California Utility to Pay $1.8 Billion to Settle Claims After Gas Leak
California Utility to Pay $1.8 Billion to Settle Claims After Gas Leak
September 28, 2021 by Tom Ramstack
Southern California Gas Company agreed to pay $1.8 billion this week to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of residents of the Aliso Canyon area who were forced from their homes by a 2015 explosion and leak at a natural gas storage facility.
The lawsuit accused the Los Angeles-based utility of a series of safety lapses that resulted in the uncontrolled release of nearly 100,000 tons of methane and other toxic substances into the atmosphere for 118 days.
It was the largest natural gas leak in U.S. history and one that helped propel state lawmakers toward policies that require eventually eliminating fossil fuels from California’s energy supply.
Southern California Gas denied many of the safety and fraud allegations against it but still agreed to enhanced safety protocols. The settlement money will be distributed by an independent, neutral allocator.
“Our goal has always been obtaining justice for the men, women and children who were failed by SoCalGas throughout every turn of this catastrophe,” Brian Panish, attorney for the plaintiffs, said in a statement.
In The News
Health
Civil Rights
House and Senate Democrats Seek to Protect Access to Birth Control Act
2021-11-23 21:52:41
Voting
Utilities
September 28, 2021
by Tom Ramstack
California Utility to Pay $1.8 Billion to Settle Claims After Gas Leak
Southern California Gas Company agreed to pay $1.8 billion this week to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of residents... Read More
Southern California Gas Company agreed to pay $1.8 billion this week to settle a lawsuit filed on behalf of residents of the Aliso Canyon area who were forced from their homes by a 2015 explosion and leak at a natural gas storage facility. The lawsuit accused... Read More
September 18, 2020
by Strained Rural Water Utilities Buckle Under Pandemic Pressure
Strained Rural Water Utilities Buckle Under Pandemic Pressure
WASHINGTON — The months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic already spelled trouble for the Rome Water System and the... Read More
WASHINGTON — The months leading up to the coronavirus pandemic already spelled trouble for the Rome Water System and the tiny community it serves in the Mississippi Delta. A tornado tossed around several homes, closed roads and left the community without power for two weeks. Lightning... Read More
December 9, 2019
by Dan McCue
House Votes Overwhelmingly to Put the Kibosh on Robocalls
WASHINGTON - The House last week voted overwhelming to advance a bill designed to tamp down on robocalls by increasing... Read More
WASHINGTON - The House last week voted overwhelming to advance a bill designed to tamp down on robocalls by increasing the fines on those who make them and requiring phone companies to play a more active role in stopping them. The bill, the Pallone-Thune Telephone Robocall... Read More
July 30, 2019
by Sean Trambley
Industrial Emissions Targeted in New Bipartisan, Bicameral Legislation
Last week, a bipartisan, bicameral coalition led by freshman Representative Sean Casten D-Ill., introduced legislation aimed at encouraging innovation that... Read More
Last week, a bipartisan, bicameral coalition led by freshman Representative Sean Casten D-Ill., introduced legislation aimed at encouraging innovation that will reduce greenhouse gas emissions from industrial sources. Casten and his counterparts in the Senate, Senators Sheldon Whitehouse, D-R.I., and Shelley Moore Capito, R-W.Va., believe their... Read More
News From The Well
