Scientists urge Governor Gavin Newsom to close natural gas storage storage facility

About two weeks before state officials will vote on the future of the controversial Aliso Canyon underground natural gas storage facility, which became the site of a massive gas leak nine years ago, a group of 100 scientists sent a letter to Gov. Gavin Newsom urging him to shut down the facility.

For four months in 2015 the gas leak spewed nearly 100,000 metric tons of methane, the largest methane release in U.S. history. The disaster forced 32,000 residents in Porter Ranch, Granada Hills and Chatsworth —  and several other communities in the San Fernando Valley — to evacuate and many experienced nosebleeds, dizziness and respiratory issues.

According to UCLA researchers studying the health impacts of the gas leak, pregnant women living near the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility during and after the blowout were more likely to have premature births and low-weight newborns compared to women in other communities.

Former California Gov. Jerry Brown directed the CPUC in 2017 to draft a plan that by 2027 would shut down the facility located in an underground depleted oil reservoir in the Santa Susana Mountains near the Porter Ranch community. Newsom later endorsed the proposal.

But despite those promises the facility has remained operational with the gas company expanding its storage back to full capacity. During the nine years since the disaster, several groups and hundreds of residents have held press conferences, protests and writing campaigns urging officials to shut down the underground facility.

On Dec. 19, commissioners with the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) appointed by Newsom will vote on the future of the controversial facility.

A group of 100 scientists sent a letter to Newsom on Dec. 4 urging him to order the CPUC to shut down the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility by 2027 or earlier.

“As scientists who have expertise and concern about our climate, health, and communities, we implore you to finally require its closure by 2027 or earlier,” says the letter. “The facility is not needed and poses a continued threat to public health, safety and the climate.”

“Governor Brown committed to shutting Aliso down by 2027 and we were heartened by your pledge to speed that process up,” the letter said. “Rather than move to shut it down, however, your Public Utilities Commissioners have voted in the past to expand its use.”

Helen Attai, a resident of Granada Hills and co-founder of the Aliso Moms Alliance group, said she was disappointed in Newsom and what she sees as his mishandling of the controversy.

“Shame on him,” she said. “He promised us to shut it down but then backstabbed us.”

The CPUC officials released their proposed decision in November to close Aliso Canyon, but scientists and public health and environmental experts say the decision doesn’t include a closure date for the facility. Commissioners will vote on the proposed decision on Dec. 19.

Mark Jacobson, a professor of civil and environmental engineering at Stanford University, wrote in the letter to Newsom that, “California has met almost half its ‘grid’ and ‘non-grid’ electricity demand with just solar, wind, hydroelectric, and geothermal electricity, and at its current pace of growth, will approach 100% by 2030 if not soon after.”

Jacobson said the underground facility “should be closed immediately.” He explained, “Fossil gas use in the state is declining rapidly, and there is certainly no need for the large amount of gas stored at Aliso Canyon, the site of one of the largest fossil gas blowouts in U.S. history.”

Porter Ranch resident Craig Galanti called the CPUC actions “deeply troubling.”

“This failure to act is nothing short of a betrayal, especially considering that both Governor Jerry Brown and Governor Gavin Newsom called for the facility’s closure by 2027,” he said. “Despite this, the CPUC has taken little meaningful action to protect the affected communities.”

Galanti added, “In light of the 7.0 magnitude earthquake that struck Northern California (recently), the reality is stark: if such a quake were to hit Southern California, Aliso Canyon could face catastrophic consequences.”