Methane Pollution from the Oil & Gas Industry

The leak was a wake-up call. Too few people had recognized the tremendous risks of Aliso Canyon —that an aging facility operating under grossly outdated and inadequate standards could wreak havoc on public health and the environment. About 80% of the facility’s wells were built before the 1970s, and Southern California Gas knew they were corroding and failing at an increasing rate. But there were no rules mandating frequent inspections or upgrades. What’s more, government officials didn’t seem sufficiently concerned that the state’s energy supply had become so heavily dependent on Aliso Canyon.

Lawmakers themselves encouraged the Obama administration to create standards in response to the disastrous gas leak in Aliso Canyon. Poor facility design, combined with a lack of monitoring, contributed to the extent of the leak and the time it took to resolve it.

Industry professionals should embrace the recommendations as part of their corporate responsibility as they profit off the Keystone State’s wealth of natural gas. Citizens’ health and safety should always come before corporate profit.

With new rules about methane waste issued earlier this year by the Environmental Protection Agency for private lands (lawsuits are pending, of course) and rules for federal and tribal lands being formulated by the Bureau of Land Management, the cloud of methane could be on its way out. The BLM rules — designed to reduce natural gas waste from “flaring, venting and leaks from oil and gas production” — are scheduled for adoption by November. Adoption before the election is important so a new president cannot reduce regulation necessary to control this pollution.