[Supv. Antonovich] – The county of Los Angeles has filed a lawsuit to order Southern California Gas Co. to install sub-surface safety shut-off valves on every gas storage well and underground pipeline it operates in the County, Supervisor Michael D. Antonovich announced Monday.

The disaster at the Aliso Canyon storage facility, which caused the largest natural gas leak in history and forced thousands of families from their homes, could have been prevented by a shut-off valve. The well had previously been equipped with a safety shut-off valve, but it suffered damage in the 1970s and was never repaired or replaced.

The Gas Co. knowingly operated the well without the safety valve, leaving the well vulnerable to catastrophic failure and the residents without adequate protection.

“The Gas Co. has consistently skirted its responsibilities and placed corporate profits before public safety by failing to make reasonable and necessary improvements to its infrastructure,” said Antonovich. “The County’s lawsuit seeks to proactively require the Gas Co. to upgrade its gas wells by installing shut-off valves and other state-of-the-art safety equipment so that another disaster like Aliso Canyon can be prevented.”

“The Board of Supervisors has agreed to move forward with this lawsuit to address not only the Aliso Canyon storage facility, but to expand its focus on gas storage safety county-wide,” said County Counsel Mary Wickham.

The Gas Co. operates more than 200 natural gas wells at four gas storage fields in Los Angeles County. Many of these wells were converted to natural gas storage up to 90 years ago and are subject to corrosion, degrading, leaking, and failure.

“The Board of Supervisors is stepping up to protect the public and ensure that another disaster, like Aliso Canyon or San Bruno, will never happen again,” said Skip Miller, outside counsel.

The lawsuit seeks civil penalties, alleging that the Gas Company’s failure to install shut-off valves is careless and represents an unlawful business practice under state law.