Jake Levine and V. John White | Santa Monica Daily Press Link to article
It’s time to close the Playa Del Rey gas storage facility. Here’s what officials must do next.
When a gas well at the Aliso Canyon underground storage facility exploded in the winter of 2015, it made news for the massive climate impact it created: irreversible emissions equivalent to burning nearly a billion gallons of gasoline—enough to essentially wipe out a year of climate progress in one fell swoop. The human toll has continued to this day, years after the well has been repaired.
The disaster forced thousands of Los Angeles residents to evacuate their homes, many of whom suffered from headaches, nausea, nosebleeds, dizziness and stomach aches. Some Angelenos have alleged that benzene released from the poisonous gas wells caused cancer.
We have worked to protect communities by advocating an end to new injections at Aliso Canyon, and for a regulatory roadmap to close the facility altogether. But five years later, Aliso Canyon remains perfectly operational—and thanks to lax regulation and distracted leadership, Los Angeles is now in imminent danger of another blowout.
This time, the health consequences could be even more catastrophic.
