The sixth anniversary of the discovery of the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak at Southern California Gas Co.’s gas storage facility near the top of Oat Mountain in the Santa Susana Mountains will be marked on Saturday, Oct. 23.
Related: SoCalGas, parent company Sempra agree to $1.8 billion Aliso Canyon gas leak settlement
Employees on that date in 2015 discovered a methane leak rising from a 8,750-foot deep well, named Standard Sesnon 25, or SS 25 for short, that had been installed in 1953. The well was converted on June 6, 1973 as gas storage.
Company spokesman Javier Mendoza said in an email days after the leak that “SoCalGas and other experts expect it may take several days or longer to identify the safest and best solution to stop and repair the leak. The repairs not yet started.”
The news of the gas leak was first spoken about publicly on Oct. 26 during a scheduled meeting with Porter Ranch neighbors to discuss a turbine replacement project. Although the first letter about the leak was emailed to some in the Porter Ranch community on Oct. 27, it wasn’t until Oct. 31 that SoCalGas mailed letters to about 8,000 residents.
The company’s letter sent on Oct. 31 included an apology about not contacting residents sooner. The letter also had a website link to the company’s home page regarding the effort to repair the well and updates.
Los Angeles County Department of Public Health ordered SoCalGas on Nov. 19 to offer free temporary relocation help to residents of Porter Ranch who have been experiencing dizziness, gastrointestinal discomfort, nausea, nosebleeds and respiratory issues since the leak occurred.
California’s Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources division estimated in mid-November that the well was releasing between 500,000 to 1 million cubic feet of methane per day.
The gas leak was finally controlled on Feb. 11, 2016. The well was “officially sealed” as of Feb. 18, 2016.
The Aliso Canyon storage field is one of the largest natural gas fields in the United States. It has a capacity for 84 billion cubic feet of natural gas, according to California Public Utilities Commission documents. There are 115 wells at the field.
Here is a sampling of significant dates since the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak occurred:
–Oct. 23, 2015 – Southern California Ga Co. employees discover a leak at well SS 25.
–Oct. 26, 2015 – Los Angeles County Fire Chief Daryl Osby reports that SoCalGas notified his office of the leak.
–Oct. 28, 2015 -SoCalGas begins posting leak updates on its website.
–Nov. 4, 2015 – Residents and stakeholders in Porter Ranch, including the newly formed nonprofit Save Porter Ranch, flood a meeting of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council to hear what gas company and other agencies had to say about a repair of the well and the health concerns spurred by the leak.
–Nov. 6, 2015 – SoCalGas tries a brine solution to plug the leaking well.
–Nov. 18, 2015 – California’s Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources issues an emergency order to SoCalGas to turn over testing data and submit a plan to plug the leak.
–Nov. 19 – Los Angeles County Department of Public Health orders SoCalGas to offer free temporary relocation help for families who want to leave their Porter Ranch homes.
–Nov. 26, 2015 – SoCalGas states that the company had 503 inquiries about relocation and 132 families had taken up the offer to relocate.
–Nov. 30, 2015 – SoCalGas states that the repair of the leak may take four months. The number of families relocating rises to nearly 300.
–Dec. 1, 2015 – SoCalGas company president and CEO Dennis Arriola apologizes to residents. The number of households relocating rises to about 1,000.
–Dec. 7, 2015 – Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer files a civil lawsuit against Southern California Gas Co. alleging that the leak has threatened residents’ health and environmental harm.
–Dec. 10, 2015 – California’s Department of Conservation Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources issues a second emergency order and begins forming a special panel to monitor the gas company’s plans to fix the leak. Rep. Brad Sherman asks the Environmental Protection Agency to investigate.
–Dec. 11, 2015 – The Federal Aviation Administration issues a temporary ban, until March 8, 2016, of aircraft flight over Porter Ranch for safety reasons. SoCalGas states they have 3,477 inquiries about relocation assistance.
–Dec. 12, 2015 – Residents call for a shutdown of the Aliso Canyon storage facility during a protest at the gas field’s gate near the top of Tampa Avenue. The protest was co-organized by Save Porter Ranch. Javier Mendoza, a spokesman for SoCalGas says, “The loss of Aliso Canyon could have a direct affect on electric grid reliability. Electric generators served by Aliso Canyon would be subject to natural gas curtailments, which in turn could lead to electricity blackouts.”
–Dec. 15, 2015 – Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors declare a state of emergency. The action, proposed by Supervisor Michael Antonovich, paves the way for federal and state assistance. The Los Angeles City Council approves emergency motions for relocation efforts, business and resident tax relief. SoCalGas opens a Community Resource Center for information on relocation, filing a claim and obtaining free home air filtration and weather stripping to reduce the gas leak odor.
–Dec. 17, 2015 – Los Angeles Unified School District board votes to relocate students and staff from two Porter Ranch Schools. First infrared video shows gas plume over Porter Ranch.
–Dec. 18, 2015 – SoCalGas says more than 2,000 households have relocated to temporary housing.
–Dec. 24, 2015 – Another attempt to pump fluids into well to stop the leak fails.
–Dec. 29, 2015 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency opens an investigation into the gas leak.
–Jan. 6, 2016 – Gov. Jerry Brown declares a state of emergency over the gas leak.
–Jan. 8, 2016 – SoCalGas seeks to get approval to to capture and burn gas leaking from the well site.
–Jan. 18, 2016 – SoCalGas says leak will be fixed by late February 2016.
–Jan. 20, 2016 – Los Angeles County Health Department to expand air monitoring in and around Porter Ranch.
–Jan. 23, 2016 – The South Coast Air Quality Management District orders the leaking well to be shut down once it’s plugged.
–Jan. 25, 2016 – Porter Ranch businesses file a class-action lawsuit against SoCalGas over loss of revenues.
–Feb. 2, 2016 – Los Angeles County District Attorney Jackie Lacey files a misdemeanor criminal lawsuit against SoCalGas for failing to immediately report the gas leak. California Attorney General Kamala Harris files a lawsuit against SoCal Gas.
–Feb. 11, 2016 – SoCalGas says gas leak has been temporarily controlled.
–Feb. 18, 2016 – The Standard Sesnon 25 well is officially sealed.
–Feb. 25, 2016 – Researchers at UC Davis and Irvine campuses plus the National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration publish a study that says the 100,00 tons of methane that spewed into the atmosphere from the gas leak was the largest natural gas leak disaster ever recorded in the U.S.
–May 10, 2016 – Gov. Jerry Brown signs SB 380 requiring SoCalGas officials and state regulators to adhere to strict safety standards before the Aliso Canyon storage facility can be reopened.
–June 22, 2016 – President Barack Obama signs the Protecting Our Infrastructure Pipelines and Enhancing Safety Act of 2016. The bill, originally written by Rep. Steve Knight and later merged into the bipartisan law, aims to prevent natural gas leaks like the one in Aliso Canyon.
–Sept. 13, 2016 – SoCalGas agrees to pay a $4.3 million settlement for failing to quickly report the Oct. 23, 2015 gas leak. The settlement is part of the misdemeanor criminal lawsuit filed by the L.A. District Attorney in February.
–Feb. 9, 2017 – The California Public Utilities Commission opens a proceeding to either minimize or close down Aliso Canyon “while still maintaining energy and electric reliability” for the Los Angeles area.
–July 19, 2017 – State regulators give approval for the storage facility to operate and partial gas injection may resume.
–Jan. 29, 2019 – Los Angeles Fire Department firefighters sue SoCalGas as a lawsuit is filed with Los Angeles Superior Court.
–Feb. 25, 2019 – Los Angeles Superior Court judge Carolyn Kuhl approves a $120 million settlement — a consent decree between Southern California Gas Co. and city, county and state officials — that will fund a long-term health study and other environmental projects.
–May 17, 2019 – An independent investigation report by Blade Energy Partners found that the root cause of the leak was a rupture of a well casing due to microbial corrosion from the outside resulting from contact with ground water.
–Nov. 20, 2019 – Gov. Gavin Newsom sends a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission asking for an independent third-party expert’s advice on streamlining a permanent closure of the Aliso Canyon facility.
–Feb. 20, 2020 – Los Angeles Superior Court judge Carolyn Kuhl orders SoCalGas to pay $525,610 for “repeated failure to provide sufficient justification for the withholding of thousands of supposedly privileged documents.”
–Aug. 5, 2021 — Dozens of residents and activists urge the state agency overseeing operations at Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility to prevent the company from expanding its capacity, lining up to speak at the agency’s meeting on.
–July 27, 2021 — Los Angeles County Supervisors vote unanimously to send a letter to the California Public Utilities Commission, which oversees operations at the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, to stop SoCalGas from expanding the site’s storage capacity.
–Sept. 27, 2021 — Southern California Gas Company and its parent company Sempra Energy agree to pay up to $1.8 billion to settle the claims of over 35,000 victims of the 2015 Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility blowout, according to a personal injury law firm representing plaintiffs impacted by the leak.
–Nov. 4, 2021 — A state agency that oversees operations of the Also Canyon underground natural gas storage field — site of the nation’s largest-ever methane leak six years ago — voted unanimously Thursday, Nov. 4, to increase the capacity of the field to 41 billion cubic feet. The proposals, officials said, were part of the agency’s plan to eventually close the facility in the most effective way. Nonetheless, nearly 50 residents and activists called the agency, urging lawmakers not to increase the size of the field.
