Legal experts at Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander's Legal Town Hall meeting last Tuesday have stated that lawsuits filed against Southern California Gas Corporation will take a long and challenging time to be resolved. This is because after several months since there was a leaking methane well near Porter Ranch, it seems like there is still no end in sight.
According to Los Angeles Times, residents have already gone ill, neighborhoods have been displaced and property values are at risk of potential decline. Aside from environmental damage, it has also led to schools closing and thousands of evacuations. In fact, the Federal Aviation Administration even announced a temporary no-fly zone in the area.
With this, the said leak has been considered the worst leak in the history of California, LA Daily News said. The Southern California Gas Corporation's Aliso Canyon storage facility leak has also been predicted to result to billions of dollar-cost. So far, the gas company already paid more than $50 million for the mishap, which started last October 23.
As for Southern California Gas Corporation President and CEO Dennis Arriola, he stated that his team works in the safest and fastest way possible, Deutsche Welle reported. He added that the leak will most probably be plugged this month.
"Our highest and most urgent priority is to stop the leak. We have hundreds of our employees, expert consultants and suppliers working around the clock to resolve this issue," Arriola said.
However, there are also claims regarding the negligence of the gas company. USC's Gold School of Law Professor Greg Keating said that the subsurface safety valve of the leaking well was allegedly removed decades ago. The valve was not replaced at all, which could have stopped the leaking fumes.
With this, the gas company has been instructed to sponsor a community health study on the possible health effects of the leak. This is part of a panel decision that the South Coast Air Quality Management District made last January 23.
But for some activists, they believe that the real solution is not only to stop the leakage, but also to shut down the entire gas storage facility. Turns out, they have been campaigning for this to happen since a year and a half ago.
