Published in Medium.com on April 4, 2022
Senator Henry Stern speaks at SB-1486 Rally, held outside SoCalGas office.
Approximately sixty residents and activists showed up at the SoCalGas' Chatsworth office to show their support for SB-1486. This bill, introduced by Senator Henry Stern, would establish a moratorium on the use of the facility, restricting withdrawals to what’s allowed under the current Aliso Canyon withdrawal protocol, which went into effect in July 2019. It would require the facility to be shut down permanently no later than 2027, with the hope it will happen sooner.
Among the steps required by SB-1486 will be the establishment of a reliable local generation plan for “extreme weather events,” an enactment of gas demand reduction, and protection for Aliso workers to transition them to clean energy jobs.
In the past, rallies and press conferences concerning the Aliso facility were held either by the gate of the Aliso Canyon facility or farther south at one of the busiest and noisiest intersections of Porter Ranch. But as the California director of Food and Water Watch, Alexandra Nagy stated at the beginning of this event,“We picked this location because every time we go up to the Aliso Canyon storage facility, we get sick. So, we decided to get creative today.” She added,“Guess what? They are closed down today.” She mentioned that Marcia Hanscom of Protect Ballona Wetlands & Wildlife and the Sierra Club quipped, “They closed down the wrong place.”
Alexandra Nagy and Henry Stern; photo by Patty Glueck
She introduced Senator Stern as someone who has been “showing the type of leadership we really needed to solve our climate crisis, to address public health issues and we really wish Governor Newsom will take a look at our amazing senator and follow his lead.” Many of the other speakers reiterated gratitude for his work in bringing this bill to Sacramento.
When Stern took the podium, he said, “I introduced this bill because this is supposed to be a moment of great climate action.” He mentioned the importance of getting off of fossil fuels, referring to the current situation in Ukraine, in order to “break the Putin regime’s gas export and oil export market just on our demand alone.” He added,“The stakes are very high and there’s a lot of money on the line. Here’s why for years we’ve been fighting with the gas company to take what is really treated as a financial asset, but for us is really a public health liability. To say that you can’t put that profit over our health.”
“I’ve been heartened to see the governor’s remarks as of late reaffirming his commitment to an expeditious closure of Aliso Canyon.”
He went on to say,“The PUC sometimes has trouble doing the right thing about Aliso Canyon. Sometimes, because they have to stay in a very narrow lane as a regulator and they don’t think of all the tools they have to move pass this gas field that’s poisoning us. How do we address clean energy jobs in the future alongside the closure of Aliso Canyon? How do we ramp up renewable energy in the basin of Los Angeles? How do we reduce our demand of gas in general so that people aren’t relying on it for their space heaters and furnaces throughout the winter?”
He referred to when Aliso was offline following the blowout and when it was running on reduced operations until this winter.“We saw L.A. operated leaner, but smarter and cleaner without Aliso Canyon.”
Stern said he’s willing to listen to the gas company’s ideas for the future of renewable energy.“But I’m not going to blindly commit myself to a plan.” He said that using hydrogen is not an option to be considered.
Mentioning those in attendance, he said, “This is a mighty army and I believe in the San Fernando Valley. I believe in L.A. We’re uniting the justice communities all over the town so nobody can say this is just a Valley thing. We’re going to be standing up for Pacoima, too. We’re going to be standing up for Pico and Playa. The first step is to close down this field.” He added about SoCalGas,“They have the opportunity to reimagine themselves “
Chatsworth office of SoCalGas in background; photo by Patty Glueck
Jane Fowler, a co-founder of the Aliso Moms Alliance and a resident of Granada Hills, talked about how we’re in a climate emergency and that taking action in 2030 is not soon enough.
“I know what it’s like to breath toxic hazardous air,” she said about the toxic emissions from the Aliso wells.“I know we are still being exposed to toxic chemicals because it still leaks. I know this because I live there.” She mentioned the bloody noses, sore throats, the Aliso cough, the dizziness, anxiety, and depression that many residents have been experiencing in the past six years. And that many residents have PTSD because of the site.
She brought up meeting with Gavin Newsom during a state Democratic convention in June 2019, and he said they’re working on getting Aliso closed. Fowler said, “He wants to be governor…he has to make the hard calls.”
The co-founder of Save Porter Ranch and 14-year resident close to the wells, Matt Pakucko praised Stern for being proactive about getting Aliso shut down, adding that everyone else has quit or waited for a photo op. He described SB-1486 as“a very clever bill. It disarms the opposition right from the beginning. By replacing the transitioning jobs keeping with California’s and Los Angeles’ long-term clean energy plans. He is also pleased that it will return Aliso Canyon back to an asset of last resort.”
He mentioned that protocols enacted while Aliso was offline between October 2015 and July 2017, “kept it virtually unused and unneeded for two years.” He said that the lack of community support that has been around lately has been dispelled by the large number at this rally. He also said, “This kind of support all over the state is going to blow through this political crap.” He called on the residents of the northern San Fernando Valley to support this bill because if we don’t,“why should anybody else. Every agency has failed us. Every elected official save for a few have failed us. Even our personal injury attorneys have failed us.” Referring to how the community showing up helped to keep the facility from going to full usage in 2017, he added,“Our community is finally coming back to life.”
Deirdre Bolona, a 24-year resident of Porter Ranch and another co-founder of the Aliso Moms Alliance, discussed how important this bill is for the roadmap to closing Aliso and protecting the health of residents.
“Little did anyone living in the San Fernando Valley knew, we were exposed to carcinogenic chemicals and non-disclosed chemicals that spewed into our air.” She recounted how residents were told by SoCalGas and the County Department of Public Health that no harm was being done to them and how SoCalGas didn’t notify anyone when venting the wells as “kids were playing on playgrounds, people were jogging, people were going to the park, people were walking their dogs.” She added,“I lost my father to kidney cancer. He trusted SoCalGas and refused to leave. My father had carcinogenic chemicals in in his body off the chart.”
Maureen Capra talked about developing asthma after moving to the area 48 years ago. She then came down with bronchitis, and is now being tested to see if she has life-threatening interstitial lung disease.“This is what the wells did to me.”
She recalled the early days of the blowout.“I got a phone call saying close your windows, close your doors, but stay inside. Are you going to tell me that it doesn’t mean it’s not dangerous?”
I talked about how this is a David versus Goliath battle. And not just with the gas company. I said it’s not looking like there will be a real health study, but rather an environmental assessment. This, despite the Aliso Canyon Health Study Community Advisory Group, that I’m a member of, demanding that the County Department of Public Health do a clinical study.
Michelle Fowle of Northridge Indivisible told the crowd that“I’m fairly certain we lost three dogs” to the blowout. She said,“Most of us value access to clean air and water.” She questioned the politicians who cater to gas and oil and fail to represent the people. “I think we have a vision of a better California for everybody and we can make a change. You can make that call.”
Richard Matthews, who’s on the board of Save Porter Ranch, explained that during the blowout, 100,000 tonnes of methane gas spewed out of well SS-25. He said that was enough gas to fill a small bedroom every second and it went on for 10 million seconds. “It filled every house in the Valley with this poisonous gas. Not just Porter Ranch, but Reseda, Calabasas,Van Nuys and Burbank, the whole area contaminated by gas, including gases like mercaptans and radon, and poisons like benzene and hydrogen sulfide.”
He said,“This is not a source of natural gas. This is a place where they temporarily store it in order to make an investment.”
“It was shut down during the blowout. We didn’t have any shortages.”
He said that he had received a text message from Newsom during the campaign in 2018 that said he was going to shut down Aliso.“Governor, it’s time you keep your promise.”
Ruth Luevanos, a Simi Valley City Council member and a teacher in the San Fernando Valley, talked about how Aliso has impacted all of her students, many of whom had lost friends and family to cancer. She said it’s time to hold the CPUC (the California Public Utilities Commission) accountable and it’s time for politicians to stop taking fossil fuel money.
Nagy discussed the many groups represented at the rally, including Save Porter Ranch, the Aliso Moms Alliance, SoCal350, the San Fernando Valley Democrats, Protect Playa Now, and the Westside Clear Air Coalition.
She said “This community behind me is strong” despite the ongoing health issues and trauma. In discussing the path to making SB-1486 a law, she said the first stop is with the state senate Energy, Utilities, and Communications committee, which is chaired by Ben Hueso. She reminded the crowd that he was the same senator who tried to stall SB-57, the Aliso Moratorium bill, in the same committee five years ago. The Appropriations Committee will hear it next before it goes before the full senate for a vote. Then the process switches to the Assembly side, going through similar committees and the full Assembly. The goal is to get it to Governor Newsom’s desk for a signature.
She asked everyone to make sure to sign the petition being circulated and be kept in the loop about actions to take to ensure the bill’s passage. She mentioned that there will be volunteer meetings, opportunities to write letters, and other ways to help the cause.
Here’s the petition to support SB-1486.
This is a sign on letter for organizations to indicate support for SB-1486.
This is the California Legislative Position Letter Portal (make sure to say you mention that you support SB-1486).
The Aliso Moms Alliance has a website which provides more information on how to help.
DISCLAIMER: The writer is a co-founder of the Aliso Moms Alliance and an at-large member of the Aliso Canyon Disaster Health Study Community Advisory Group