Southern California Gas Co. (SoCalGas) and the Los Angeles City Attorney has reached an agreement to extend the transition period of residents affected by the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak from 48 hours to eight days.
"After listening to the community, SoCalGas and the City Attorney's office have come to an agreement that we both believe is reasonable, and will now provide residents with eight days to return to their homes. The start of the transition period will begin after the DOGGR confirms that the leak has stopped," said Gillian Wright, vice president of customer services for SoCalGas. "We are glad to offer additional time to help make relocated residents' transitions back home smoother."
According to the press release of SoCalGas in PR NewsWire, the company will still honor the terms of leases of residents who chose for longer-term housing and for all residents relocated to apartments or single-family homes. There would be up to $500.00 reimbursement for the moving expense of the residents. Those relocated residents who have special circumstances such as disabilities and functional needs may require additional arrangements, while residents relocated with similar extraordinary circumstances will be dealt accordingly in a case-to-case basis. Affected residents who enrolled their children outside the Porter Ranch area will be given reimbursement of reasonable mileage expenses through the rest of the school year.
The natural gas leak in the Aliso Canyon storage field was discovered by crews of SoCalGas last Oct. 23. Last December, the City Attorney and the Los Angeles Superior Court approved the 48-hour transition period for the residents affected by the leak, but was extended to eight days after the state's Division of Oil, Gas and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) confirmation that the leak has stopped. SoCalGas expects the leak to be stopped by the end of February. For more information and updates about the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak, visit the Aliso Update website.