Energy Committee Takes Step Towards Holding SoCalGas Accountable for Dangers at Playa del Rey Facility

For Immediate Release—Oct. 15, 2019
Los Angeles—The City Council Energy Committee today approved a motion by Councilmember Mike Bonin to review the Playa del Rey Gas storage facility's permit to operate after video footage of leaks at the facility surfaced. SoCalGas has been operating this high risk facility, located in the Ballona Wetlands and surrounded by homes and schools, on an outdated city planning permit since 1955. In response Food & Water Action Senior Organizer Walker Foley issued this statement:
“Today the City Council’s Energy Committee took a critical step toward safeguarding Westside residents from a catastrophic gas blowout, just one week before the fourth anniversary of the Aliso Canyon disaster,” said Walker Foley, Senior Organizer for Food & Water Action.
“Families near the Playa del Rey gas storage facility report odors, health symptoms, and there have been multiple incidents at the gas field. It’s clear this facility should not be located in a with the dense urban community and wetland surrounding it. This motion gets us closer to accountability and recognizes just how dangerous this facility is.”
###
Food & Water Action is the political advocacy arm of the research and education organization Food & Water Watch. We mobilize people to build political power to move bold and uncompromised solutions to the most pressing food, water and climate problems of our time.
Contact: Julie Light, [email protected], 510-992-4083