Why shouldn’t we store highly-pressurized gas under our homes and communities? (Bad idea!)

Environmental leaders from the Protect Playa Now! coalition issued a statement on January 22 demanding answers and accountability for a methane gas blowout at a well in the Playa del Rey Oil Field, operated by MDR Hotels, LLC and connected to a methane gas storage field operated by SoCalGas. The coalition’s call to action follow an emergency order released by the California State Department of Oil Gas & Geothermal Resources (DOGGR).

We call on our elected officials and regulators to fully investigate this incident and decommission these dangerous wells and infrastructure that are threatening the safety and health of our community! #ShutItALLDown@MayorOfLA @MikeBoninLA @GavinNewsom pic.twitter.com/omuNNMocwS

— Protect Playa Now! (@ProtectPlayaNow) January 23, 2019

By Dan Bacher

Protect Playa Now is a watchdog coalition working to shut down the Playa del Rey gas storage field beneath the Ballona Wetlands and communities along the Los Angeles coast.

The blowout shot liquids and 100,000 cubic feet of natural gas 60 feet into the air for 10 minutes on January 11, according to the emergency order and a report by the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services Hazardous Materials.

The emergency order, dated January 18, indicated that the risk from the blown out well has not been entirely contained. “The well is in a dense urban area on the coast and any such release threatens damage to life, health, property and natural resources,” according to the emergency order.

Alexandra Nagy, Senior Organizer with Food & Water Watch and a leader of Protect Playa Now!, called on elected officials “to investigate the current dangers posed by the blowout and assess the need for relocation orders, health monitoring in nearby residences, a sensible and conservative safety perimeter and rigorous air monitoring to detect methane, and carcinogens know to be in the gas like benzene and formaldehyde. Short term symptoms from exposure to these toxins may include irritation to eyes, skin, lungs and headaches.”

“When the gas blowout occurred at Aliso Canyon, the health risks and seriousness of the event were downplayed by public officials and SoCalGas, the company responsible for the disaster there. Families were not able to make urgent decisions about their health and safety. Once again, residents have not been notified of health risks associated with this week-long emergency in Marina del Rey. Just like the Aliso blowout three years ago, agencies are not monitoring toxins released at Playa del Rey, such as benzene or formaldehyde,” said Nagy.

Robert van de Hoek, President of the Ballona Institute, added, “The public deserves to know what is a safe distance to be driving, living or even walking by. A safety perimeter was supposed to be established within 12 hours of the emergency order, yet, residents who live directly across the street have not even been notified of the blowout. A public elementary school is within walking distance of the site, and it is possible there also are impacts to wildlife in the marina or in the nearby marine reserve lagoon. We will keep asking about these possible dangers until our questions are answered.”

Van de Hoek said the blown out well is surrounded by boat slips, a heavily traveled road and thousands of residents and hotel dwellers. In addition, the blowout is near the City of Los Angeles’ Ballona Lagoon Marine Preserve.

“Environmental leaders are demanding public accountability and notification to all in the area concerning the ongoing blowout and its impacts. They also demand to know if evacuations are planned if the leak continues,” according to the coalition.

According to the emergency order, the blowout was controlled but remains an ongoing emergency risk due to the severe well integrity failure.

“The Aliso Canyon gas blowout was at first reported to last only one week. We now know that the Aliso Canyon blowout lasted for 112 days and displaced an estimated 25,000 people,” the coalition said.

“Three years later, families are still suffering from illnesses due to the Aliso Canyon gas blowout. Government agencies like DOGGR need to learn from experience and put families and public health as a first in the face of toxic releases and ongoing dangers to the community. Our communities deserve to be notified of the risk they face living next to a blown out well,” said Nagy.

“Any emergency filling of the drill hole will cause pressure to build up in nearby wells which are also likely in a fragile state, as it is known that the wells from this former operational oil field were improperly capped in the early part of the last century. Therefore, an immediate halt to injecting new gases into the storage field is called for,” Van de Hoek also warned.

The Playa del Rey gas storage field stores methane that is piped in from Oklahoma and Texas under very high pressure beneath the communities of Playa del Rey, Marina del Rey, Del Rey and parts of Venice, as well as under the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve.

Food & Water Watch champions healthy food and clean water for all. We stand up to corporations that put profits before people, and advocate for a democracy that improves people’s lives and protects our environment.

Protect Playa Now! is a collection of concerned citizens mobilizing to protect Playa del Rey, Playa Vista and the surrounding communities from the threat posed by the SoCalGas Playa del Rey Gas Storage Facility.

Ballona Institute advocates for the preservation of the Greater Ballona Wetlands Ecosystem, provides quality nature-themed education to schools and to the general public about the Los Angeles coastal environment, serves as a library for historical archives and scientific research about the natural resources of southern California, and organizes community in the furtherance of the goals of preservation and restoration of nature.

LINKS:
Emergency order: https://drive.google.com/open…
Cal OES report: https://w3.calema.ca.gov/…/c89a78c29cde267388258386006488dd…