Post by Logan on Jan 16, 2016 3:28:26 GMT -6
Regulators fear attempts to burn off leaking gas near Porter Ranch could lead to explosion
California utility regulators have asked Southern California Gas Co. to show that the ground around its leaking well is stable and that attempts to burn off escaping natural gas won't lead to an explosion.
The state Public Utility Commission's line of questioning offers new evidence the agency is concerned that the compromised well site in Aliso Canyon is vulnerable to either a blowout, which would allow even greater release of environmentally damaging gases, an explosion, or both.
The PUC has given the gas company until Tuesday to address concerns about plans to capture the escaping high-pressure gas with a three-foot wide pipe and burn off those emissions. The agency said the system "is NOT fully designed and needs further work and analysis."
The three-page letter from the PUC includes a warning that damage to the well system, which was subjected to two months of aggressive high-pressure pumping to try to plug the leak, might now permit air to mix with methane in a way that "could be catastrophic."
Read more: www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-porter-ranch-site-20160116-story.html#nt=outfit
California utility regulators have asked Southern California Gas Co. to show that the ground around its leaking well is stable and that attempts to burn off escaping natural gas won't lead to an explosion.
The state Public Utility Commission's line of questioning offers new evidence the agency is concerned that the compromised well site in Aliso Canyon is vulnerable to either a blowout, which would allow even greater release of environmentally damaging gases, an explosion, or both.
The PUC has given the gas company until Tuesday to address concerns about plans to capture the escaping high-pressure gas with a three-foot wide pipe and burn off those emissions. The agency said the system "is NOT fully designed and needs further work and analysis."
The three-page letter from the PUC includes a warning that damage to the well system, which was subjected to two months of aggressive high-pressure pumping to try to plug the leak, might now permit air to mix with methane in a way that "could be catastrophic."
Read more: www.latimes.com/local/california/la-me-porter-ranch-site-20160116-story.html#nt=outfit