Updated November 21, 2024 with additional information.

In 2015, the Aliso Canyon Gas Storage Facility unleashed the biggest methane leak in U.S. history. The facility spewed this potent climate pollutant, as well as other toxic chemicals, into the San Fernando and Simi Valleys for months. 

Though Governor Gavin Newsom has repeatedly committed to shutting down this dangerous facility, he and his appointees on the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) have greenlit expansions in recent years. 

Most recently, the CPUC has released a preliminary decisionthat would allow Aliso to stay open indefinitely. This is unacceptable. Newsom and the CPUC must establish a plan to close Aliso by 2027, now.

Aliso Still Endangers Families and Towns Years Later

The Aliso Canyon blowout released 100,000 tons of methane and toxic chemicals, including heavy metals like mercury and lead and cancer-causing benzene. This disaster forced thousands of families to evacuate and the leak took four months to be sealed. Nearby communities are still suffering the fallout. Those who had to return to their homes suffered asthma attacks, sore throats, bloody noses, nausea, and more. 

Dr. Issam Najm is the former president of the Neighborhood Council of Porter Ranch, one of the communities most affected by the blowout. In August, he said: “As a professor of environmental engineering and a resident of Porter Ranch, I know that the continued operation of Aliso Canyon is a danger to the environment and a threat to public health, especially young children because of the toxic chemicals it emits into the environment every day it operates.”

Recently, researchers at the University of California (Los Angeles) found that pregnant women living near Aliso during and after the blowout had a higher chance of having premature or low-weight babies. The university is continuing to research the facility’s long-term health impacts.

Aliso Canyon showed the inherent, toxic risks of gas storage. Los Angeles families cannot afford yet another disaster. Everyone deserves to live in safe communities, free from the fear of fossil-fueled crises that could harm them for months, even years later. 

Newsom and the CPUC Must Shut Down Aliso Canyon

In 2018, Governor Gavin Newsom committed to shutting down Aliso on the campaign trail. He later told impacted community members it should be shut down on an even faster timeline. Years later, however, he has yet to follow through. 

In fact, his hand-picked appointees on the CPUC have approved expansions to Aliso’s storage multiple times. The CPUC allowed the facility to boost its capacity by 3000% compared to what it stored during the previous Governor’s administration.

In August, our sibling organization Food & Water Watch joined frontline communities and 150 groups to demand that Newsom announce a shutdown before a CPUC meeting on September 26. That deadline has come and passed with no action. The CPUC instead extended a deadline to vote on a plan to December 19.

In the lead-up to the meeting, the CPUC released a preliminary decision with a new proposal for Aliso that contradicts Newsom’s promise and puts nearby residents in continued danger. Rather than setting any concrete date for its closure, it outlines a review process to revisit the question of Aliso’s closure every two years.

This plan opens the possibility of Aliso running indefinitely. The governor must move his appointees on the CPUC to reject this plan when they vote on December 19 and commit to a 2027 shutdown.

Jane Fowler of Aliso Moms Alliance moved out of her community to escape health issues in the wake of the blowout. Upon the announcement of CPUC’s plan, she said: “I was one of the residents who personally spoke with the Governor – he promised me that he would close down Aliso Canyon. Where is he in all of this? He wants to talk about climate, and here is an excellent opportunity to actually prove his commitment. Governor Newsom must keep his promise to my community so I can come home.”

Energy utility SoCalGas, which owns Aliso, has pushed a false narrative that the facility is key to the region’s energy security and lower power prices. In reality, the state’s energy system adapted to work without Aliso for two years, without a single blackout or supply shortage. Moreover, SoCalGas has pushed up prices by buying gas on the market instead of drawing from reserves. SoCalGas is chasing profits, not defending California’s energy.

Meanwhile, whenever Aliso Canyon ramps up activities and withdrawals, its neighbors experience an uptick in symptoms like those during the blowout. In 2016, the facility was still seeing two leaks per day. Years later, members of the community are still seeing health impacts.

The truth is, we do not need Aliso. Keeping it open and expanding it will invite more fracked gas, more pollution, greater risk of disaster, and more harm to its neighbors in the LA region. CPUC and Newsom must commit to shutting it down.