About damn time. After a massive natural gas leak was left billowing smoke into the area surrounding Porter Ranch, causing thousands of residents to evacuate, the LA Times reports that Governor Brown officially declared the situation a state of emergency during a press conference today.
According to an official statement, "All state agencies will utilize state personnel, equipment and facilities to ensure a continuous and thorough state response to this incident."
To help combat the leak and return the residents back to their homes, Brown pledged the following goals, as dictated on the Governor's website:
To stop the leak: All necessary and viable actions will be taken to ensure Southern California Gas Co. maximizes daily withdrawals of natural gas from the Aliso Canyon storage facility for use or storage elsewhere; captures leaking gas and odorants while relief wells are being completed; and identifies how it will stop the gas leak if relief wells fail to seal the leaking well, or if the existing leak worsens.
To protect public health and safety: The state will continue its prohibition against Southern California Gas Co. injecting any gas into the Aliso Canyon storage facility until a comprehensive review of the safety of the storage wells and the air quality of the surrounding community utilizing independent experts is completed; expand its real-time monitoring of emissions in the community; convene an independent panel of scientific and medical experts to review public health concerns; and take all actions necessary to ensure the continued reliability of natural gas and electricity supplies in the coming months.
To ensure accountability: The California Public Utilities Commission will ensure that Southern California Gas Co. covers costs related to the natural gas leak and its response, while protecting ratepayers; and the state will develop a program to fully mitigate the leak’s emissions of methane funded by the Southern California Gas Co.
Strengthening oversight: The state will promulgate emergency regulations for gas storage facility operators throughout the state, requiring: at least daily inspection of gas storage well heads using gas leak detection technology such as infrared imaging; ongoing verification of the mechanical integrity of all gas storage wells; ongoing measurement of annular gas pressure or annular gas flow within wells; regular testing of all safety valves used in wells; minimum and maximum pressure limits for each gas storage facility in the state; a comprehensive risk management plan for each facility that evaluates and prepares for risks, including corrosion potential of pipes and equipment. Additionally, the Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources, the California Public Utilities Commission, the California Air Resources Board and the California Energy Commission will submit to the governor’s office a report that assesses the long-term viability of natural gas storage facilities in California.
Time will tell how soon the problem is solved. Right now, the impact on the climate is the equivalent of driving 7 million cars per day, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. On the bright side, County health officials do not think that the fumes will cause long-term health problems, according to the LA Times.