Unstoppable CA Gas Leak Is Worst Catastrophe Since BP Spill

[singular_me]

the agenda to put the last nails into CA's coffin is just doing fine???

more hyperlinks at the OP original link
----------------------------------------
Unstoppable California Gas Leak Being Called Worst Catastrophe Since BP Spill
24th December 2015

Methane gas continues spewing, unchecked, into the air over southern California from a fractured well to an underground storage site — at such an alarming rate that low-flying planes have necessarily been diverted by the FAA, lest internal combustion engines meet highly volatile gas and, well, blow the entire area to hell.

This is, indeed, the biggest environmental catastrophe since the BP Deepwater Horizon oil rig exploded in the Gulf of Mexico in 2010; and for now, there is no way to stop it.’

According to the California Air Resources Board, methane — a greenhouse gas 72 times more impactful in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide — has been escaping from the Aliso Canyon site with force equivalent “to a volcanic eruption” for about two months now. So far, the total leaked gas measures somewhere around 100,000 tons — adding “approximately one-quarter to the regular statewide methane emissions” during that same time frame.



“The relative magnitude of emissions from the leak compared to other sources of methane in the State underscores the urgency of stopping the gas leak. This comes on top of any problems caused by odor and any potential impacts from exposure,” states the initial report on the Aliso leak by air quality officials.

http://patriotrising.com/2015/12/23/unstoppable-california-gas-leak-being-called-worst-catastrophe-since-bp-spill/

[Shami-Amourae]

Don't mention the nearby wildfire...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28rlaSF-TxI

[singular_me]

time to move out CA

[Shami-Amourae]

time to move out CA


During any collapse scenario...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5GjLm2K9Opc

[EE_]

Why do people in California put up with ridiculous home prices/rents, postage stamp yards, an illegal alien invasion, gangs, liberal politics, Liberals, Liberal faggots, oppressive laws, big brother police state, high traffic ticket fines, surveillance, unhealthy air, Fukushima radiation, ridiculous traffic, earth quake risk, fires, droughts, high taxes, a terrible place to own a small business, licenses/regulations for anything and everything, over-paid teachers and lousy schools, welfare state, bloated public pensions, political correctness, crime...why? Because it's worth it!

[Neuro]

Don't mention the nearby wildfire...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=28rlaSF-TxI
No relation! You need a VERY vivid imagination to think that an uncontrollable methane leak next to an uncontrollable wildfire should cause any extra problem...

[EE_]

No relation! You need a VERY vivid imagination to think that an uncontrollable methane leak next to an uncontrollable wildfire should cause any extra problem...

I wonder what will happen if the methane leak volcano gets ignited? Doesn't seem to be any projections in these reports?

[singular_me]

it is possible that such a huge flame may create some kind of a vacuum or strong air currents that ignite(s) whatever flying particles (or bigger) sucked into, which then fall back down ... CA is so dry.

so no, in my view the fire may be linked.

[EE_]

Southern California Gas relocated 1,675 households to date, and an additional 1,200 are currently preparing to move
That's a lot of people being evacuated, yet hardly national news?

Gas Leak Leads To Emergency Declaration In Los Angeles

Los Angeles County is under a state of emergency after an uncontrolled gas leak reportedly sickened hundreds in recent weeks.

The leak, which is located above the Porter Ranch neighborhood of Los Angeles, was discovered in late October but likely won't be fixed for months. Southern California Gas Co. needs to drill a second well in order to stop the flow of gas.

In the interim, the well is releasing some 1,200 tons of methane — a particularly potent greenhouse gas — per day, enough to account for about a quarter of California's total methane output.

Company and government officials said that the leak doesn't pose a long-term threat to the public, but hundreds of nearby residents complained of nausea, headaches and other problems that were attributed to an odorous gas additive.

(Javier Mendoza/SoCalGas via AP, File)
The declaration passed by the Los Angeles County Board allows the county to seek state and federal assistance.

“While the gas company is working to address the leak, we still do not have a clear timeline as to when this crisis will be resolved," said Supervisor Michael Antonovich.

Southern California Gas relocated 1,675 households to date, and an additional 1,200 are currently preparing to move to temporary housing as well. Students at two nearby elementary schools are also likely to be relocated as a result of the leak.

State officials, meanwhile, are particularly concerned that a spark could cause a fire near the well, which is located in the windy, drought-ravaged Santa Susana Mountains.
http://www.manufacturing.net/news/2015/12/gas-leak-leads-emergency-declaration-los-angeles

[EE_]

Porter Ranch homes for sale http://www.trulia.com/CA/Porter_Ranch/

Here’s what you need to know about the Porter Ranch gas leak

LOS ANGELES - Nov. 6, 2015 - This morning at 11 a.m., SoCalGas crews and outside experts started the coiled tubing rig operation to attempt to work through an ice blockage inside the 2 7/8-inch tubing pipeline of a natural gas storage well at the Aliso Canyon facility. If the operation is successful, crews will fill the pipeline with brine solution to stop the flow of gas. (Photo by SoCalGas)
By Staff
POSTED: 12/11/15, 2:10 PM PST | UPDATED: 2 WEEKS, 1 DAY AGO 0 COMMENTS
The leak of a well at the Aliso Canyon natural gas facility that has sickened residents and led to the relocation of hundreds is now nearing its second month.

Crews are continuing to try to plug the leak, but those efforts could take three to four months, according to officials.

Here are the main facts in one place:

WHEN IT BEGAN

Southern California Gas Co. officials discovered the gas leak at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility on Oct. 23. The public wasn’t informed of the leak right away.

The facility, located at 12801 Tampa Ave. near Porter Ranch, houses 115 wells. The leak is at a well site that is more than 1,200 feet higher than homes or public areas, the company said.

SoCalGas sent a letter about the incident to area residents, issued an apology for not contacting them sooner and included a website link to updates about repairs on its home page.

WHO OPERATES THE FACILITY?

The facility is operated by the Southern California Gas Co., which is owned by parent-company Sempra Energy.

The field has a capacity for 86 billion cubic feet of natural gas, one of the largest storage fields in the United States. The wells are thousands of feet deep into the Santa Susana Mountains.

The leaking well, known as SS 25, is 1,850 feet deep.

WHAT IS THE SMELL?

The rotten egg odor is due to an additive called mercaptan, according to SoCal Gas.

The company has maintained the additive is not toxic.

Dennis Arriola, president and CEO of SoCalGas, apologized before the Los Angeles City Council on Nov. 31 for the way the company handled the response.

WHAT WENT WRONG?

The leaking gas is coming from a 2-7/8 pipe enclosed in a seven-inch well casing. The well, which is under pressure, is 8,750 feet deep and the leak is about 480 to 500 feet under ground, Steve Bohlen said, former head to the state Department of Oil, Gas & Geothermal Resources.

The malfunctioning well consists of a “Christmas tree” assembly of valves, flanges and caps above ground and a seven-inch diameter pipe that is sunk into the ground. Natural gas is pumped into the storage field through the pipe.

Advertisement
IS THERE A THREAT TO THE PUBLIC?

SoCal Gas has maintained that the gas leak is not a risk to the public. However, residents have complained of headaches, nose bleeds and other issues.

At least 1,000 households are requesting relocation from the Porter Ranch area amid complaints about the odor and physical ailments from the leak.

Los Angeles County health officials said prolonged exposure to chemicals, some of which are known carcinogens, in natural gas leaking above Porter Ranch can cause long-term health effects. However, they cautioned that the levels examined so far in Porter Ranch are not believed to be associated with long-term health problems.

The law firm representing Porter Ranch residents in a lawsuit against Southern California Gas Co. released a nighttime video that shows the massive gas leak.

WHEN WILL IT BE FIXED?

Officials estimate it could take up to four months to plug a leaking gas well.

The company has tried at least six times to kill the well but so far has been unsuccessful. The “pad” where the well is leaking is about the size of a small baseball field, officials said.

COULD THERE BE AN EXPLOSION?

Safety remains a major concern for officials, said Greg Hisel, assistant fire captain with the Los Angeles County Fire Department, who told the Los Angeles City Council on Nov. 31 that ignition of the gas may occur.

In a follow-up interview, Hisel said radios or a cellphone could spark a fire. Similarly, welding equipment or an electrical wire could start a blaze.

Less likely is an explosion, he said. “If we look at something like San Bruno, the similarities aren’t there,” said Hisel, referencing the 2010 fatal gas explosion in Northern California that killed eight people.

THE LAWSUITS

The outcry over the gas leak has attracted support from activist Erin Brockovich.

A class-action lawsuit was filed in early December by Porter Ranch residents. The suit names SoCalGas and Sempra Energy as defendants.

The suit seeks unspecified damages and an injunction directing the Gas Co. to stop releasing contaminants into the surrounding neighborhoods.

Los Angeles City Attorney Mike Feuer also filed a lawsuit, saying the leak has threatened residents’ health and hurt the environment.

WHAT ABOUT STUDENTS AND TEACHERS AT NEARBY SCHOOLS?

An estimated 1,500 students have continued to attend classes at nearby Castlebay Lane Charter and Porter Ranch Elementary schools.

Hundreds of parents have signed a petition, asking the school district find a safe place to teach their children.

SoCal Gas has pledged to pay for new air filters at the two Porter Ranch elementary schools that are the closest campuses to the storage facility.

TEMPORARY FLIGHT RESTRICTION

Out of concern for safety, the Federal Aviation Administration on Dec. 9 banned aircraft flights over Porter Ranch until early next year after a private aircraft buzzed over the natural gas storage facility.

The plane made several low passes over the site over the weekend of Dec. 5-6, according to California’s Office of Emergency Services.

The temporary flight restriction was posted on the FAA website Thursday and will remain in effect until March 8, the FAA said. It has a half mile radius and extends up to 2,000 feet, the agency said.

The flight ban is a worker safety precaution and not over concern that a low-flying plane could trigger a fire at the site, according to officials.

ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT

The leak is spewing 100,000 pounds of methane every hour, according to estimates.

The California Air Resources Board last month conducted testing showing 50,000 kilograms of methane per hour was released. The sampling has a plus or minus ratio of 16,000 kilograms.

Javier Mendoza, senior communications manager at SoCal Gas, said in a statement Monday that the company doesn’t believe it’s possible to accurately measure the amount of natural gas being lost at this time.

The board has asserted that the Aliso Canyon gas leak would have added approximately one-quarter to the regular statewide methane emissions from Oct. 23 to Nov. 20.
http://www.dailynews.com/environment-and-nature/20151211/heres-what-you-need-to-know-about-the-porter-ranch-gas-leak

[mick silver]

Read more: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/porter-ranch-gas-leak-catastrophe-not-seen-the-bp-oil-spill

Get the word out to the people on the West coast. Their professionals ignored the problem as it was building, now a giant methane plume erupts from the same operation that was hit by multiple earthquakes last year.
At the time when the earthquakes began striking these fracking / gas / oil operations the professionals actually went so far as to publicly deny the relation between the earthquakes which have been striking, and the large gas/oil pumping operations directly above the EQ epicenters.
Now, move forward several months after the earthquakes struck, several months AFTER Dr. Lucille Jones (California professional) downplayed the connection of the earthquakes occurring around North Los Angeles to the gas operations which are now uncontrollably blasting off large plumes of gas.
Ironic that the deniers of the problem last year now have a large ongoing eruption of methane gas occurring just North of Los Angeles, California.
This eruption of gas cannot be ignored — specifically that it is occurring directly from a large pumping / drilling operation (fracking + injection) which they denied had any relation to the seismic unrest below it.
The methane eruption is part of a much larger series of issues which need full explanation.
This video attempts to explain the causes behind why the methane is erupting in Los Angeles, who had the chance to prevent this from happening, and what to expect in the future now that this has occurred. Read more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpcs4ear94k
Worst Ever Methane Release In California History! Experts Don’t Know How To Stop It! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwKeXsY6_-8)

[monty]

http://youtu.be/Lpcs4ear94k

[Shami-Amourae]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS34dzYtC8s

[singular_me]

fracking is the culprit without a doubt, those so called scientists are completely clueless about earth's lay lines/magnetic grid. If the grid is disturbed, earth will respond to this with earthquakes. Earth is for sure not stable herself and goes through her own cycles... but playing with fracking is going to make it lot worse.

but talking of earth magnetic grid which has its own geometry is for sure new age. LOL but at the very top, they very well know when they frack into one of those lay lines. Thats the goal.

up to 80% of the world scientists could be fired... for following their payckecks and deadly lack of critical thinking

everything the NWO does has multiple purposes, they will always go for as many birds as they can kill with one stone

very good vid posted by monty, 2 postings above







Read more: http://www.msnbc.com/msnbc/porter-ranch-gas-leak-catastrophe-not-seen-the-bp-oil-spill
This eruption of gas cannot be ignored — specifically that it is occurring directly from a large pumping / drilling operation (fracking + injection) which they denied had any relation to the seismic unrest below it.
The methane eruption is part of a much larger series of issues which need full explanation.
This video attempts to explain the causes behind why the methane is erupting in Los Angeles, who had the chance to prevent this from happening, and what to expect in the future now that this has occurred. Read more: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lpcs4ear94k
Worst Ever Methane Release In California History! Experts Don’t Know How To Stop It! (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwKeXsY6_-8)

[singular_me]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fS34dzYtC8s

generally it often is even much worse than what the MSM dares report

this guy has a good summary

[Neuro]

up to 80% of the world scientists could be fired... for following their payckecks and deadly lack of critical thinking

Reality check! No-one gets fired for following their pay check. Scientists and other gets fired, jailed and discredited for spilling the beans on what is going on. Most normal people don't feel like having their lives destroyed, so they rather shut up and go along with the small part they are payed to perform. How about you instead focus on those that pays them to be disinformants? Or is that not in your job description?

[singular_me]

we all participate in our own demise to some degrees, just by using fiat money to start with. That is why my plan is to live as remotely as possible and/or only from the land for a while.

but sciences at this stage needs to go through a full collapse to cleanse itself. the academic mindset must change and become prolife instead of being death cult inspired.

http://www.davidicke.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/12/get-attachment-1062.jpg


fracking while ignoring earth's own magnetic grid, all this for profits and fear of losing a paycheck (not being able to compete), isnt going to end well



https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exfJ8VPQDTY



Methane Continues to Spew Into Air Over California’Absolutely Uncontained’: Methane Continues to Spew Into Air in California
29th December 2015
http://sputniknews.com/us/20151229/1032427984/methane-spill-california-disaster.html

[singular_me]

it is going to take another 3 months to fix it

------------------------------------


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDchTAW1-IY

[EE_]

it is going to take another 3 months to fix it

------------------------------------


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SDchTAW1-IY

I think property values in Porter Ranch will be shit for quite a while.

[EE_]

TV: Radioactive material reportedly now being released from massive gas blowout in LA — Byproduct of Uranium — Expert: “A lot” has been detected in area… Very dangerous… May be coming up from ground into people’s homes — Official: Levels can cause “significant long-term health effects” (VIDEO)


Published: January 9th, 2016 at 4:05 pm ET
By ENENews
Email Article Email Article
317 comments


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UBYpL3JDCzA&feature=youtu.be&t=285

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Jan 8, 2016: Their animals are dying… their fish are dying in their fish bowls, their dogs are dying, their cats are getting sick. And their children are getting sick — they’re suffering nose bleeds, they’re suffering terrible debilitating migraine headaches, asthma attacks, respiratory infections, eye infections, ear infections, stomach ailments…

The health impact — it’s not just methane coming out of that hole…

This is global crisis, more importantly this is a local crisis. Because not only do you have methane — you have benzene, toluene, xylene, which are carcinogenic. You have hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide — which are neurotoxic, which can injure your brain, affect memory, injure your kidneys, your liver, your other bodily organs.

There’s also a lot of radon gas being measured in the area. People believe — we don’t know if this is true — the gas that is leaking at 2 miles deep is now coming out and pushing that radon up into people’s living rooms, their bedrooms, their nurseries.

http://enenews.com/tv-reports-radioactive-material-being-released-massive-gas-blowout-la-byproduct-uranium-expert-lot-being-measured-area-very-dangerous-be-coming-ground-peoples-living-rooms-bedrooms-nurseries

[EE_]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Xfq-UVv8kfE

[Cebu_4_2]

Why can't they cap it and collect it instead of it just pumping into the sky?

[EE_]

Why can't they cap it and collect it instead of it just pumping into the sky?

It would be like capping this...

http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-pRfsajDlyi0/UXpO8kX1uWI/AAAAAAAAOWU/GeazhGdfPVU/s1600/Volcano+%281%29.jpg

[Cebu_4_2]

It's not on fire tho.

[Glass]

I doubt this whole thing is an accidental leak. They will pump it out until all the people are gone or dead, then they will shut it up and blockade the affected area so no one can return. Then they will dig up what ever it is they want from the land. All in all it will cost them Zero dollars for buying peoples land from them.

[Shami-Amourae]

I doubt this whole thing is an accidental leak. They will pump it out until all the people are gone or dead, then they will shut it up and blockade the affected area so no one can return. Then they will dig up what ever it is they want from the land. All in all it will cost them Zero dollars for buying peoples land from them.

I wouldn't think that. I get that things suck with all the scumbaggery running around. Californians are generally incompetent. Think about all the water mains that have blown up recently, and the fact that they've been in an extreme drought and dump most of Southern California's fresh water into the LA Basin instead of actually using it.

[Glass]

I wouldn't think that. I get that things suck with all the scumbaggery running around. Californians are generally incompetent. Think about all the water mains that have blown up recently, and the fact that they've been in an extreme drought and dump most of Southern California's fresh water into the LA Basin instead of actually using it.

I hope that is it but yes I am cynical on all things Govt. They use incompetence nearly all the time. Every time they do something, they go, oh just an incompetent person. In reality anyone as incompetent as all these people they wouldn't be doing that job. They would be unemployed.

Anyway I hope they do in fact get it fixed.

[Jewboo]

All-too-common negligence.

[singular_me]

another shocking and very possible conclusion?

They may have “lost control of entire gas field”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzR3hNQse3M

[Joshua01]

another shocking and very possible conclusion?

They may have “lost control of entire gas field”


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xzR3hNQse3M


Right on the fault line....lite're up!!!!

[Cebu_4_2]

http://www.resilience.org/stories/2016-01-14/california-s-massive-gas-leak-hazards-of-industry-long-known

California's Massive Gas Leak: Hazards of Industry Long Known

by Andrew Nikiforuk, originally published by The Tyee | Jan 14, 2016

http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/01/10/AlisoCanyon_610px.jpg

Overhead photo of the leaking Aliso Canyon well pad near the Porter Ranch community in Los Angeles County, Dec. 17, 2015. Credit: Earthworks, Creative Commons licensed.

A massive methane leak from an aging underground gas storage facility in a community north of Los Angeles illustrates the grave environmental and safety hazards that come with operating gas storage fields near cities due to the frequency of well leaks, experts have shown.

Since Oct. 23, thousands of citizens have been displaced or sickened with nosebleeds and headaches by hydrocarbon pollution from a leaky injection well site at the Aliso Canyon storage facility, one of the largest underground storage sites in North America.

Industry stores methane underground in depleted oil and gas fields, aquifers or salt caverns for future use because it is more economic than storing the gas in tanks on the surface.

The owner of the facility, the Southern California Gas Company (SoCal), has spent $50 million to try to shut off the gigantic leak, but so far with no success.

In November, the California Air Resources Board reported that methane was spewing from the storage facility into the atmosphere at an approximate rate of 50,000 kilograms per hour, or nearly 1,200 tonnes of climate-warming gases a day. At one point, the leak was estimated to account for one-quarter of all methane emissions in the state.

The Environmental Defense Fund calculated two months ago that the massive methane gusher would have a climate-warming impact greater "than all of California's petroleum refineries combined, or six large coal fired power plants, or roughly seven million passenger vehicles."

To date, SoCal has failed to plug the leak in a nearly 50-year-old well casing located 500 feet underground. The casing is part of one of 154 wells (only 93 are active) that can inject natural gas into the storage facility. All could serve as pathways for leaks to the surface or groundwater.

A class action lawsuit against the operator of the facility alleges the leak "has unleashed an uninterrupted flow of gases and fluids, including methane, methyl mercaptan, and aromatic hydrocarbons that has sickened hundreds of the 30,000 residents who live in Porter Ranch."

Added the lawsuit: "The difficulties faced by SoCal Gas in controlling the high-pressure leak in one injection well are surely exacerbated by any continued high-pressure injection of billions of cubic feet of natural gas into the same shared gas-storage reservoir."

The company says that there are no injections currently taking place.

Nearly 10 weeks after the storage facility sprang its leak, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency to ensure that seven separate state agencies can be deployed to track, monitor and help stop the industry-made methane gusher. Last month he described SoCal's efforts to plug the leak as "insufficient."

Leaks a chronic hazard, say experts

While the massive gas leak may have come as a surprise to the Californian residents forced to evacuate their homes, reports and studies by petroleum experts over the years have repeatedly warned that gas storage sites have demonstrated a long history of gas migration problems.

Major leaks from underground gas storage sites have caused explosions, groundwater contamination and lawsuits in Kansas, Texas, California and Colorado.

Moreover, the public record shows "that using depleted oil fields for gas storage facilities can create a serious risk of explosions and fires, especially when located in urban settings," according to a well-read industry textbook authored by four engineers and consultants entitled Gas Migration.

The experts explain that gas stored in abandoned oil fields can be over-pressured by repeated gas injection, which in turn creates vertical fractures in rock and thereby increases the risk of leaks to the surface.

The breakdown of cement seals on active and abandoned wells is a common source of leaks from underground storage facilities. In fact, many oil and gas wells will leak methane over time, and represent a multibillion-dollar liability for the hydrocarbon industry.

According to the Los Angeles Daily News, a filing with California regulators shows that SoCal knew that its pipes and injection wells at the facility were corroding and failing at an increasing rate prior to the disaster, though a state official reportedly said it doesn't appear the company violated any regulations.

In a specific chapter on the hazards of gas storage, the textbook authors added that "it is virtually impossible to ensure that the gas will not migrate to the surface" through faults and abandoned or aging wells. "Especially in the case of earthquakes the faults may become more permeable and there could be an upsurge of gas to the surface."

California petroleum engineer Brent Miyazaki also highlighted the problem of leaking wells in a 2009 textbook called Underground Gas Storage.

Miyazaki warned that badly sealed wells remained a major issue at gas storage sites because gas injection, just like hydraulic fracturing, routinely subjects oil and gas plumbing to pressure fluctuations and much rattling.

As a result, there is "a high probability of developing leaks and other containment failures" at underground storage sites, Miyazaki wrote.

He also wrote in the 2009 textbook that California allowed regulatory authorities to conduct reviews and issue permits without "maintaining staff with the technical backgrounds to expertise to evaluate hazards."

As a result, "some issues are ignored or never evaluated, leaving the potential for future incidents unchecked," Miyazaki wrote.

A 2005 study by Bernard Endres and famed petroleum geologist George Chilingar also warned that the building of urban neighborhoods above aging oil fields and gas storage sites in general exacerbated these existing hazards and was a recipe for disaster and lawsuits.

Much of Los Angeles has developed on depleted oil and gas fields, and the leaking well at the Aliso Canyon facility is less than one mile from the housing development of Porter Ranch.

To avoid major explosions and other emergencies, the researchers called for better oil and gas monitoring, extensive air testing, and routine gas migration studies for old or aging gas and oil fields located in cities or near urban populations. Few regulators adopted any of these recommendations.

The researchers noted that energy regulators routinely put public safety at risk by allowing oil and gas facilities and housing developments to share the same land.

Leaks pervasive across North America

The problem of leaking wells, whether used for injection of wastes or fluids or for extraction, is pervasive and badly monitored.

Canadian researchers warned in a 2014 University of Waterloo report that methane seeping from the nation's 500,000 oil and gas wells, active or abandoned, represents "a threat to environment and public safety" due to groundwater contamination, greenhouse gas emissions, and explosion risks wherever methane collects in unvented buildings and spaces.

Around the world, underground gas storage sites contained approximately 377 billion cubic metres of methane in 688 facilities in 2013. More than two-thirds of these operations were located in North America: 414 in the U.S. and 59 in Canada.

The majority of the North American facilities are all located in depleted gas and oil fields, where natural faults and fractures as well as the leaking of abandoned or poorly plugged wells remains a chronic problem.

Anthony Ingraffea, a professor of engineering at Cornell University, told Living On Earth radio that corroded and aging oil wells repurposed as injection wells are at the heart of the problem at Aliso Canyon and other underground gas storage sites. "Everything put together falls apart especially when its underground... this is the tip of the iceberg. There are tens of thousands of these wells."

http://thetyee.ca/News/2016/01/10/PorterRanchGasStorage_610px.jpg

2015 map of SoCal gas injection wells, a half-mile from residents at Porter Ranch.

SoCal describes the storage facility as a vital energy supply for 21 million people. The facility provides "reliable, reasonably-priced natural gas service to our customers to heat their homes, cook their food and power their businesses, 24/7. When the wind doesn't blow, or the sun doesn't shine for renewable electric generators, the natural gas from Aliso Canyon helps to fill the gaps."

Given the problems at underground gas storage facilities, a 2014 U.S. study by the National Agricultural and Rural Development Policy Centre found that homes located near such leaking infrastructure suffered harm as well as significant property devaluation.

"Our results indicate that underground natural gas storage activities bear risks that are substantial enough to affect nearby residents, and that these impacts are more severe in proximity, concentration, and for properties without access to public water.

[Cebu_4_2]

A major disaster yet they continue to pump it full with the injection wells...

[Joshua01]

A major disaster yet they continue to pump it full with the injection wells...

SO much for all those super expensive hydrocarbon emission laws. Komiefornians are so fucking dumb!

[Cebu_4_2]

SO much for all those super expensive hydrocarbon emission laws. Komiefornians are so fucking dumb!

Apparently the Earth don't have to pay that.