California's PUC OKs boosting storage at infamous gas field

LOS ANGELES (AP) — California regulators voted Thursday to increase the capacity of a Los Angeles-area natural gas storage field where a 2015 blowout caused the nation’s largest-ever methane leak and forced thousands from their homes.

The California Public Utilities Commission voted unanimously to increase the storage capacity of the underground Aliso Canyon field to 41 billion cubic feet (1.1 billion cubic meters) of natural gas from the current capacity of 34 billion cubic feet (962 million cubic meters).

The move is aimed at ensuring supplies of natural gas for the upcoming winter months “in a safe and reliable manner" even as the PUC continues working on longer-term plans to close the field, Commissioner Martha Guzman Aceves said in a statement.

Neighbors and activists who want Aliso Canyon permanently closed said the increase was unnecessary and had urged the PUC to reject it.

The field, which stores gas in old wells, has been at 50% capacity since 2018, but the PUC vote raises that to 60%. The PUC rejected an alternative plan to allow the field to operate at 100% capacity.

The commission regulates natural gas utilities, including Aliso Canyon's operator, Southern California Gas Co.

A well failure at the field on Oct. 23, 2015, led to the release of nearly 100,000 tons of methane and other substances into the air for nearly four months before it was controlled.

The blowout was blamed for sickening thousands of residents who moved out of homes near the San Fernando Valley to escape a sulfurous stench and maladies including headaches, nausea and nose bleeds.

Ahead of Thursday's vote, some told the commission that they still smell gas and one Porter Ranch resident said she was afraid to open her windows, the Los Angeles Daily News reported.

The PUC's decision was...