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Porter Ranch gas leak: Los Angeles city attorney wants to force faster relocation efforts
Kyoto Hibino, a Porter Ranch resident and co-founder of Save Porter Ranch, takes part in a press conference on a gas leak in Porter Ranch during a regular Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday, Nov. 24, 2015. Hibino says she has headaches and nosebleeds.
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Maya Sugarman/KPCC
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LA City Attorney Mike Feuer's office announced it is seeking a temporary restraining order against Southern California Gas Co over the gas leak in Aliso Canyon.
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Brian Watt/KPCC
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Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer is applying legal pressure to speed the relocation of Porter Ranch families affected by the ongoing Aliso Canyon gas leak.
On Tuesday, his office announced it is seeking a temporary restraining order against Southern California Gas Co. to hasten the company's relocation efforts.
"It's time Porter Ranch residents had direct and complete answers about all facets of this leak, including what caused it, how to stop it, and what will be done to assure it never happens again," said Feuer's chief deputy, James P. Clark, in a prepared statement. "They should also receive better, quicker, and completely adequate relocation assistance."
Feuer's office wants the restraining order to require the company to pay for retired judges to oversee relocation efforts, make housing available within 48 hours of being requested, accommodate those with disabilities and provide boarding for pets.
Feuer's office also said it wants to depose key SoCal Gas employees.
Depositions would cover the causes of the leak, any efforts to stop it, estimated dates it could be stopped, the chemical composition of the gas leaking from the Aliso Canyon well and the adequacy of the relocation sites, among other things.
L.A. County Supervisor Michael Antonovich on Tuesday requested that the Local Agency Formation Commission suspend a proposal to annex county territory into L.A. city pending resolution of the gas leak. The proposed Hidden Creeks development in county territory would put some 188 homes near the Aliso Canyon gas storage field.
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A hearing for the city attorney's application will be held Wednesday at 10 a.m. Depositions will likely happen in early January.
This story has been updated.
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