The White House ordered the Energy Department on Friday to lead an investigation into the cause of a massive, months-long natural gas leak at a storage facility in California, which a senior Democrat wants the federal government to close down.
Sen. Dianne Feinstein, D-Calif., said she hopes the task force finds reason enough to shut down the Los Angeles facility.
“In my view, the facility should be shut down, and it’s my hope the task force comes to the same conclusion,” she said. “It’s imperative to protect the health and safety of local residents, and having this facility so close to a subdivision is simply too dangerous.”
The Aliso Canyon gas storage facility was capped earlier this year after a gas utility struggled for months to close the leak that forced nearby residents to evacuate. Now the company that owns the underground facility has stopped the leak, but Feinstein and fellow California Democrat Sen. Barbara Boxer say “many residents continue to have concerns about air quality in their homes and community.”
The senators had urged Obama in a March 23 letter to order the Energy Department to begin an investigation into the leak through the creation of a special task force. The senators have an amendment pending on the Senate floor that would have established the task force, but the debate over a comprehensive energy bill that it would be attached to has stalled.
“I am gratified that President Obama understands that we must make sure that what happened in Aliso Canyon never happens again and the task force he has appointed will report back in six months on how to do just that,” Boxer said.
She met with Secretary of Energy Ernest Moniz on Thursday, who assured her that the task force will work with state and local officials “to resolve all outstanding issues, including whether Aliso Canyon can operate safely in the future, in order to protect our people and our planet.”
In addition to causing illness, methane leaks also can cause the Earth’s temperature to rise and exacerbate global warming, or climate change, which is a major concern for Boxer and her state.
Feinstein said the federal government “has a responsibility” to ensure nothing like the Aliso Canyon leak ever happens again.
