LOS ANGELES _ Southern California Gas Co. agreed to a $4 million settlement Tuesday to end a criminal case filed by Los Angeles County prosecutors over the utility's handling of the massive gas leak near Porter Ranch last year.
The gas company pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor count of failing to immediately notify the California Office of Emergency Services and Los Angeles County Fire Department of the leak that began on or around Oct. 23, 2015, in the Aliso Canyon natural gas storage field. The utility will pay the maximum fine of $75,000 for that three-day delay, according to the L.A. County district attorney's office.
The gas company will pay $232,500 in state penalties on top of that fine and $246,672 for the fire department's response to the leak.
Three other misdemeanor counts will be dismissed when the utility is sentenced Nov. 29.
"This agreement ensures that Southern California Gas Co. is held accountable for its criminal actions for failing to immediately report the leak," L.A. County District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.
The settlement agreement includes a host of safety measures that go beyond what is already required by state and local laws.
At a cost of $1.2 million to $1.5 million, the gas company will install eight infrared methane leak detection systems along the southern border of the Aliso Canyon gas field. It will also install real-time pressure monitors at each storage well. An outside company will be brought in to test and certify the instruments.
Under the settlement, the gas company agreed to hire six full-time employees to monitor those detection systems over the next three years. Employees will also undergo training related to leak detection.
In a statement, utility officials called the settlement "another important step in our efforts to put the leak behind us and to win back the trust of the community."
But people living in nearby Porter Ranch pointed out that the settlement doesn't do much to prevent a leak _ the measures instead focus on identifying a leak once it's begun.
"There is no change in the way the wells are configured in the field and the way they tap into the storage of gas," said Issam Najm, president of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council. "Therefore, to that end, we don't see that there's any substantive change in the safety of the system."
Alexandra Nagy with Food and Water Watch put it more bluntly: "This fine is barely a slap on the wrist for SoCal Gas, whose parent company made $10 billion in revenue last year."
In February, the district attorney filed four misdemeanor criminal charges against the company, accusing it of releasing air contaminants and neglecting to report the release of hazardous materials until three days after the leak began.
The leak forced at least 8,000 residents out of their homes for months, costing Southern California Gas about $500 million, according to the utility. As people moved home, the gas company cleaned the interiors of 1,500 homes and the exteriors of 1,200 homes, along with schools, playgrounds and public parks.
Residents have complained of headaches, nosebleeds and nausea, which are short-term symptoms associated with an odor-causing additive in the natural gas.
The leak was finally capped in February.
Southern California Gas still faces civil lawsuits from thousands of residents.
"The criminal plea does not alter the responsibility Southern California Gas has to all residents and businesses damaged and harmed as a result of this significant event," said plaintiff's attorney Paul Kiesel.
Some residents living near Aliso Canyon want it to be permanently shut down. Many of them are represented by the group Save Porter Ranch.
"SoCal Gas themselves demonstrated why this unneeded facility must be permanently shut down and their guilt will be further proven as civil litigation proceeds," said Matt Pakucko, president of Save Porter Ranch. "And we are concerned about what happens with the leak-detection system after three years. Residents of the area will still need to breathe in three years."
But gas company officials have repeatedly said that Aliso Canyon is an essential piece of Southern California's energy infrastructure _ a point that was reiterated by the utility Tuesday.
"Aliso Canyon is critical to the reliability of natural gas and electricity services in Southern California. We are diligently working with state officials to complete a comprehensive safety review of the facility," according to a statement from the utility.
