California Governor Jerry Brown on Wednesday declared state of emergency over a gas rupture that has been sending methane and other gases into a Los Angeles neighborhood for more than two months. The massive gas leak has been spewing into the air in the Los Angeles neighborhood of Porter Ranch since mid-October, sickening residents and forcing thousands to evacuate.
Governor Brown declared a state for emergency for the neighborhood of about 30,000 on the northern edge of Los Angeles in the San Fernando Valley. The gas leak represents up to 25 percent of methane emissions in California each day.
The declaration comes after residents, activists and lawyers have been pressing the Governor to make response to the leak and stop it as soon as possible. The residents are questioning why the Southern California Gas Co., a unit of Sempra Energy, cannot fix the leak on its natural gas storage, and whether the company will compensate them for their lost property values and health problem, according to New York Times.
The state of emergency declaration will help provide government funds for recovery costs. Such declaration will also make Southern California Gas pay for work associated trying to stop the leak, and to relocate thousand of residents.
The U.S. health officials said thousands residents have relocated because they suffer health problems such as headaches, nosebleeds and nausea likely caused by the chemical added to the gas to make it detectable in leaks.
In the declaration, the governor said that California expected the utility to pay expenses related to leak. Governor's order also forbids Southern California Gas to perform additional injection of natural gas into the gas site.
Southern California Gas officials said the leak in the company's gas storage may not be plugged until the end of March, according to The Wall Street Journal. The company officials said that they are trying to plug an underground well that is spewing gas from a large underground reservoir.
Southern California Gas' reservoir is one of the largest underground natural-gas storage facilities in the U.S. and can hold enough natural gas to fuel Southern Californnia for a month, according to ABC News. It has been spewing up to 1,200 tons of methane gas daily along with other gases. Experts say it needs months for workers to stem the leak.
The President and Chief Executive of Southern California Gas Dennis Ariola said that the company was focusing on stopping the gas leak and minimizing the harm to residents. Ariola said the utility would work with the state to offset the long-term environmental impact of the gas.
