End to Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Said to be Nearer

SoCal Gas is projecting it will plug the leaking well at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility by late February, maybe sooner.

“Our team of experts has been working around the clock since we started relief well operations in early December and we’re pleased with the progress we’ve made thus far,” said Jimmie Cho, senior vice president of gas operations & system integrity for SoCal Gas.

Mercaptan odors have been causing nausea and headaches for residents of nearby Porter Ranch, forcing the utility to relocate more than 2,500 households.

To stop the leak, which began on Oct. 23, SoCal Gas has been drilling a “relief well” that will intercept the bottom of the leaking well. Once the relief well is finished, the utility plans to pump liquids and then cement down it to permanently seal the leaking well at a depth of about 8,500 feet.

Meanwhile, the utility as well as the South Coast Air Quality Management District this week dropped a plan to try to capture and burn some of the leaking gas to reduce emissions of both methane and the mercaptans added to odorize the otherwise scentless gas as a safety measure.

They halted the plan after the California Public Utilities Commission warned Jan. 18 that trying to capture the gas to it burn off could create an explosive hazard. CPUC Director of Safety & Enforcement Elizaveta Malashenko wrote to the utility that the commission and other state agencies “are concerned with the risk of ignition of captured natural gas.”

At the same time, the decision to drop the capture and incineration plan resulted in the need to revise a pending abatement order before the South Coast Air District’s hearing board.

After a continuation of a hearing by the board on Aliso Canyon on Jan. 20, panel chair Ed Camarena decided to further continue the abatement order proceeding to Jan. 23.

Barry Wallerstein, air district executive officer, said that even though the gas capture and incineration plan has been dropped from the abatement order, once approved the mandate still will put in place “many important requirements to minimize leaking gas, monitor emissions and help prevent a similar incident in the future.”

Key provisions in the order would: Permanently shut down the leaking well; Fund an independent health study to assess potential effects on residents; Fund continuous air monitoring by the air district and/or a contractor under the agency’s supervision; Put in place a leak detection and reporting program for all wells at the storage facility; Monitor the leaking well continuously with an infrared camera; Minimize gas leaking from the overall facility; Provide air regulators information on the amount of gas injected and withdrawn from the facility and other information needed to calculate the total amount of methane leaked, once the leak has stopped; Develop a plan for notifying the community of any reportable releases of air emissions; Report all odor complaints to SoCal Gas since Oct. 23 and on an ongoing basis to the air district; Ban use any odor suppressants or neutralizers in an attempt to reduce odors from the leak, unless approved by the district; and Stop any further injection of natural gas into the underground storage reservoir and withdraw the maximum amount of gas from it, while maintaining a sufficient supply of natural gas to serve the customers. As time has gone by, the amount of methane leaking has fallen about 60 percent, the California Air Resources Board reported Jan. 12. South Coast air officials also have found that benzene levels in the area are the same as in the general ambient air in the Los Angeles area. Benzene largely is emitted by using gasoline. —William J. Kelly

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End to Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Said to be Nearer

Mark Nero

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