Dive Brief:

• Southern California Gas Co. will pay $4.3 million under a settlement reached this week with the District Attorney's Office for Los Angeles County, related to the gas leak discovered last year at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility, the New York Times reports. 
• The gas company will plead no contest to one misdemeanor violation of health and safety codes for failing to report the leak immediately to the state and county emergency services.
• The leak was discovered last year, when storage operators noted the Aliso Canyon facility was only about 20% full. The leak ultimately forced the evacuation of nearly 6,000 residents.

Dive Insight:

SoCalGas will pay $4.3 million for the Aliso Canyon leak including more than $300,000 in fines and penalties. But some say the fine is too small, and will not make the facility safer. “No fine can make SoCalGas’ aging Aliso Canyon storage facility safe,” Food & Water Watch senior organizer Alexandra Naga told the Times.

Company officials, however, say they are working to regain community trust.

"Aliso Canyon is critical to the reliability of natural gas and electricity services in Southern California. We are diligently working with state officials to complete a comprehensive safety review of the facility and are committed to providing safe and reliable energy to the millions of Californians who rely on us each day," the company said in a statement. The settlement, in addition to fines, calls for implementation of some operational enhancements, including updated notification, monitoring and training procedures. 

The impact of the Aliso Canyon has been significant. Earlier this month, the U.S. Energy Information Administration published an analysis of California's energy mix this summer, noting gas generation was off about 20% during June, July and August. Power imports and carbon-free sources have since made up the shortfall.

The Aliso Canyon facility can store up to 86 billion cubic feet (Bcf) gas, and it took SoCal Gas almost four months to plug the leak. When the issue was finally resolved, Aliso Canyon was down to 15 Bcf of gas, and the state halted further injections.