Gas leak permanently capped!

Huge news: State officials say the Aliso Canyon gas leak has now been permanently capped. Per the Los Angeles Times:

“State officials on Thursday announced that the leaking natural gas well in Porter Ranch that spewed plumes of methane and other compounds into the atmosphere has been sealed…. The news put an end to four months of foul air that sickened many residents and forced thousands of people to relocate to temporary housing far from the leaking well. Crews reached the leak last week and injected heavy fluids and then cement to seal it.”

This is great news, though it’s just the beginning of the end of the saga for the thousands of displaced families who must now go back to their homes and pick up the pieces.

And we still have a bigger problem. The enormous damage done by this single leak has exposed the weakness of California laws that failed to prevent this disaster, leaving public health and our delicate climate in harm’s way. We know that there are HUNDREDS of wells just as old and under-supervised as the one that leaked for 4 months. It is urgent that we pass new laws now to respond to this crisis and prevent the next one! >>

The massive gas leak on the outskirts of Los Angeles started spewing climate pollution in October. The leak has raised public health concerns, driven thousands of families from their homes, and has significant impacts on California’s progress on limiting greenhouse gas pollution that contributes to climate change.

The leak has been permanently plugged, but this facility will be allowed to be put back into use as long as it passes inspection. Because this and so many other aging facilities continue to operate, the legislature has a responsibility to strengthen the state’s response − and to make sure this never happens again.

At its peak, the leak was spewing climate pollution equivalent to the daily emissions from 7 million cars – or the equivalent of six coal-fired power plants, or three-quarters of the emissions from the state’s entire oil refining industry.

And while the threat to our global climate is significant, the leak’s most immediate impacts are being felt by the families of Porter Ranch, California. Thousands of residences are nearby. Tens of thousands of families have been evacuated; public schools have been relocated; and children have fallen ill. They are only now able to begin rebuilding their lives, four months later.

Contact your state legislator now: http://ecovote.org/GasLeak >>

The leak has been stopped, and that’s important. But we have an even bigger problem to solve. When voters ignore and/or put up with DOGGR’s massive failures, there are serious consequences. Right now, that couldn’t be clearer.

Posted on February 18, 2016
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The month of March is Public Lands Month, and we’ve got some big goals. We’re pushing for 5 national monument designations while fighting for clean water, Indigenous land protection, ecosystem conservation, and increasing access to nature. 

But we need your help to make these campaigns a success →