California’s senators are pressing federal agencies to step into the breach and aid the Golden State’s efforts to stop a massive gas leak that threatens the citizens of a nearby neighborhood.
High-ranking Democrats Dianne Feinstein and Barbara Boxer sent a letter Wednesday asking the heads of the Environmental Protection Agency and the departments of Transportation and Justice to begin assessing a federal response to the leak before the situation becomes more dangerous.
The leak started in October from an underground storage facility operated by the Southern California Gas Co. in Los Angeles. Boxer and Feinstein say the company’s efforts to resolve the leak aren’t happening fast enough, and a coordinated federal response may be necessary.
“Multiple efforts to stop the leak by the Southern California Gas Co., which owns the storage facility, have not been successful,” the senators’ letter reads. “The company is currently drilling a relief well in an attempt to stop the leak. Under the best-case scenario, the relief well is expected to take several more weeks to complete, and the leak continues in the meantime.
“We have great concern for the thousands of residents of the nearby community of Porter Ranch who have been impacted by this ongoing disaster,” they say. “Families have been moved to temporary housing and children are attending school at alternative campuses. Residents also complain of respiratory problems, headaches, nausea and nosebleeds.”
Boxer and Feinstein said last week’s action by Gov. Jerry Brown to declare a state of emergency and mobilize state and local agencies must be met with a federal response.
“We believe that it is critical that the federal government also play an active role, in cooperation with its partner agencies in the state of California, to stop this ongoing leak and address the impacts to local residents,” the letter reads.
They say their offices have consulted with the relevant state authorities and believe it is time for the federal government to step in. The senators are requesting more information from the EPA and the other Cabinet-level agencies in forming a pre-response plan to assess the best use of government resources in aiding the state.
The senators want a “legal analysis” from the agencies by Friday on “any federal authorities that could apply to this incident and storage fields in general and how your agencies have exercised these authorities to date.” They also want a “technical analysis” to determine if Southern California Gas “could more quickly reduce the gas stored in the facility to mitigate the uncontrolled leak of natural gas.”
