A Los Angeles Superior Court judge approved the $119.5 million settlement against Southern California Gas Company (SoCalGas) Monday for the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak in 2015.

The California Air Resources Board (CARB) announced the settlement will fully mitigate the 109,000 metric tons of methane released into the atmosphere over the approximately five-month duration of that leak. Full mitigation will be complete by 2031, according to the agency.

“Under the terms of the $119.5 million settlement agreement, SoCalGas will, among other things, reimburse city, county and state governments for costs associated with their response to the leak; establish a program with the California Air Resources Board to mitigate the methane emissions from the leak; and fund local environmental benefit projects to be administered by the government parties,” said SoCalGas officials in a statement.

SoCalGas is set to pay a total of $119.5 million, including at least $26.5 million for full mitigation by directly addressing the largest source of California’s methane emissions, dairies.  

The $26.5 million will be disbursed as loans to the mitigation project developer, and the remaining $93 million of the total settlement will be used as follows:

• $45.4 million to the Aliso Canyon Supplemental Environmental Project Fund run by the City of Los Angeles (City), Los Angeles County (County) and the California Attorney General’s Office.
• $21 million in penalties for the City, the County and the Attorney General’s Office.
• $19 million for CARB, the City, the County and the Attorney General’s Office to cover their leak response and litigation costs.
• $7.6 million held in reserve for mitigation, if needed.

“This funding will allow the County to proceed with the full implementation of the health study plan that we have had in place to determine the potential health impacts on Porter Ranch and our surrounding communities,” said Supervisor Kathryn Barger, who represents Santa Clarita as part of the Fifth District. “Our residents have been through a tremendous ordeal that began nearly three and a half years ago and continues today– they need answers and it is time to move forward on this vital study.”

The mitigation will provide loans to construct methane digesters at 12 San Joaquin Valley dairies, grouped into three clusters, and construct conditioning facilities and pipelines to allow the natural gas pipeline system to receive biomethane generated by cattle in the valley’s dairies, according to the state air resource board.

Related: Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Settlement Announced

“SoCalGas is delivering on our commitment to the governor and the people of California to fully mitigate the methane emissions from the leak at our Aliso Canyon facility. The settlement will also help California meet its ambitious climate goals by advancing projects that capture methane from dairy farms and waste and convert that energy into renewable natural gas for use in transportation,” said SoCalGas officials.

The digesters, the conditioning facilities and parts of the pipeline will be built, owned and operated by California Bioenergy.

Biomethane generated at the dairies will be distributed from the pipeline system for use as transportation fuel, which will avoid potential release of harmful air pollutants associated with burning biomethane to generate electricity.

The fuel generated from the mitigation will displace about 46.7 million gallons of diesel fuel, according to officials.

The loans used to pay for the new digesters are set to be paid back over time with proceeds from sales of the generation of the renewable methane, which will not return to SoCalGas.

As mitigation progresses, repayments will be directed to two funds that will fund additional beneficial projects in the South Coast Air Basin, according to the agency.

“This agreement will mitigate the methane leak itself, and will have a positive impact across California while providing long-term funding for air quality improvements in the parts of the LA Basin most directly affected by what happened at Aliso Canyon,” said CARB Chair Mary D. Nichols. “The settlement will also provide examples of transformative technology which can be shared around the world, as California pushes ahead with its own efforts to reduce methane emissions and limit the effects of climate change.”

The gas leak, which was discovered on October 23, 2015, released more than 100,000 metric tons of methane into the air and forced thousands of residents to relocate due to health concerns, according to Barger.

Residents reported experiencing health issues such as headaches, nosebleeds and nausea, CNN reported.

Class-action lawsuits have also been filed. One seeks to compensate all individuals who were affected by the gas leak. Another would compensate businesses for their losses, according to Southern California Public Radio.

KHTS FM 98.1 and AM 1220 is Santa Clarita’s only local radio station. KHTS mixes in a combination of news, traffic, sports, and features along with your favorite adult contemporary hits. Santa Clarita news and features are delivered throughout the day over our airwaves, on our website and through a variety of social media platforms. Our KHTS national award-winning daily news briefs are now read daily by 34,000+ residents. A vibrant member of the Santa Clarita community, the KHTS broadcast signal reaches all of the Santa Clarita Valley and parts of the high desert communities located in the Antelope Valley. The station streams its talk shows over the web, reaching a potentially worldwide audience. Follow @KHTSRadio on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.