Suffocated

What if, while going through your normal day, an invisible silent predator began suffocating you and your family? What if just the simple act of breathing was slowly killing you? What if you were sent fleeing from the safety of your home, forcing you out for months just to escape this predator? What would you do?
This is not a game of what if for my family and 8,000 other people living in the Northern San Fernando Valley of Southern California. This is our reality, and has been since October 25, 2015, when we fell prey to the largest natural gas blowout in U.S. history.
On that beautiful fall day, we were notified of a gas leak by the Southern California Gas Company regarding their Aliso Canyon Storage Facility. They finally had to report the leak, which had been going on for some time. They tried to reassure the community that there was no risk of harm to us, but we knew better because we had already began feeling the effects of the methane leak.
We will fight until our homes and the community we live in are safe again.
Bloody noses, headaches, and respiratory issues were only the beginning to the hell that would become our lives. We were being suffocated by an invisible predator, that was leaking 1,200 tons of methane gas each day from an underground well at the storage facility, they couldn’t stop.

In December 2015, the Los Angeles County Health department ordered SoCal Gas to pay for the relocation of all the families affected by the gas blowout. People, along with entire elementary schools, were relocated. It was a slow process that angered so many of us. As if it wasn’t bad enough to have to leave our home, the reimbursements that were promised to us for food, lodging, and mileage were not coming. My family couldn’t receive our reimbursements until we moved back home.
It took until the end of February 2016 before the company could cap the leak. The community was wary still. The gas company had lied so many times already, but we really didn’t have a choice because we were all forced to return home by the end of the month.
Within fifteen minutes of returning home, we all began to feel sick again. The problem they said was fixed obviously wasn’t. To this day, symptoms haven’t subsided and health concerns have grown. Many are now suffering with chronic health problems and, worst of all, dying from cancers directly related to the poisonous chemicals we have been breathing in for nearly two years.
Save Porter Ranch led by Matt Pakucko and local community members have protested diligently. They have called and emailed state officials, including Governor Jerry Brown, in hopes of getting them to take action. With Jerry Brown being an advocate of clean air, the community hoped it would have his support. That didn’t happen, and we found out why. Governor Jerry Brown’s sister, Kathleen Brown, sits as a paid board member of Sempra Energy, which is the parent company of SoCal Gas. Coincidence? I think not.

It feels as though with each step we take forward, we are pushed ten steps back. Most recently, when state regulators approved the reopening of the storage facility since the blowout in October of 2015. Although our health risks are a big concern, there are concerns beyond this.
With California being known for its many fault lines, the fear of an earthquake rupturing one of the hundreds of wells is a real one. In fact, a former manager of SoCal Gas came forward with documentation of the risk dated back to as early as 2009, which the gas company failed to report to state regulators. The risk of catastrophic loss of life hasn’t seemed to phase the state regulators.
Los Angeles County filed a restraining order to prevent the reopening of the storage facility. According to the Washington Post, “Lawyers for the county had asked Superior Court Judge John Wiley to stop Southern California Gas Co. from restarting operations at Aliso Canyon because of earthquake risks. The judge tentatively ruled against the county , according to court filings made public before a hearing. He made the ruling final during the hearing.”
With the fear of earthquakes and the health issues so many residents are facing, you would think it would be a no-brainer to keep the facility closed until further studies can be done, but Wiley stated, “state laws prevent the court from overruling an order by the California Public Utilities Commission.”
We as a community will continue to rally to have the storage facility permanently shut down. We will fight until our homes and the community we live in are safe again. Governor Jerry Brown needs to put his responsibilities to the state before his sister’s need to fill her pocketbook. This isn’t over by a long shot.

