“There Is No Rush to Re-Open Aliso Canyon”

(Sacramento) – Freshman State Senator Henry Stern (D-Canoga Park) introduced his first bill today. SB 146 will stop the Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) from re-opening the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility before the Brown administration completes its investigation of the “root cause” of the largest methane gas leak in United States’ history.
 
“If we don’t know what went wrong, how can we prevent it from happening again?” remarked State Senator Stern. “We need to get to the bottom of this before we even think about re-opening this facility, to do otherwise would be putting the safety of Porter Ranch and surrounding communities at risk.” 
 
It took months to stop the methane gas leak that ruptured on October 23, 2015. Thousands of families were displaced from their homes and continue to suffer from critical health problems as a result.
 
SB 146 will clarify that the root cause investigation required by SB 380 (Pavley), legislation passed last year after the leak, must be completed before the Aliso Canyon facility can be re-opened