On Saturday, the Hearing Board of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (SCAQMD) approved an abatement order that calls for, among other things, the permanent closing of the leaking well at Aliso Canyon, Calif. The board voted 4-to-1 in favor of the order after a marathon 6-hour meeting with the public in Woodland Hills, according to Yahoo News.
The abatement order requires Southern California Gas company (SoCalGas), according to National Public Radio:
- close and seal the well in perpetuity - and not restrict the efforts to just correcting the current leak;
- provide resources for a round-the-clock check of the air quality in the area;
- to deploy a system to identify leaks when they first occur for all the 115 reservoir wells at Aliso Canyon;
- to use an infrared camera to check on the leak for one month even after the leak has been fixed (since the human eye can't see the gas);
- to give state and federal agencies all the data they will need to assess the full extent of the methane gas that leaked;
- prepare a plan for how residents and the state would be notified during any future leaks;
- apply for and get the endorsement from regulators ahead of deploying "odor suppressants or neutralizers".
However, the order did not go the full distance as many residents were demanding and ask SoCalGas to shut down all the wells in the Aliso Canyon facility permanently. Michael Brune of the Sierra Club said "SCQAMD's failure to put Californians' livelihoods first is shameful, and Gov. Brown should intervene swiftly. There should be no other choice but to shut down the dangerous Aliso Canyon facility and look to close every urban oil and gas facility throughout California and our country, to ensure the health of our communities and our climate is never again sacrificed for corporate profits," according to The Los Angeles Times.
A hearing will be held on Feb. 20 to check on how the terms of this abatement order have been implemented.
