Air Quality Hearing Set for Gas Leak Enforcement Order

So far, the estimate for stopping the leak has run into March, drawing the ire of residents, many of whom have been relocated, and with still others saying they and their pets have become ill from the leak's plume.

SoCal Gas has been accused of understating the hazards of the leak, as some have raised concerns over the level of benzene being emitted into the air.

The attorneys said they have videotapes showing leakage from the wellsite taken last week and a month earlier, alleging that the volumes appear to be the same. Symptoms of exposure include nosebleeds, nausea, headache and skin irritation. Crews began drilling a relief well on December 4 and expect to hit the bottom of the well, at a depth of about 8,500 feet, sometime next month.

The order also seeks to retain an independent third party to conduct a health study and to mitigate greenhouse gas impacts of the leak by funding projects that would restore value to the community.

Another reason for the hold off by the California regulators was on contemplations of a "catastrophic explosion".

"Our proposed order would have required SoCalGas to capture and dispose of a portion of leaking gas only if SoCalGas along with federal, state and local regulatory agencies deemed is safe to do so", according to AQMD executive officer Barry Wallerstein.

The Gas Co.'s new timeline comes after it decided not to install a gas-capture system at the leaking well because of safety concerns expressed by engineers.

Officials with the South Coast Air Quality Management District have postponed a plan to mitigate a natural gas leak that has caused health issues among nearby residents, Reuters reports (Tso, Reuters, 1/16).

An AQMD hearing board that had been hearing testimony about the plan to capture and incinerate the gas will still meet again Wednesday to continue discussing a wide-reaching enforcement order aimed at minimizing the leaking gas.

Seven members of the group We Are Seneca Lake were charged with disorderly conduct Monday after blocking the entrance to the Crestwood Midstream underground gas storage facility in the Schuyler County Town of Reading.

The Porter Ranch accident highlights a growing problem in the USA: as natural gas replaces coal as a key energy source, the dangers of leaks and explosions from aging pipelines and storage facilities is rising.