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Porter Ranch: California legislators consider Aliso Canyon moratorium
File: A crew works in early February to stop the flow of gas from the leaking gas well at the Aliso Canyon storage facility.
(
Courtesy of Sempra Utilities
)
The California state Legislature is considering a moratorium on injecting gas into the Aliso Canyon storage facility, which leaked methane in the Porter Ranch area for several months.
SB 380, the bill under consideration, was unanimously approved by the state Senate last month and Monday is before the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee. It would put a moratorium on injections into the facility until after "a rigorous safety review" of all wells, according to California state Sen. Fran Pavley's website.
The law would also prohibit extractions of gas from 1950s-era wells that are similar to the well that failed and led to the Porter Canyon leak, according to Pavley's site.
The moratorium wouldn't be lifted until three state agencies signed off on the wells not posing a significant risk to the public, with input from both independent experts and the public, according to Pavley's site.
The bill is being presented by state Sen. Pavely and state Sen. Bob Huff, who co-authored the bill. Los Angeles City Councilman Mitch Englander, Assemblymember Scott Wilk and Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council President Paula Cracium were scheduled to testify.
Watch live video of the hearings at the Legislature's website.
Correction: An earlier version of this story misstated the bill number. KPCC regrets the error.
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