Utility reaches $4M settlement in California gas leak

A California utility has reached a $4 million settlement over the massive natural gas leak that started last year near Los Angeles.

The Los Angeles County district attorney’s office on Tuesday said Southern California Gas Co. has pleaded no contest to one misdemeanor charge of failing to report the leak immediately to emergency officials when it started last October.

{mosads}SoCalGas will pay the maximum $75,000 fine for the offense and a penalty assessment of $232,500, plus other costs as part of the settlement, the district attorney said.

“This agreement ensures that Southern California Gas Co. is held accountable for its criminal actions for failing to immediately report the leak,” District Attorney Jackie Lacey said in a statement.

“Going forward the protections put in place by this agreement create a safer facility for its employees, the environment and the surrounding communities.”

The leak from an underground storage facility released about 97,100 metric tons of methane, a potent greenhouse gas, into the atmosphere, the largest known man-made methane release in history.

Thousands of nearby residents had to evacuate to avoid the noxious fumes, and it took nearly four months to control the leak.

Apart from the fine and penalty, SoCalGas agreed to spend up to $1.5 million on a new methane monitoring system for the storage facility, hire new employees costing about $2.25 million to operate it and pay near $250,000 to reimburse emergency response and investigation costs.