On October 23, 2015, methane began to leak when the casing of a Southern California Gas Company storage well in Aliso Canyon, just outside of Los Angeles, began to fail.1 However, the Southern Californian Gas Company only just recently identified the source of the leak, and they have announced that this problem could take many months to fix.2 What does this mean for the Los Angeles area?
What is methane?
iMethane is a colorless, odorless, flammable gas. If methane is mixed with certain proportions of air, it can be explosive. This gas occurs naturally—plants breaking down in landfills, swamps, and marshes produce it. Digestion, rotting, and incomplete burning are also sources of methane.3 Even though some methane is naturally produced, globally, over 60% of coal mining , and manure management.4
Why is methane a concern?
In the United States, methane is the second most prevalent climate change is 25 times greater than carbon dioxide.8
What is happening in the Los Angeles Area?
Currently, the natural gas leak in Aliso Canyon is releasing 110,000 pounds of gas every hour.9 The California Division of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources reported that it is unclear what caused the underground well to be damaged. The well even passed an annual mechanical integrity test the previous year.10 So far, seven routine attempts to stop gas from flowing out of the well have failed. Now, Southern California Gas Company is drilling a relief well to intersect with the leaking well 8,500 feet underground. The drilling has to be done at least 1,000 feet away from the well to avoid risk of igniting the escaping methane gas. Drilling began on December 4, 2015, and the workers have currently drilled halfway down.11
https://web.archive.org/web/20160404095403if_/https://www.youtube.com/embed/bM1wEq1-BwAii
Scientists have already estimated that by the time the leak is halted, which is estimated to take another three to four months, the leak will have had catastrophic environmental and health impacts.12 This daily leakage has the same 20-year climate impact as driving 7 million cars per day.13 Timothy O’Conner from the Environmental Defense Fund stated that the leak will be equal to emissions from eight or nine coal plants and that the leak is “undermining years of progress” in California.14
In addition to contributing to global warming, this methane leak is dangerous to human health. Symptoms of methane exposure include headache, nausea, vomiting, and dizziness. In serious cases, methane exposure can cause people to black out or die.15 More than 1,000 people from Porter Ranch, CA have already been evacuated from their homes, and two Los Angeles Unified School District schools have temporarily relocated in response to the leak.16 Southern California Gas Company will be paying up to $250 per night per room for up to 90 days for people from Porter Ranch who decide to relocate while the leak is being fixed.17
https://web.archive.org/web/20160404095403if_/https://www.edf.org/embed/methane-counters iii
From this situation, it is clear that current regulation on natural gas infrastructure in the United States, and potentially other places around the world, has blind spots. While companies are required to contain leaks in their natural gas pipelines and facilities, there were not specific standards for their underground storage areas, of which there are 300 nationwide, which could have prevented this leak. O’Conner said of this leak, “This story… about Aliso Canyon is one that is specific to California, but this canyon represents a bigger problem. This event is the sort of embodiment of… why we need comprehensive methane regulations from oil and gas infrastructure. You can prevent these kinds of things from happening.” He believes that this event should inspire national action to ensure safety measures are in place to prevent a catastrophe like this from happening again.18
