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On August 8, 2018, the California Air Resources Board (CARB), the California Attorney General’s Office (AGO), the City of Los Angeles (City), and the County of Los Angeles (County), lodged a proposed Consent Decree with the Los Angeles County Superior Court (court) to settle all claims against SoCalGas related to the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Facility (Aliso Canyon) natural gas leak that occurred between October 2015 and February 2016. The Mitigation Agreement is part of the settlement and requires SoCalGas to fully mitigate the leak’s climate impacts. In accordance with paragraph 18 of the Consent Decree, CARB solicited public comment on the Mitigation Agreement for 35 days, from August 8, 2018, until September 12, 2018, through a docket on CARB’s website. CARB prepared a summary of and responses to the public comment received regarding the Mitigation Agreement. On October 9, 2018, CARB, the AGO, the City, and the County submitted to the court all public comments received by CARB, CARB’s summary of and responses to public comment, and a request to approve the Consent Decree.
CARB invites the public to view the Summary of and Responses to Public Comment Regarding the Mitigation Agreement on its website.
Further information about the Aliso Canyon leak and the Mitigation Agreement can be found on CARB’s website.
Background
Between October 2015 and February 2016, a massive natural gas leak occurred at Aliso Canyon. Natural gas is composed primarily of methane, a potent greenhouse gas known as a short-lived climate pollutant (SLCP) because it remains in the atmosphere for a shorter period with a far greater heat-trapping power than carbon dioxide.
Governor Brown’s January 6, 2016, Proclamation called for SoCalGas to pay for a mitigation program developed by CARB that causes full mitigation of the Aliso Canyon leak through projects in California, and prioritizes projects that reduce SLCP’s. CARB issued the Aliso Canyon Methane Leak Climate Impacts Mitigation Program (Mitigation Program) on March 31, 2016, which outlines mitigation objectives and project criteria to achieve the Proclamation’s requirements and complement existing state efforts to reduce SLCP’s. CARB staff later determined 109,000 metric tons of methane emissions reductions is the amount needed to fully mitigate the leak’s climate impacts.
On August 8, 2018, CARB, the City, the County, and the AGO announced a $119.5 million settlement with SoCalGas. If approved by the Los Angeles County Superior Court, the settlement will resolve all claims alleged in the lawsuits.
The Mitigation Agreement is part of the settlement and requires SoCalGas to fully mitigate the leak’s climate impacts by paying $26.5 million to cause the construction of dairy digester projects in California that will reduce at least 109,000 metric tons of methane emissions. The Mitigation Agreement aligns with the principles in the Governor’s Proclamation and the principles and objectives of the Mitigation Program.
Further inquiries regarding this matter should be directed to Stanley Young at (916) 322-1309 or Dave Clegern at (916) 322-8286 in the Office of Communications, Office of the Chair.
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