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Cause Of Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Determined To Be Corrosion

An analysis detailing the cause of the gas leak that took place from Oct. 2015 to Feb. 2016 at Southern California Gas Company’s (SoCalGas) Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility was released Friday.

The direct cause of the leak was a pipe rupture due to microbial corrosion from the outside as a result of contact with groundwater, according to a report from the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC).

“The most concerning part of the Root Cause Analysis is how easily preventable this disaster could and should have been,” said Congresswoman Katie Hill, D-Santa Clarita.“There is no excuse for the damage it has done to our communities and our environment.”

The study, conducted by Blade Energy Partners, first began in Jan. 2016 after Blade’s selection by the CPUC, while the CPUC and Department of Conservation’s Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) also conducted their own parallel investigations, according to officials.

In addition to identifying the direct cause of the leak, the statement from the CPUC announcing the report’s release highlighted several additional findings in particular:

  • SoCalGas allegedly did not conduct detailed follow-up inspections or analyses after previous leaks.
  • Blade identified more than 60 casing leaks at Aliso Canyon before the October 2015 incident dating back to the 1970s, but SoCalGas allegedly conducted no failure investigations.
  • SoCalGas allegedly lacked any form of risk assessment focused on well integrity management and lacked systematic practices of external corrosion protection and a real-time, continuous pressure monitoring system for well surveillance.
  • Updated well safety practices and regulations adopted by DOGGR address most of the root causes of the leak identified during Blade’s investigation.

“In Blade’s opinion, there were measures, though not required by the gas storage regulations at the time, that could have been taken to aid in the early identification of corrosion, and that, in their opinion, would have prevented or mitigated the leak,” wrote SoCalGas officials in a statement.

While the report confirms that SoCalGas was in compliance with existing gas storage regulations, some local officials stated the organization should have done more to prevent such a disaster.

“The Root Cause Analysis demonstrates that SoCalGas, and state regulators, could have done more to prevent the disastrous Aliso Canyon gas leak and to avoid the significant impacts it had on the community,” said Los Angeles County Fifth District Supervisor Kathryn Barger. “The report finds that once the leak started, SoCalGas should have been able to stop it sooner.”

At the time of the report’s release, CPUC and DOGGR assessed that measures taken to date by SoCalGas address the findings and recommendations in the Blade Report.

Related: Judge Approves $119.5 Million Settlement For Aliso Canyon Gas Leak

Since the leak, “aggressive” steps have been taken by both the CPUC and DOGGR to prevent similar leaks in the future, according to officials.

DOGGR has implemented strict new regulations for underground natural gas storage reservoirs, which have been cited by the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Division as some of the strongest in the nation, officials said.

Additionally, SoCalGas was required to complete rigorous comprehensive safety reviews before reopening, which mandated that each well pass a battery of tests to potentially be eligible to resume gas injection or be taken out of operation and isolated from the reservoir.

SoCalGas was also ordered to conduct air sampling surveys of the neighborhoods surrounding the storage field, and to equip active wells with real-time air pressure monitors.

“We have to ensure that we adopt all methods available to us, including those laid out in the report, to ensure nothing similar ever occurs again,” Hill said. “I stand with our community as we fight for corporate accountability every single time and at every step of the way.”

CPUC and DOGGR’s own parallel investigations have not yet concluded, but are expected to be completed later this year, according to the statement from CPUC.

Blade is expected to present and discuss their report in a public meeting to be hosted by the CPUC in Southern California set for June or July, according to the CPUC report.

“As the state assemblywoman serving the communities at the frontlines of (the) Aliso Canyon disaster, I am gravely concerned by the root cause analysis finding SoCalGas at fault for the 2015 leak,” said Assemblymember Christy Smith, D-Santa Clarita. “I stand with my colleagues in calling for an oversight hearing.”

The CPUC also has a proceeding underway to determine the feasibility of minimizing or eliminating the use of Aliso Canyon while still maintaining energy and electric reliability for the Los Angeles region, according to officials.

The Porter Ranch gas leak, sometimes also referred to as the Aliso Canyon gas leak, began on Oct. 23, 2015 and was stopped on Feb. 11, 2016.

The CPUC released a video created by Blade that summarizes and illustrates the events and circumstances that led up to the rupture and the well’s eventual sealing nearly four months later, available here.

To read the whole report, or any related documents, visit the CPUC website here.


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Cause Of Aliso Canyon Gas Leak Determined To Be Corrosion

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About Wyatt Smith

Wyatt was born and raised in Santa Clarita. After graduating from Hart High School in 2012, he continued his studies at the University of California, Santa Barbara, where he earned a degree in applied statistics. After a year and a half working in the digital advertising industry, Wyatt left his previous field of work to pursue his interest in writing.