A state appeals court Wednesday upheld a judge’s decision allowing Porter Ranch-area residents displaced by the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak to remain in temporary housing funding by Southern California Gas Co. until March 18.
The 2nd District Court of Appeal rejected the Gas Co.’s appeal of Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Elihu M. Berle’s decision that allowed residents to remain in the temporary housing for 22 additional days.
Under an agreement reached with the Los Angeles City Attorney’s Office, SoCalGas originally gave residents eight days to return to their homes before the utility cut off funding for hotel rooms. The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors, led by Supervisor Mike Antonovich, sued to have the deadline extended to 30 days.
Antonovich said the extended time was needed to provide assurances that the air has cleared and there is no lingering health risk from the leak, which began Oct. 23 and was capped Feb. 18. He said the 30-day time period was based on the opinions of county health officials.
Gas Co. attorneys argued, however, that the county’s own health experts had declared there was no long-term health risk from the leak, and that any short-term health effects would dissipate now that the leak has been capped.
The Gas Co. also noted that it was costing the company as much as $2 million a day to house roughly 3,400 displaced residents.
Officials with the utility said today the company is “disappointed” by the appeals court decision “because it conflicts with independent scientific analysis and creates further uncertainty for the community.”
But the company will “continue to comply with the decision to provide continued relocation for those who choose to stay relocated.”
In a statement, Gas Co. officials insisted, however, that extensive testing by health and air quality experts — “including the county” — show that the air in Porter Ranch “is safe and has returned to normal.”
“The fact is, the majority of residents never left Porter Ranch and many others who checked out of hotels last week have returned home. For those who still have concerns, we hope the county Health Department demonstrates that they share our goal of helping families return to their homes by completing its indoor air sampling program as quickly as possible.”
–City News Service