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The Dirty Side of “Green” Hydrogen by Jasmin Vargas and Mia DiFelice Oct 24, 2022  The City of Angels is abuzz with what proponents hail as the new frontier of clean energy: hydrogen. This year the region’s utility, SoCalGas, unveiled plans to develop green hydrogen pipelines attached to a regional hydrogen hub.
Los Angeles is only one city of many that have announced their intentions to build hydrogen infrastructure. The buzz comes after the Biden Administration announced an avalanche of cash to develop it; notably, through the recently passed Inflation Reduction Act. The industry depicts hydrogen as a miracle power source that will help us fight climate change while keeping the lights on. However, it hasn’t mentioned the massive obstacles ahead, nor their costs to us. But we know a pivot to hydrogen stands to harm vulnerable communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis, while siphoning resources from proven climate technologies. Green Hydrogen Isn’t So GreenCompanies like SoCalGas insist that their hydrogen will be clean, but that’s a lofty promise to make when currently 95% of hydrogen energy comes from fracked gas. The other 5%, called “green” hydrogen, comes from splitting water molecules with electricity from renewable energy. But even if industry could produce “green” hydrogen at scale, it would still be wasteful and inefficient. Compared to renewable-powered batteries, which are 80% efficient, hydrogen fuel cells are only 30%. That makes hydrogen far more expensive than renewable-based electric power. What’s more, hydrogen is a thirsty power source. Throughout its life cycle, each megawatt-hour of “green” hydrogen consumes at least 5,000 liters of water. Compare that to solar, which uses 20 liters per MWh, or wind, which uses just 1 liter per MWh. Climate change already threatens our water supplies. L.A. and the rest of California is in the midst of a megadrought. A huge hydrogen buildout will only make things worse. We can’t even be sure that “green” hydrogen will actually create no emissions. Hydrogen is a very small molecule, making it more likely than methane to leak. But if it does, we are in trouble. Hydrogen molecules have a global warming potential 11 times greater than carbon dioxide. Moreover, SoCalGas, the utility behind L.A.’s hydrogen plans, has a scary track record when it comes to leaks. In 2015, it subjected L.A. to the largest methane leak in U.S. history. The utility’s Aliso Canyon storage facility leaked for 100 days. SoCalGas failed to monitor the facility properly or immediately report the leak to officials, leading to the evacuation of thousands of residents. Now consider this: hydrogen leaks are even less regulated than methane leaks. Green Hydrogen Risks Dangers in Our Homes and BackyardsHydrogen poses other health and safety risks to communities. It’s volatile and flammable, even more so than fracked gas. Hydrogen pipelines have already caused explosions, posing major dangers to communities near that infrastructure. Moreover, hydrogen is currently stored as ammonia, a hazardous chemical that can cause death in high concentrations. Public health risks go beyond pipelines and facilities and into homes. Utilities have proposed blending hydrogen with methane in power plants and utility lines to burn for home heating. Not only is this wildly inefficient compared to electric heating — burning hydrogen can lead to nitrogen oxide pollution six times greater than burning fracked gas. Such pollution is an ingredient for particulate matter and ozone, which cause respiratory illnesses that already plague frontline communities. These communities, disproportionately home to people of color, have been sacrifice zones for decades of industrial activity. Hydrogen will only entrench this environmental racism. Dirty Energy Companies Hide Behind Green HydrogenIt’s no coincidence that some of the dirtiest polluters are heavily investing in “green” hydrogen. Too often, they use these projects to greenwash the expansion of pipelines or power plants. There’s no way we can take these companies seriously when they say they’re fighting climate change. Dirty energy utilities have hidden the dangers of climate change for decades. SoCalGas even spent ratepayer funds to lobby against climate action. And utilities are widely stalling on their climate promises: all talk, no walk. We can’t trust companies like SoCalGas with our clean energy future. If allowed, they’ll gobble up our tax dollars through hydrogen subsidies and raise rates to help cover the expensive projects, too. Green Hydrogen: Coming to a City Near YouIn May, Los Angeles began applying for hydrogen hub funding from the U.S. Department of Energy. The City Council’s motion to authorize the applications initially included guardrails to ensure hydrogen infrastructure wouldn’t support dirty energy. However, these guardrails disappeared before the motions was even introduced. As our senior organizer Jasmin Vargas warned: “Hydrogen is being used by fossil fuel interests to maintain their dangerous pipeline and energy infrastructure.” In New York, construction on a “green” hydrogen plant has already broken ground. Huge hydrogen projects are heading for Texas, Louisiana, Florida and beyond. We can’t let hydrogen continue to grow. Instead, we should be investing in community-driven solutions and shutting down this dirty infrastructure in a just transition to 100% clean energy. We Know How To Fight Climate Change. We Don’t Need “Green” Hydrogen to Do It.Hydrogen power may make sense for a few niche uses, but using it for power is a non-starter. We are facing a massive buildout that aims to make hydrogen a major U.S. power source. That buildout means sprawling new facilities and pipelines — and more of the community sacrifice zones that always follow. These projects are multi-billion-dollar distractions from the clean energy deployment we’ve been calling on for decades. We know that demand response, energy efficiency, and wind, solar, and geothermal electrification will fight climate change. Not only will they do so more cheaply, more efficiently, and with far less public health risks — they will create thousands of new clean energy and climate jobs. The truth is, the climate crisis is here, and dirty energy companies want to make billions pretending to be part of the solution. We can’t let this happen. We must fight for a 100% renewable energy transition, in which no one gets left behind. Events Webinar: Stop Hydrogen in Los Angeles Here in Los Angeles, companies like SoCalGas are claiming that hydrogen is the new frontier of clean energy while conveniently leaving out the steep cost it poses to ratepayers, frontline communities, and our climate. Click here to sign up - Dec 1st, Wednesday 6:30-8pm Updates and Actions Scattergood Hydrogen Vote - The Scattergood Hydrogen Retrofit vote is heading to the ECCERJ committee at city council yet again on Thursday, Dec. 1 at 10:15am. This ordinance approves LADWP's $800 million dollar proposal of hydrogen modernization at Scattergood without any public input. Join us in calling the members of the Energy Committee. Call these council members today and tomorrow: Council President Paul Krekorian (213) 473-7002 Paul Koretz (213) 473-7005 Mitch O'Farrell (213) 473-7013 *Also, please call your own council members as well. If the motion happens to pass in committee, we need to be proactive and start mounting pressure against hydrogen in LA. Call script to committee members: "Hello, my name is _____ and I live in _____. I'm calling to urge Council Member ____ to hold off on moving forward with Item 15 of this week's ECCERJ committee meeting which would allow for a hydrogen retrofit of the Scattergood gas plant. There is not sufficient research done by LADWP on the environmental and health impacts of hydrogen, and we cannot risk an $800 million dollar investment that would build out infrastructure that our council members and communities don't know enough about and could endanger public health. The council needs to connect with committees, especially those neighboring the facility." Plans to Move Gas Line - It’s EMERGENCY time. As you know, the State of California, along with some of its private partners, including SoCalGas, have been planning what they call a Ballona Wetlands “restoration” for more than a decade. The longer their planning drags out, and the more questions asked by the public, the more we learn that this is - at least in part - an effort to help SoCalGas continue operating a very dangerous, toxic methane gas storage facility in, under and around the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve. There are numerous lawsuits challenging the CA Department of Fish & Wildlife’s certification of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR.). While those lawsuits are winding their way through the Courts, there appears to be some urgency in the bulldozer and construction crews in wanting to get things started despite the legal challenges. We’ve learned - through allies providing some public records to us - that the State is now planning on moving forward FAST with an effort to obtain permits for what the State is calling “Sequence #1 & #2” which is essentially obliterating functioning and historical habitat, including meandering sloughs, non-tidal pickleweed and rain-fed wetlands. At a secret meeting in July (the public was not invited, and only CERTAIN agency officials were present) where 5 (FIVE!) SoCalGas officials were present, the plans were rolled out. Including - as you can see from the images - “relocation” of an important gas pipeline. Your voice is going to be needed in the coming months. Stay tuned, and please show up for meetings, sometimes virtual - and be ready to make calls and send in letters to decision-makers. LA City Oil & Gas Setback - The LA City Council Planning and Land Use Management Committee voted to move forward the ordinance to phase out oil drilling in Los Angeles. Click here to see their statement. California Oil & Gas Setback - Right now, the oil industry is spending millions to try to crush SB1137, a law that protects Californians from oil drilling pollution by preventing new drilling in neighborhoods. They’re paying for an army of petitioners to sit outside gas stations and grocery stores across the state, gathering signatures for a referendum to overturn SB1137 and the vital protections it provides. Petitioners are armed with a slew of oil industry misinformation to trick voters into signing. They claim that SB1137 will drive up gas prices and lead to a complete energy shut down so they can intimidate hard working Californians struggling to pay at the pump. They have even been caught saying that the petition is to END neighborhood drilling–an outright lie to steal signatures from Californians who believe in common sense public health policy. While their lies are fake, the damage from building more oil wells near our communities is very real. Industrial oil operations take place just feet from homes, schools and hospitals, increasing community risks of asthma, birth defects and cancer. More than 2 million people live within the 3,200 feet setback zone of an operational oil well, and California is one of the last oil producing states in the nation to allow drilling in neighborhoods. STOP THE SCAM! 1. Do Not Sign the Petition! Lying to voters is the only way oil companies can secure the signatures they need before the deadline on December 15, 2022. Their petition will NOT lower gas prices or end neighborhood drilling. 2. Catch Them Lying & Report It Misrepresenting the truth to collect signatures is a criminal violation. CA’s Secretary of State is already investigating Big Oil’s sneaky tactics and is following up on all credible reports.
If you did sign, there is still time to withdraw your signature by sending your local elections official a letter containing the following:
4. Share Your Story If you’ve been lied to by petitioners, media outlets want to hear your story.
Editorial: Careful what you sign. Petitions aren’t always what they seem - LA Times, November 4, 2022 Fossil fuel campaigns subvert democracy by undoing California drilling laws - CalMatters Commentary, November 3, 2022 PSA: Do Not Sign This Oil Drilling Referendum - Knock-LA, October 24, 2022 Editorial: Oil drillers want to overturn California’s new health protections. Don’t let them - LA Times, October 20, 2022 Calls to Action
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Protect Playa Now's Statement on the Racist Leaked Recording of Councilpersons Martinez, De León, and Cedillo Reported by LA Times and Knock-LA Protect Playa Now wants to send support and love to Councilperson Mike Bonin and his family. Thank you for being a strong climate and environmental justice leader in our city. We hope your family heals and are sorry for the pain you have all suffered. As an environmental justice coalition, we know that the fair treatment and meaningful involvement of all people regardless of race, color, national origin, or income is essential to a just, healthy, and sustainable future. The horrible conversation in the leaked recording reported by the LA Times and Knock-LA, was not only disparaging and disrespectful to Councilperson Mike Bonin and his family but to the Black, Oaxacan, Jewish, and LGBTQ+ communities. These kinds of racist comments and actions make it impossible to have a just, healthy and sustainable future in the City of Los Angeles. Racism in our leaders, gerrymandering, and backroom deals cannot be allowed. Kevin De León, and Gill Cedillo need to follow Nury Martinez in resigning from the city council. With how casual this conversation was, it is hard to believe this is an isolated incident. The council system needs to be investigated and held accountable. We need this to be addressed at the systemic level to ensure other meetings of this nature never occur again. Updates and Actions Plans to Move Gas Line - It’s EMERGENCY time. As you know, the State of California, along with some of its private partners, including SoCalGas, have been planning what they call a Ballona Wetlands “restoration” for more than a decade. The longer their planning drags out, and the more questions asked by the public, the more we learn that this is - at least in part - an effort to help SoCalGas continue operating a very dangerous, toxic methane gas storage facility in, under and around the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve. There are numerous lawsuits challenging the CA Department of Fish & Wildlife’s certification of an Environmental Impact Report (EIR.). While those lawsuits are winding their way through the Courts, there appears to be some urgency in the bulldozer and construction crews in wanting to get things started despite the legal challenges. We’ve learned - through allies providing some public records to us - that the State is now planning on moving forward FAST with an effort to obtain permits for what the State is calling “Sequence #1 & #2” which is essentially obliterating functioning and historical habitat, including meandering sloughs, non-tidal pickleweed and rain-fed wetlands. At a secret meeting in July (the public was not invited, and only CERTAIN agency officials were present) where 5 (FIVE!) SoCalGas officials were present, the plans were rolled out. Including - as you can see from the images - “relocation” of an important gas pipeline. Your voice is going to be needed in the coming months. Stay tuned, and please show up for meetings, sometimes virtual - and be ready to make calls and send in letters to decision-makers. READ MORE ON OUR  Calls to Action
SB 1137 Passed the Senate! VISION Press Release Aug. 31st, 2022  3,200ft Setbacks on New and Existing Wells passes through the Legislature! Environmental justice groups applaud SB 1137 to enact health and safety buffer zones for oil and gas wells.
Senators voted 25-10 in a decisive victory to advance SB 1137 (Gonzalez, Limon) to the Governor’s desk. When signed by Governor Newsom before the September 30th deadline, SB 1137 will prevent new permits for oil and gas drilling within a 3,200ft comprehensive health and safety zone. The bill also will create a pathway to an end of existing drilling in the setback zone by prohibiting operators from seeking rework permits and through a broad set of engineering and pollution controls. This decisive legislative victory for oil and gas buffer zones comes three years after a broad coalition of environmental justice, public health, labor, youth and environmental organizations first launched an effort to pass statewide setbacks policy. Governor Newsom, who has publicly championed a phaseout timeline for oil extraction in California, introduced the setbacks bill as part of a late-session set of Climate Pillars. A regulatory effort to achieve setbacks had stalled for years in the state oil and gas regulatory agency, CalGEM, even after residents from across California submitted over 80,000 public comments to the state agency in support of health and safety setbacks. Updates and Actions Oil & Gas Setback LA City - The City Council unanimously voted this January directing the City Planning Department to draft an ordinance to phase out oil drilling. There is a Planning Commission hearing that is tentatively scheduled for the 22nd. STAND-LA is encouraging supporters to echo these key points:
Council Members To Call:
Los Angeles Global Climate Strike Youth Climate Strike LA is hosting LA’s Global Climate Strike here on September 23rd. YCS demands that elected officials stop using the climate crisis as a talking point and commit to transparency and accountability in fighting the crisis. There will be speakers, music, art and a march. Meet at City Hall. RSVP Here - Sept. 23rd, Friday 12pm “Green” Hydrogen Motion Introduced at LA City Council Despite Environmental and Justice Concerns Food & Water Watch Press Release in March  L.A. City Councilmembers Nury Martinez, Mitch O’Farrell, and Joe Buscaino introduced a motion to authorize the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power (LADWP) and the L.A. Ports to apply for federal funding to make Los Angeles a regional “green” hydrogen hub. An initial draft of the motion shared with Food & Water Watch included guardrails to ensure hydrogen production would not perpetuate or support dirty energy systems like natural gas or factory farm gas, but these were stripped from the motion ahead of its introduction.
Without these provisions, utilities could easily use hydrogen development to perpetuate and prop up fossil fuel power plants in Los Angeles that would otherwise retire with the transition to clean energy. This is a key flaw of any hydrogen development project. Burning hydrogen (whether in a power plant or people’s homes) can produce six times more nitrous oxides than burning methane. This harmful pollutant can cause respiratory illness and is a key pollutant in the formation of smog. LADWP has expressed interest in retrofitting the Haynes, Scattergood, Harbor and Valley natural gas plants to burn hydrogen gas despite fervent community concern that this will increase environmental pollution in overburdened communities. “Without important guardrails, even green hydrogen will be a smokescreen for fossil fuel development in the guise of clean energy,” Food & Water Watch Los Angeles Senior Organizer Jasmin Vargas said in response to today’s motion. “Hydrogen is being used by fossil fuel interests to maintain their dangerous pipeline and energy infrastructure, propping up a system of dirty fossil fuels like fracked gas. Climate justice advocates have made it crystal clear that hydrogen does not belong at L.A.’s power plants and hydrogen with no safeguards against fossil fuel development or biofuels is unacceptable. This motion is a betrayal of Los Angeles communities who deserve equitable, accessible energy solutions and not costly, energy-intensive, water-intensive scams like this “green” hydrogen proposal.” The motion also fails to address hydrogen’s intensive water usage in a drought identified as the worst in 1,200 years. “Green” hydrogen utilizes electrolysis to break water molecules apart, requiring 9 kg of water per every 1 kg of hydrogen produced. California is already a home for water-heavy industries, including factory farms, industrial agriculture and fossil fuel extraction, and the state’s water supply is dwindling. Investor-owned utility giant SoCalGas recently announced its intention to begin the “Angeles Link Project,” an initiative building out “green” hydrogen to power the Los Angeles Basin. SoCalGas has also promised to mix hydrogen with natural gas in its forthcoming H2 Hydrogen Home in Downey, drawing fierce criticism from environmental advocates who point to the move as another opportunity for the utility to expand gas infrastructure at Aliso Canyon, Playa Del Rey and Ventura. Bloomberg Article on Hydrogen ‘Hydrogen Is Every U.S. Gas Utility’s Favorite Future Savior’ Updates and Actions California Senate Bill 1486 - In an eleventh hour reversal, the California Senate Appropriations Committee passed SB 1486, the bill to close SoCalGas’ Aliso Canyon storage facility, after they saddled it with numerous amendments gutting the bill’s efficacy. Among the bill’s casualties are the 2027 shutdown timeline and any language creating a moratorium on Aliso Canyon’s use as anything other than a last resort. Climate activists immediately slammed the amendments. Press: Daily Kos, KCET, Food & Water Watch Calls to Actions
We Need to Stop the Next Explosion or Methane Blowout on LA's Westside By Faith Myhra  In 2015, I was horrified to see how comfortable SoCalGas was being negligent to folks in the North San Fernando Valley. This community was the home of the largest gas blowout in U.S. history. I later learned that SoCalGas had an even older gas facility in my community sitting on the Ballona Wetlands surrounded by residents in West LA.
SoCal Gas has owned the Playa del Rey gas storage facility since 1953 and the facility has a dangerous history. Since 2003, the surrounding area has experienced oily “mist”, a vent stack explosion, and an oil well blowing open. Since 2007, it has been discovered that gas water has been seeping into the water table, that there is a connection between their gas injections and the leaks, and that the facility has had “massive regulatory failures”. On January 11th, 2019 an oil well on a construction site in Marina del Rey blew open, sending natural gas about 100 feet in the air surrounding a heavily populated area next to the marina. The well was capped after a reported 10 minutes, but not before an estimated 100,000 cubic feet of natural gas was released. Los Angeles has the most polluted air in the nation and, beyond climate pollutants, natural gas storage facilities are major emitters of nitrogen oxides which contribute to ground-level ozone, acid rain, and smog. Exposure to nitrogen oxides is linked to respiratory irritation and infection, it can cause or worsen bronchitis, emphysema and existing heart disease, as well as cause labored breathing, and reduce life expectancy. The California Council on Science and Technology (CCST) reported in 2018 that Playa del Rey is one of the highest risk gas storage facilities in California due to its proximity to homes, businesses, schools and LAX. It also found the facility is at risk for fire, chemical explosions, earthquakes, floods and tsunamis. The facility is surrounded by fault lines, some within 2 miles. In addition to threatening the nearby ecological reserve, The Playa del Rey facility has around half a million people living within 5 miles of it (the radius in which Aliso Canyon victims were evacuated from), and it represents only 1% of the gas storage in California. This facility is a disaster waiting to happen. SoCalGas has had 68 years to do right by our communities, proving time and time again that they are not capable of being good neighbors. The cities of Los Angeles, Culver City and Santa Monica, as well as Los Angeles County have called on the Governor to develop a timeline and plan for closing down the Playa facility. The recent IPCC report found that strong, rapid and sustained reductions in methane emissions are needed to keep a 1.5C warming limit within reach. At the Cop 26, two dozen additional countries have signed up for a global methane pledge vowing to cut emissions of methane 30 percent by 2030. Climate chaos demands immediate and significant investment in clean, renewable energy in order for California to achieve 100 percent renewable energy and zero emissions by 2045. It is time for Governor Newsom to act like a real climate leader and close these dangerous facilities down, stop any expansions, and hold the CPUC accountable to Californian's whom they are supposed to protect. Click below for calls to action! And if you smell gas, call 1-800-CUT-SMOG or 1-800-288-7664. Updates and Actions California Senate Bill 1423 - We support Senator Stern's California bill to close the loophole for Oil and Gas in the Coastal Act. This bill passed through the State Sen Natural Resources and Water Committee and it just passed unanimously through the Sen Appropriations Committee. California Senate Bill 1486 - We support Senator Stern's California bill to shut down Aliso Canyon. We Thank Senator Allen for Co-Authoring the bill. We need to send a loud message from Los Angeles to Sacramento: we demand a deadline to close Aliso Canyon! Governor Newsom must keep his promise and ensure this dangerous facility is closed. Without Newsom's leadership, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will continue to backslide on this goal and let SoCalGas off the hook! Senator Stern's bill will 1) put a moratorium on the use of Aliso Canyon returning it to an asset of last resort and 2) require the CPUC shut down Aliso Canyon by 2027. 3) Would prohibit additional use of the Playa del Rey natural gas storage facility as a result of a moratorium on natural gas operations at, or the closure of, the Aliso Canyon facility. This bill will have its 2nd Hearing which will be heard in the State Sen Appropriations Committee on May 16th, Monday at 10am. We will also be making calls to key legislators on the Appropriations Committee on Thursday, May 12th to urge the following senators to vote YES on SB 1486; Anthony J. Portantino (Chair), Steven Bradford, Sydney Kamlager, John Laird, and Bob Wieckowski. Gas Infrastructure in the Ballona Wetlands Restoration Request for Qualifications - California Department of Fish & Wildlife released a notice that states they plan on starting permitting and design procedures for a 60-acre portion of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve as part of their overall industrial alteration of this fragile marshland ecosystem. There is no rationale stated as to why this particular parcel of land, very close to the SoCalGas Tank Farm, has been selected, but they did include information that the project would involve: “removing and relocating an existing gas line.” So much for the State and the allies of this proposed project continuing to claim that this construction project masquerading as a “restoration” has “nothing to do with the gas storage facility.” We’ve reviewed the background documents, and this latest announcement underscores what we’ve known all along. Click here to sign up to be kept informed of actions needed to stop the installation of new fossil fuel infrastructure through this questionable publicly-funded guise of a “restoration.” Calls to Action
OUR FIRST ISSUE! This is our first issue of the Protect Playa Now Newsletter. We hope this newsletter ignites a fire in you that is not fueled by the burning of methane gas but by the love of our community and its renewable future.
On April 8th we joined Last Chance Alliance and communities from across CA, calling on Governor Newsom to fight Big Oil’s greed today. From Los Angeles to the Bay Area banners were dropped. We demand the governor stay true to his word and ‘Stop SoCalGas’, ‘No New Fossil Fuels’, and ‘End Neighborhood Drilling’.
Updates and Actions California Senate Bill 1423 - We support Senator Stern's California bill to close the loophole for Oil and Gas in the Coastal Act. This bill just passed through the State Sen Natural Resources and Water Committee. The next stop is the Sen Appropriations Committee. California Senate Bill 1486 - We support Senator Stern's California bill to shut down Aliso Canyon. We Thank Senator Allen for Co-Authoring the bill. We need to send a loud message from Los Angeles to Sacramento: we demand a deadline to close Aliso Canyon! Governor Newsom must keep his promise and ensure this dangerous facility is closed. Without Newsom's leadership, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC) will continue to backslide on this goal and let SoCalGas off the hook! Senator Stern's bill will 1) put a moratorium on the use of Aliso Canyon returning it to an asset of last resort and 2) require the CPUC shut down Aliso Canyon by 2027. 3) Would prohibit additional use of the Playa del Rey natural gas storage facility as a result of a moratorium on natural gas operations at, or the closure of, the Aliso Canyon facility. This bill will have its 1st Hearing which will be heard in the State Sen Natural Resources and Water Committee on April 25th, Tuesday at 9am. Gas Infrastructure in the Ballona Wetlands Restoration Request for Qualifications - California Department of Fish & Wildlife released a notice that states they plan on starting permitting and design procedures for a 60-acre portion of the Ballona Wetlands Ecological Reserve as part of their overall industrial alteration of this fragile marshland ecosystem. There is no rationale stated as to why this particular parcel of land, very close to the SoCalGas Tank Farm, has been selected, but they did include information that the project would involve: “removing and relocating an existing gas line.” So much for the State and the allies of this proposed project continuing to claim that this construction project masquerading as a “restoration” has “nothing to do with the gas storage facility.” We’ve reviewed the background documents, and this latest announcement underscores what we’ve known all along. Click here to sign up to be kept informed of actions needed to stop the installation of new fossil fuel infrastructure through this questionable publicly-funded guise of a “restoration.” Calls to Action
The LA County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to send a formal letter to the Governor at there January 7th meeting with two asks. First to fast track the shut down of Aliso Canyon, the SoCal Gas storage facility and site of the largest methane gas leak in U.S. history in which tens of thousands of Angelenos were poisoned by toxic chemicals and forced to flee there homes for months. Second, at the urging of County Supervisor Janice Hahn, the board included the request for a feasibility study to look at shutting down the PdR facility as well. Aliso Canyon unequivocally showed the grave threat these facilities pose to the public. The PdR facility's location with at least 500,000 ppl living within 5 miles and LAX's boundary only a mile from the facility, creates a massive risk to Los Angeles. A blowout at PdR has the potential to dwarf the horrors that played out at Aliso Canyon. Therefore, it is great to see local elected officials begin to take this threat seriously and begin standing up for the public over SoCal Gas' profits. Of course SoCal Gas still has it defenders. Chief among them Cyndi Hench former president of PdR/Westchester Neighborhood Council and a longtime apologist for SoCal Gas. Hench was quoted in a recent Argonaut article using the same tired talking points of gas shortages despite the fact countless municipalities manage fine without storing these toxins in there communities including San Diego, CA. It also ignores the fact our city operated for nearly 2 years without Aliso Canyon, a facility 12 times the size of PdR. If LA could survive without the largest it certainly can survive without the smallest. This is an old threat SoCal Gas uses to scare local politicians into bowing to their will and fight any attempts to move away from gas. She then goes on to make an odd pivot arguing since the geology in the area is well suited for gas storage we must store gas there. I fail to understand the logic that just because something can be done there it must be done there. The only reason the PdR facility is there is not to provide the community with natural gas, it is to provide the large industrial customers like Chevron and SoCal Edison cheap gas so they can continue to exacerbate the climate crisis. An LMU* professor also weighed in using the "bridge fuel" argument. This argument would hold more weight if in concert there was an argument to nationalize the this fossil fuel infrastructure. Otherwise it is just another SoCal Gas talking point to hinder any progress away from a fossil fuel economy. As long as SoCal Gas has a profit motive they will never stop advocating or scaring Los Angeles into maintaining these facilities. Further, they will also always be able to find ways to either manipulate or trick other members of the community to spew these talking points for them. Our government leaders need to stand up to these powerful interests and move us forward to cleaner energy future. *LMU has received financial donations from SoCal Gas in the past  On Feb. 12 Mayor Garcetti announced that he plans to phase out methane gas at the three coastal power plants. This announcement came after years of community engagement with LADWP as well as the energy brought by the Sunrise Green New Deal movement.
You can read a local perspective in the Argonaut here: https://argonautnews.com/the-green-new-deal-comes-home/ Here is an LA Times report after the announcement: https://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-garcetti-dwp-gas-plants-20190212-story.html Last week the state of CA and City of Los Angeles has reached a tentative settlement with SoCalGas for 119.5M dollars. SoCalGas will directly benefit for 26.5M that will be used on methane capturing technology at factory farms in the central valley. The idea that SoCalGas will financially benefit from their role in poisoning tens of thousands of Angelenos is disgraceful. No money from the settlement should be investing in infrastructure that will directly benefit SoCalGas. Some money is allocated for health studies and monitoring. 7.1 million is going to provide air filtration systems in "environmental justice" communities throughout LA County. Instead of paying 7.1M to clean the air for those communities why don't we #ShutItAll and stop poisoning the air to begin with. We don't need to choose between having energy or poisoning a portion of our population. We can have energy and clean air, we just need political will. Los Angeles and the state of California needed to do better. You can let them know by commenting on the settlement HERE  Dr. Jeffrey Nordella is launching a new study to look at the Benzene levels of victims of the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas disaster. The study is desperately needed in the wake of a deposition a SoCalGas representative gave recently in which the individual recalled “levels of benzene that were pretty high in earlier days … they just quit testing for benzene entirely,” Benzene can have severe impacts on human health and the World Health Organization says "no safe level of exposure can be recommended."  A new study finds methane gas emissions have been greatly under-reported by at least 63%. New study estimates we lose 2.3 percent of our gross production. Almost a percent higher than the EPA's official number. It is likely these estimates could be too low as the study primarily focused on where gas was produced and not where it was consumed. A thorough study of our entire natural gas system could show an even greater percentage of leakage. This is troubling because "once the natural gas leakage rate hit between four and five percent of gross US natural gas production, natural gas is about equivalent to burning coal from a climate perspective." The only way to ensure our energy is safe for our health and the environment is to move away from all fossil fuels immediately. The future is today.  On May 2, 2018 SoCalGas PR team wrote an op-ed in The Argonaut. We strongly reject SoCalGas new efforts to re-frame the debate around consumer choice. SoCalGas objections to moving away from fossil fuels has nothing to do with consumer choice and everything to do with their bottom line. Here is our rebuttal to the op-ed, portions of which were published in the Argonaut on May 16, 2018 Protect Playa Now is launching a community air monitoring program. We are have designed monitors that will allow the community to collect data on the air quality. Our goal is to place 200 units throughout the communities of Playa del Rey (PdR), Playa Vista, Marina del Rey in the immediate area surrounding the PdR methane storage facility. Please help us raise funding to get this project off the ground. Every little bit helps. Thank you for your support. 
In October Tulsi Gabbard introduced a bold and necessary piece of legislation commonly referred to as the OFF Act (H.R. 3671 Off Fossil Fuels for a Better Future Act). We are proud of the efforts of our coalition partners Indivisible CA43 and Food and Water Watch for successfully lobbying Congresswoman Maxine Waters (CA-43) to co-sponsor the legislation. Maxine joined area representatives Ted Lieu (CA-33) and Karen Bass (CA-37) in supporting this important piece of legislation. We do not have to choose between a healthy safe environment and having energy. The OFF act will ensure that no communities will be forced to live with dangerous fossil fuel infrastructure in their neighborhoods threatening their public health.
The Environmental Health Tracker app is now available for residents living around the Playa del Rey (PdR) methane storage facility. Download it now and report the symptoms from toxic exposure to chemicals leaking from the PdR facility. This data combined with data collected from Protect Playa Now's planned neighborhood monitoring program will provide the community with the information necessary to protect ourselves from the toxic cocktail emitting from the SoCalGas PdR facility. You can download the app for Apple or Android devices.  |
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