake tar balls as leaks from wells, on offshore platforms.

Are you opposed to natural gas? Are you opposed to heating homes and cooking with natural gas?

The resource is owned by a private company, who in turn has employed private contractors to try to remedy the leak. They continue work.

I don't get the hysteria of these daily postings. You must search 24 hours per day searching for only negatives.

What do you want done about this situation?

[Paladin]

"I must ask why the political accusations?

I live in the county, and heard nothing of it. Maybe it isn't as big a deal."

Maybe not, but don't forget this is occurring in a state and a governor which has put itself in the forefront of the battle against climate change.

"Prior to the gas leak, California has put forth legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions altogether. Governor Jerry Brown has been working diligently to impose stricter standards that would prevent future methane leaks from refineries, pipelines, and storage facilities.

Yet the huge gas leak near Porter Ranch is a significant setback to reduce emissions.

“It is one of the biggest leaks we’ve ever seen reported,” said Tim O’Connor, California climate director for the EDF. “It is coming out with force, in incredible volumes. And it is absolutely uncontained.” (http://www.inquisitr.com/2666556/methane-gas-leak-in-california-may-impact-climate-change-porter-ranch-residents-want-facility-closed-down-video/)

And yet, as Rangerrebew noted, "The other thing missing is coverage by the MSM.", which is definitely odd given the environmental impact of the leak.

[truth_seeker]

"I must ask why the political accusations?

I live in the county, and heard nothing of it. Maybe it isn't as big a deal."

Maybe not, but don't forget this is occurring in a state and a governor which has put itself in the forefront of the battle against climate change.

"Prior to the gas leak, California has put forth legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions altogether. Governor Jerry Brown has been working diligently to impose stricter standards that would prevent future methane leaks from refineries, pipelines, and storage facilities.

Yet the huge gas leak near Porter Ranch is a significant setback to reduce emissions.

“It is one of the biggest leaks we’ve ever seen reported,” said Tim O’Connor, California climate director for the EDF. “It is coming out with force, in incredible volumes. And it is absolutely uncontained.” (http://www.inquisitr.com/2666556/methane-gas-leak-in-california-may-impact-climate-change-porter-ranch-residents-want-facility-closed-down-video/)

And yet, as Rangerrebew noted, "The other thing missing is coverage by the MSM.", which is definitely odd given the environmental impact of the leak.

I readily found it in the "MSM" so there is not "missing coverage"

I repeat: What do you want done about this situation?

[GourmetDan]

I repeat: What do you want done about this situation?

We want like every other environmental 'disaster'...

[Paladin]

"I readily found it in the "MSM" so there is not "missing coverage".

Undoubtedly. But what you haven't seen is the story pounded on every night by the majors, or banner headlined on the NYT, WaPo, and the other usual suspects, or featured on "60 Minutes", or as Gourmet Dan puts it, "We want [hysteria] like every other environmental 'disaster'..."

Nope, the story is being spiked as are all stories which reflect badly on the GW/CC crowd as seen in one of its leading spokesman, Gov Jerry Brown.

[flowers]

I must ask why the political accusations?

I live in the county, and heard nothing of it. Maybe it isn't as big a deal.

No deaths to date. Oil and natural gas are a "natural" occurrence in the area.

Leaks to the surface do occur. Like in the offshore area, where people often mistake tar balls as leaks from wells, on offshore platforms.

Are you opposed to natural gas? Are you opposed to heating homes and cooking with natural gas?

The resource is owned by a private company, who in turn has employed private contractors to try to remedy the leak. They continue work.

I don't get the hysteria of these daily postings. You must search 24 hours per day searching for only negatives.

What do you want done about this situation?

It is a huge event. Erin Brockovicth is involved now. It is a whole town....2 schools so far have shut down so far. EVERYONE in the town is sick. For months. The property values of each and every single home is at risk. Business have lost over 1/2 of sales. Gas company  wouldn't answer phone calls for 2 months from all the people who had dogs with bleeding eyes. Kids with bleeding noses. People with major headaches, sick to stomac. Not just one or two......the whole town.

I tried yesterday to do a Porter Ranch story search. I see I will have to spend more time finding the articles I have read in the past. They aren't at the usual places anymore.  I will check next week.

[flowers]

Gas company criticized for uncontrolled methane leak near Porter Ranch

http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-gas-company-taken-to-task-over-gas-leak-near-porter-ranch-20151124-story.html

Air quality officials have cited Southern California Gas Co. officials over a month-long gas leak that has been sickening residents in the San Fernando Valley community of Porter Ranch, and county supervisors sharply criticized the utility Tuesday over the issue.

Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich, who represents the affected area, called a potentially lengthy timeline to fix the problem "nonsensical and irresponsible."

The leak at the gas company's Aliso Canyon storage facility in the Santa Susana Mountains began Oct. 23 and is emitting methane at a rate of about 50,000 kilograms per hour, accounting for about one-quarter of all methane emissions in California.

See the most-read stories this hour >>

The leak is also emitting mercaptons, additives that give the natural gas a sulfur-like smell and can cause symptoms such as nausea, dizziness, headaches and nosebleeds. Porter Ranch residents have been complaining of those symptoms since the leak began.
LAUSD school in Porter Ranch shows the importance of parent involvement

"People's lives are being impacted and their property is being impacted," Antonovich said. The supervisor called gas company officials on the carpet at the panel's weekly meeting Tuesday.

Angelo J. Bellomo, director of environmental health for the county's Department of Public Health, said officials there do not expect any "long-term or permanent health effects" from the emissions, but that the temporary symptoms will continue as long as the leak does.

Gas company officials have said it could take months to stop the leak. Crews have tried unsuccessfully to stop the flow of gas by pumping fluid into the well.
Natural gas leak that's sickening Valley residents could take months to fix
Natural gas leak that's sickening Valley residents could take months to fix

The company is now preparing to drill a so-called "relief well" to intercept the gas if needed, a process that could take one to three months, said Jimmie Cho, senior vice president of gas operations and system integrity.

"It is our priority to safely and expeditiously stop the leak," he said.

The South Coast Air Quality Management District issued a notice of violation to the gas company on Monday, citing the "public nuisance" created by the leak. Air quality officials said it's too early to say how much the company might be fined, but the maximum penalty for such violations is generally $75,000 a day.

Gas company vice president of customer services Gillian Wright told the supervisors, "We're deeply sorry for how the leak has impacted the community."

The company has been directed by county health officials to pay for temporary relocation for residents in the affected area. So far 259 households have applied and 67 have been placed in temporary housing, Wright said.

Interested in the stories shaping California? Sign up for the free Essential California newsletter >>

Porter Ranch resident Matt Pakucko, president of local advocacy group Save Porter ranch, said he's skeptical of claims that there will be no long-term health effects on the community.

Residents' "lives have been turned upside down this last month, and it seems to be getting worse," he told the board. "People are sick, their kids are sick. They've been going through this for a month."

[flowers]

Unspoken Catastrophe in Southern California: Porter Ranch Methane Gas Leak, Thousands of Displaced Families, “No Fly Zone” Declared

http://www.globalresearch.ca/unspoken-catastrophe-in-southern-california-porter-ranch-methane-gas-leak-thousands-of-displaced-families-no-fly-zone-declared/5498611

We can’t even begin to fathom what the serious longterm consequences over this matter will turn out to be. Making matters worse, SoCalGas has essentially REFUSED to release information on the surrounding air quality, so we have no way of really grasping how bad this really is. The leak is supposedly residing at over 8000 feet underneath the ground, making it a complicated, complex problem to solve. With the potential of liability and litigation, attorneys are filtering responses on both sides. In just one month, this leak will have accounted for 1/4 of the total estimated methane emissions in the entire state of California.

Vomiting, nosebleeds, trouble breathing, are just the beginning of what these people are experiencing on a daily basis. The community has begun the act of transferring school children out of the area. While SoCalGas has helped with some relocation efforts, it hasn’t been nearly enough. Many people have been stuck waiting on a list to be assigned relocation, all the while, their respiratory systems being decimated by infectious gases.

And all the while, a refusal to release air quality data remains on the part of the company responsible for it all. Sick people only know they are sick, but confirmations of why seem to be vague and protected by a wall of legal jargon and advisors. SoCalGas needs to come out and take responsibility. They need to address the people who are sick and with great urgency resolve their issues. This can’t continue to go on.

What shocks me the most is that while this story has received a great deal of coverage, it really hasn’t been the top story. Maybe the holidays? Maybe people just aren’t interested? All the same, this affects us all. This could (and likely is) happen in any of our communities. Want to see what it looks like using infrared? What are people breathing in?

[flowers]

Erin Brockovich: Porter Ranch Gas Leak Is Worst Environmental Disaster Since BP Oil Spill

http://ecowatch.com/2015/12/22/erin-brockovich-porter-ranch/

At this rate, in just one month, the leak will have accounted for one-quarter of the total estimated methane emissions in the state of California.

The company has offered some assistance in relocating residents in the affected area, but those efforts are woefully inadequate. People have been told they have to wait, they are 300th in line and that they will not be able to relocate before Christmas. Many residents simply cannot afford pay for a hotel or apartment while continuing to cover home costs. SoCalGas does not even know exactly how long it will take to fix the leak, but the company’s CEO has said it will be at least another three to four months. Curiously, despite this admission, SoCalGas is only offering three months of relocation to those fortunate enough to receive a return call.

The company has also refused to release the data from air quality monitoring it has conducted in the community, despite numerous requests from the public. The company is withholding vital information about the exact composition of the air—information that is critical for the thousands of residents who want to understand why they are so sick. That is why I have been out in the community distributing canisters that we hope will provide an independent verification of the toxicity in the air.

With Jerry Brown being a global warming freak.....you would think he would be all over this....the media should be all over this. 

[flowers]

Porter Ranch Residents Allege Physical Illness From Local Gas Leak

http://losangeles.cbslocal.com/2015/11/04/porter-ranch-residents-allege-physical-illness-from-local-gas-leak/

PORTER RANCH (CBSLA.com) — Residents who say they can’t stop smelling gas from an apparent leak in their area took to the microphone at a council meeting Wednesday night against the gas company, who claims there is no issue.

The residents of Porter Ranch say that, in addition to the odor, they are experiencing physical symptoms as a result of the gas. When one speaker asked for a show of hands of how many people became physically ill, an overwhelming portion of the audience acknowledged that they had.

The Southern California Gas Company’s Aliso Canyon storage facility experienced a gas leak in late October, sending the odor into the air.

“(I’ve been) noxious, and I wake up sneezing and coughing, and (I have) headaches,” concerned resident Judy Kugel said. “(SoCal Gas) will not be able to fix this any time soon.”

Other residents claimed that children and pets have become ill as a result of the leak as well.

Representatives from the Southern California Gas Company were in attendance at the meeting to issue an apology on Wednesday evening.

“(My goal) at least for my self, personally, is to apologize to all of you, to all of those in the community,” COO Bret Lane said. “We definitely hear your concerns.”

[flowers]

One more article today for ya........this is the best for info.

What Went Wrong at Porter Ranch?

Before she retired in 2014, Anneliese Anderle was a field engineer for the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermic Resources, which regulates oil drilling. She worked out of offices in Bakersfield, Cypress and Ventura, and for a while she was responsible for monitoring the massive natural gas storage field at Aliso Canyon.

Southern California Gas owns the facility, which distributes gas to 14 power plants and 21 million customers. In her years monitoring wells at Aliso Canyon, Anderle says she got to know the gas company as "a first-class operation."

The company tended to be conservative, and to do things rigorously and by the book. But the wells at Aliso Canyon were aging, and many were starting to wear out.

"They have a beautiful facility," she says. "It's gleaming. They have great roads and well-marked pipelines. Everything's painted. But just below the surface, it's junk."

On Oct. 23, gas company employees noticed a leak out of the ground near a well called SS-25. It was late afternoon, so they decided to come back in the morning to fix it.

The next day, however, their efforts were unsuccessful. Gas was now billowing downhill into Porter Ranch, an upscale community on the northern edge of the San Fernando Valley. Customers were beginning to complain about the smell.

Gas leaks are not uncommon, and it took a couple weeks for this one to become news. When Anderle heard about it, in early November, she pulled up the well record on a state website. The file dates back to when the well was drilled in 1953. As she looked it over, she zeroed in on a piece of equipment 8,451 feet underground called a sub-surface safety valve.

If it were working properly, the gas company would be able to shut down the well. The fact that SoCalGas hadn't meant, to her, that it must be broken. The records indicated that it had not been inspected since 1976.

"That's almost 40 years," she says. "It's a long time to leave it in the well."

As weeks went by and further efforts to stop the leak failed, it became clear that the company was dealing with an unprecedented catastrophe.

On Dec. 15, the Weekly interviewed Rodger Schwecke, a SoCalGas executive who is helping to coordinate the response to the leak. Asked about the safety valve, he said it wasn't damaged. It actually wasn't there.

"We removed that valve in 1979," he said.

He pointed out that the valve was old at that time and leaking. It also was not easy to find a new part, so the company opted not to replace it. If SS-25 were a "critical" well — that is, one within 100 feet of a road or a park, or within 300 feet of a home — then a safety valve would be required. But it was not a critical well, so it was not required.

"Now there's definitely going to be a push for changing the regulations," Anderle said, when told of the missing valve. "You get rid of a safety valve because it wasn't working? A safety valve would have shut the damn well down! They're in a bunch of trouble."

Gas has now been spewing out of the ground at Aliso Canyon for two months. The gas company expects it to continue for up to another three months. Methane is a potent contributor to climate change. By one estimate, the leak is producing greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to the tailpipes of 2.3 million cars.

The Aliso Canyon leak has increased the state's methane emissions by 21 percent. As of now, 2.3 percent of the state's entire carbon footprint is coming from one hole in the ground above Porter Ranch.

"This is an environmental disaster," said Mayor Eric Garcetti, who stopped by Porter Ranch Community School in November, just before flying to Paris for the United Nations climate change conference. "It's devastating. It makes you question the long-term sustainability of a carbon-based power system."
"You have a home that you used to love. People move to Porter Ranch for the views, the camaraderie and the community. Now we're seeing it be destroyed."
—Ellen Oppenberg, a resident of Porter Ranch for 22 years

The local impact also has been severe. About 30,000 people live in Porter Ranch, a bedroom community of gated developments with 4,000-square-foot homes that sell for $1 million or more. The neighborhood offers good schools, clean air and a sense of security. All of that has been disrupted. Many residents have experienced headaches, nosebleeds, nausea or other symptoms. Some 2,000 families have been moved to hotels or short-term rentals to escape the gas.

"It's frightening," says Ellen Oppenberg, a resident of Porter Ranch for 22 years. "You have a home that you used to love. People move to Porter Ranch for the views, the camaraderie and the community. Now we're seeing it be destroyed."

Families have agonized about whether to allow their children to play outdoors. The school district has opted to relocate two schools starting in January. Some parents have rushed their babies to the emergency room with shortness of breath. Some say their pets are throwing up. Whenever anyone gets sick they wonder, Is it the gas?

"I'm in the frame of mind of, 'What do I gotta do to protect my family?'" says Pete Adams, a longtime Porter Ranch resident who has not left but is thinking about it. "Did I cause irreversible damage to my family by being ignorant?"

Public health officials have tried to be reassuring. The air readings are not so bad as to require a mandatory evacuation. But officials also have said that people's symptoms are real, and have forced the gas company to pay for relocations.

Lawyers are coming in from around the country to sign up clients to sue the gas company. The first class-action suit was filed on Nov. 23, and at least two more have followed. A massive crowd came out to a megachurch on a Wednesday night to hear Erin Brockovich, the celebrity environmental crusader, give a pitch for yet another law firm.

So far, officials have not faulted the gas company's efforts to stop the leak, nor have they cited conditions that may have caused it. But outside experts have identified several concerns. Among them is the missing safety valve. Some also have questioned why it's taking so long to drill a relief well to seal the leak.

For a company that is generally so cautious, SoCalGas seems to have been unprepared for a leak of this magnitude. That's especially troubling because SS-25 is far from unique. Many other wells are just as old, or older, and according to SoCalGas they also lack sub-surface safety valves. If one of them were to crack, this disaster could easily happen again.

When they bought their homes in Porter Ranch, few people had any idea they were moving so close to one of the largest gas-storage facilities in the country. Aliso Canyon is a massive natural reservoir — about one cubic mile, buried a mile and a half below ground.

Oil was discovered there in 1938. The Tidewater Associated Oil Company, owned by J. Paul Getty, produced oil and gas from the field until it was depleted in the early 1970s. Getty Oil sold the field to Pacific Lighting Corp. (a gas company formed in the 19th century, when gas was used to light homes), which converted it to storage in 1972.

Sempra Energy, the successor to Pacific Lighting Corp. and the parent company of Southern California Gas, now owns the field. It is quite common for gas to be stored in depleted oil fields. In addition to Aliso Canyon, Sempra owns three smaller storage fields in Southern California: Playa del Rey, La Goleta and Honor Rancho.

Most of the wells at these fields were drilled many decades ago. In filings with the Public Utilities Commission in 2014, the company noted that of 229 wells at its facilities, half were at least 57 years old. Fifty-two of them were at least 70 years old.

Steel corrodes after decades underground. In 2008, the company had to do three costly workovers to repair leaking wells. By 2013, that number had grown to nine.

The older wells were not built to modern standards. New wells typically are sealed to the surrounding rock formation with cement from the surface of the ground to the bottom of the well. That makes the casings stronger and protects them from water. Older wells were not cemented from top to bottom.
SS-25 is made of three cylinders one inside the other. Gas is escaping from a vast underground "reservoir" via a hole in the inner, 7-inch casing at 470 feet deep. The gas is traveling down to the end of the outer casing at 990 feet, then out through the rock. Modern wells are cemented from the surface to the reservoir to stop corrosion, but the 7-inch casing of this well, circa 1953-1954, was only cemented from a depth of 6,600 feet down to 8,500 feet. The hole from which gas is spewing occurred far above this safety cementing.
SS-25 is made of three cylinders one inside the other. Gas is escaping from a vast underground "reservoir" via a hole in the inner, 7-inch casing at 470 feet deep. The gas is traveling down to the end of the outer casing at 990 feet, then out through the rock. Modern wells are cemented from the surface to the reservoir to stop corrosion, but the 7-inch casing of this well, circa 1953-1954, was only cemented from a depth of 6,600 feet down to 8,500 feet. The hole from which gas is spewing occurred far above this safety cementing.
Illustration by Darrick Rainey

SS-25 was cemented only from the bottom up to a depth of 6,600 feet. The rest — more than a mile of steel pipe — was left exposed to the rock formation. At the top, the 7-inch casing is surrounded by an 11¾-inch surface casing, which is cemented to the rock. But a new well also would have a layer of cement between those casings to provide greater strength and protection from corrosion.

Gas is now leaking through a hole in the 7-inch casing at 470 feet down to the bottom of the outer casing at 990 feet, and out through the rock to the surface.

The corporate culture of SoCalGas is nothing if not deliberate. And so, in 2014, the company proposed a methodical effort to check each well for corrosion. It would take about seven years and cost tens of millions of dollars. The plan was part of a request to the Public Utilities Commission to increase customers' monthly gas bills by 5.5 percent. The alternative was to fix leaks only as they occurred, which one executive warned could be dangerous and lead to "major situational or media incidents."

The SoCalGas plan went well beyond the requirements imposed by the state Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermic Resources, or DOGGR. Steve Bohlen, the outgoing head of DOGGR, has said several times that it does not appear that Southern California Gas violated any regulations.

"He said there was nothing in the record that the gas company did where they broke the rules, which is true," says Anderle, who worked for DOGGR for 21 years. "The trouble is, the rules are so soft and undemanding."

Pressure tests must be done every five years, in addition to annual temperature surveys. But that would detect only an active leak, not one that was about to happen.

At this point, Brandon Ly is ready to go. He lives in Porter Ranch Estates, in a three-bedroom house about a mile and a half south of SS-25. He says that since the leak started he's had rashes, body aches and blurred vision.

His bigger concern is for his wife, Judy. She's a breast cancer survivor. Her doctor has advised her to avoid carcinogens. They're worried about benzene, which is a carcinogen and is found in trace amounts in natural gas.

The Lys keep the windows closed and they don't take walks anymore. Still, he worries that she's exposed to something that could cause long-term damage. Her cancer has been in remission long enough that they can try to have a baby.

"I just want to get out of here," Ly says.
Brandon Ly and his wife, Judy, live just a mile and a half from the leak. They have requested to be relocated.
Brandon Ly and his wife, Judy, live just a mile and a half from the leak. They have requested to be relocated.
Photo by Danny Liao

He has called the gas company for a temporary relocation. But he really wants to sell his house. Even after this leak is plugged, there are 114 other wells at Aliso Canyon. Who's to say one of them won't fail? He called a real estate agent and was told that, because of the leak, it's a bad time to sell.

"I feel like I'm trapped," he says. "I'm stuck in a poisonous house."

Arlene Stein lives on the next street over.

"You can smell it really bad on our cul de sac," she says. "When it's bad, it's nauseating. I've had headaches almost continuously for the last couple of months."

She has lived there since 1994. She moved in just before the Northridge earthquake, which damaged homes across Porter Ranch. She also was there for the Sesnon Fire in 2008, which came right up to the edge of her street.

That lasted only a few days. The gas leak has gone on for two months, with no end in sight. At first, the gas company said it would be over relatively quickly. But each attempt to kill the well failed. Finally, the company announced it was drilling a relief well, which would intercept the leaking well 8,000 feet below ground. It would take three to four months to drill.

"They just keep saying it's very complicated and they have to go slow," Stein says. "Why does it take four months to drill into the ground?"

As the weeks went on, more and more of her neighbors decided to relocate. The gas company will pay up to $250 per room per night, for up to 90 days. After calling around for several days, Stein found a vacation rental in Sherman Oaks that would allow her dogs.

"It feels like a cover-up that they didn't tell us right away," says Stein, one of about 200 demonstrators who recently picketed outside the entrance to Aliso Canyon, calling for its closure. "I would like them to shut down the whole facility."

Natural gas is invisible. But heat-sensing cameras have been able to capture a plume of gas erupting out of the hillside. The situation is particularly dangerous for the 100 to 200 workers who are at the site at any given time trying to kill the well. The hillside could be undermined by flowing gas, or the gas could ignite.

For the gas company, the motto has been "work slow to work fast," Schwecke says. They are proud that so far no workers have been injured. "If you try to rush things, that's when something happens," he says.

The company has taken a very cautious and deliberate approach to killing the well, starting with the most conservative option and then proceeding to more aggressive steps.

SoCalGas has made six "kill attempts," in which brine or heavier liquid is poured down the well in an effort to stop the flow of gas. All of those efforts have failed.

The peak demand for natural gas comes during the winter. So in the fall, the company filled the reservoir almost to its capacity. When the leak started, the reservoir was near its peak pressure.

The gas flowing out of SS-25 is moving at high velocity. Each time the gas company tries to stop it with liquid, the liquid is either blasted out the hole in the casing or back up to the top.

The last kill attempt was on Nov. 25. Though the company hasn't come out and said so, it appears to have essentially given up on that option. On Dec. 4, six weeks after the leak began, SoCalGas began drilling the relief well.
"They really should have started drilling that well as soon as they found out it was leaking. They would be well on their way to being able to control the well."
—Greg McCormack, an expert in petroleum engineering

The company has brought in Boots & Coots, a subsidiary of Halliburton, which is globally renowned in the field of well control. Once its workers intercept SS-25 at a depth of 8,000 feet, they will pour liquid and cement into the well, sealing it off.

Outside experts agree that this is a surefire way to kill the leaking well. But they have criticized both the delay in setting up the relief well and the time estimate for completing it.

"They really should have started drilling that well as soon as they found out it was leaking," says Greg McCormack, an expert in petroleum engineering based in Houston. "They would be well on their way to being able to control the well."

Steve Vorenkamp, a former executive at Wild Well Control, says it was his company's practice to drill two relief wells, as was done on the Deepwater Horizon leak in the Gulf of Mexico.

"If one causes problems or breaks down, you have a backup," Vorenkamp says.

The gas company is planning to drill a second relief well. But first it must grade a new well pad and bring in a drill rig from off-site. Schwecke estimates the drilling on the second well won't begin until later in January.

He also says the company drilled the first relief well as fast at it could. He says the planning and site preparation began about two weeks after the leak was discovered.

"You can't just set up a rig and start drilling tomorrow," Schwecke says. "We probably did that month and a half of work in what would usually take three months."

Yet outside experts suggest that four months is a very conservative estimate for how long the relief well ought to take.

"Oh my word," Vorenkamp says, when told of the estimate. "I question why so long for an 8,000-foot well."

McCormack says it should take closer to two months.

[truth_seeker]

Since you cite the LA Times, that proves the media is NOT failing to cover the story.

Personally with 20 years in the oil-gas and related engineering construction business, I will be interested in the outcome.

I remember when I worked in the field office of a producing oil field, and guys would lick oil of their fingers, and say "tastes good."

Trying to repair a leak in a well over 8,000 ft. down hole is difficult. They are working on it.

The fact is California is and has been an important oil & natural gas producer. (ranked 3rd in oil, 15th in natural gas)

Jerry Brown can behave any way he wants for public political purposes.

There will be plenty of politics, since this is inside the Lost Angeles City boundaries (3.9 million), the Lost Angeles County (9.8 million) boundaries, and of course the state (39 million).

But technology is what is needed to provide the SOLUTION, and that is found within the oil & gas drilling and production industries.

I am hopeful it will be resolved sooner than later.

I happen to live in a community with $1,000,000+ homes built atop old oil fields, with about 5 offshore oil production platforms, and down the street from a natural gas fired electric generating plant. We will soon break ground on a desalinization plant in tandem with the power plant.

So I readily accept the risks of man living close to dangerous energy and natural resource extraction and processing situations.

We occasionally have refinery fires in the US, some tragic. But we don't stop processing crude oil into component finished products.

[massadvj]

Six months from now the leak will be sealed.  Six years from now the lawsuits will still be going on.  And so it goes in California.

Very interesting story, and a very good piece of journalism.  I can't remember the last time I read something this balanced.  Kudos to the LAT.

[truth_seeker]

Six months from now the leak will be sealed.  Six years from now the lawsuits will still be going on.  And so it goes in California.

Very interesting story, and a very good piece of journalism.  I can't remember the last time I read something this balanced.  Kudos to the LAT.

The LAT has been (in the past) one of the best investigative newspapers in the country.

Lawyers do what lawyers do. My youngest sister became a flaming liberal. She is currently involved directly with an eviction, and now sees the impact of "consumer" biased laws and regulations.

When the laws made by democrats in Sacramento deprive you of income or even possession of your own property for an unreasonable length of time, it might just turn you into a conservative.

[massadvj]

The LAT has been (in the past) one of the best investigative newspapers in the country.

Lawyers do what lawyers do. My youngest sister became a flaming liberal. She is currently involved directly with an eviction, and now sees the impact of "consumer" biased laws and regulations.

When the laws made by democrats in Sacramento deprive you of income or even possession of your own property for an unreasonable length of time, it might just turn you into a conservative.

Yes.  I was a Realtor in California for 10 years.  If the tenant plays his cards right (they often have legal aid people helping them) he can keep the landlord at bay and live rent-free for around six months.  Longer if the court dockets are clogged.

It is actually much easier for a mortgage holder to foreclose than for a landlord to evict in California. 

[truth_seeker]

Yes.  I was a Realtor in California for 10 years.  If the tenant plays his cards right (they often have legal aid people helping them) he can keep the landlord at bay and live rent-free for around six months.  Longer if the court dockets are clogged.

It is actually much easier for a mortgage holder to foreclose than for a landlord to evict in California.

She has lived a sheltered life, enabling her to develop and hold fairly naïve ideas. Now going through it first hand, she has to see what it does to landlord. She is quick to criticize the "morality" of the tenant, and wishes the tenant could be punished for their wrongdoing.

Amazing how quickly liberal do-gooder notions of "helping" others, go away when they dip directly into one's own wallet. I must walk a delicate fine-line with my sister, to keep family peace on topics like this. Best just let the results speak for themselves.

The old story about a conservative is a liberal that got mugged. (economically in this case)



 

[Paladin]

"Since you cite the LA Times, that proves the media is NOT failing to cover the story."

And once again no one said it was, except you, of course. What is missing is the wall to wall coverage such as we saw with the BP oil spill. Now why is that? Could it be because CA is a Liberal stronghold and its governor is a well known GW/CC fanatic? Just one example among many:

"California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Tuesday urged a group of 60 mayors to take action in their cities on climate change, warning that global warming is "the biggest threat of our time" and denouncing skeptics as "troglodytes."

[Sanguine]

Wow, I hadn't seen this story, except here.  Ugly situation.

[Paladin]

Wow, I hadn't seen this story, except here.  Ugly situation.

Verification of the very point I have been making. Sanguine is intelligent and well informed, and yet...

[rangerrebew]

"Since you cite the LA Times, that proves the media is NOT failing to cover the story."

And once again no one said it was, except you, of course. What is missing is the wall to wall coverage such as we saw with the BP oil spill. Now why is that? Could it be because CA is a Liberal stronghold and its governor is a well known GW/CC fanatic? Just one example among many:

"California Gov. Jerry Brown (D) on Tuesday urged a group of 60 mayors to take action in their cities on climate change, warning that global warming is "the biggest threat of our time" and denouncing skeptics as "troglodytes."

This is a major environmental disaster on the heels of the "global warming" summit in Paris.  And as Paladin notes, there is coverage but it is very, very limited so as not to make liberals in California or the District of Corruption look bad.  Why hasn't Obama waded into this like he does everything else?  You would think an administration which says global warming is a bigger danger than terrorists would be on this like stink on dookey.

[Paladin]

Well, my, my, my. Do tell.

"The sister of Gov. Jerry Brown of California (D.) sits on the board of an energy company that owns a facility responsible for what is being called the “worst environmental disaster since BP” as thousands of residents have been displaced from their homes due to a methane gas leak that is expected to continue until spring.

[snip]

Many of the town’s residents have said that Brown has not done enough in his official capacity in regards to the leak, as he has not declared a state of emergency, nor has he visited the site.

Kathleen Brown, the governor’s sister, sits on the Board of Directors of Sempra Energy, the parent company of Southern California Gas. Brown serves on Sempra’s Corporate Governance and Environmental, Health, Safety, and Technology committees and received $188,300 in compensation last year and holds stock in the company valued at over $400,000.

In addition to Brown’s sister being a paid board member of the company, Brown himself has received more than $100,000 in campaign contributions from Sempra Energy and employees of the company, pulling in $96,800 from the corporation and $7,200 from employees throughout his political career, according to California campaign finance records.

Since 1992, Sempra has made over $3 million in total political contributions, with 55 percent of those donations going to Democrats.

An infrared video was released on December 24 showing the severity of the leak. Many environmentalists are up in arms over the “ecological disaster” and the response time needed to get it under control.

“It is one of the biggest leaks we’ve ever seen reported,” said Tim O’Connor, the California climate director for the Environmental Defense Fund. “It is coming out with force, in incredible volumes. And it is absolutely uncontained.”

http://freebeacon.com/issues/california-governors-sister-sits-on-board-of-company-responsible-for-methane-leak/

You can be sure these facts will get the wide media circulation that is due for “worst environmental disaster since BP”.