Update January 5, 2016
The PRNC has been working hard for many weeks to setup a meeting with Governor Brown. Knowing the governor as going to be in town for the the San Bernardino shooting memorial, we contacted his office to ask if he could come to Porter Ranch to speak with us regarding this on going crisis, we got notified late in the afternoon that he would in fact be able to meet with a few members of the executive board from the PRNC. Before the meeting -the governor visited the gas leak site to get a better understanding of what we all are dealing with. The governor's office wanted the meeting to be at a small meeting in a private home (no media) to so he could gain an intimate first hand account of what's happening to our community. Following the meeting we immediately sent out notifications regarding the conversation with the governor.
We were comitted to getting the Governor and his office engaged in this issue and although this meeting was small — it is only the beginning of our efforts to engage his office and assist in navigating this issue and being the voice for our stakeholders.
Porter Ranch, CA – January 4, 2016 – Governor Brown met this evening with members of Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council (PRNC) to hear firsthand how the SoCal Gas Leak has been affecting the community.
Prior to meeting with the PRNC, Governor Brown visited the Aliso Canyon storage facility to examine the state of the crisis and witness the SoCal Gas and state agencies’ efforts to stop the gas leak.
Members of the PRNC executive board briefed the Governor on the impacts to the community including the negative health impacts, challenges of relocating during the holidays, security risks to vacant houses, disruption to schools and businesses, financial impacts, worldwide environmental concerns and future safety to the community.
The PRNC is relieved that SoCal Gas is paying for relocation as requested by the PRNC. However, the Council continues to be concerned that multiple government agencies working on this crisis could benefit from a coordinated state oversight effort.
Governor Brown committed to the following requests of the Porter Ranch Neighborhood Council:
- Evaluate and consider all options on the safety and future viability of the SoCal Gas Aliso Canyon storage facility, including the possibility of shutting the site down permanently.
- Begin briefing the Porter Ranch community daily through emails and website updates on the coordination of all seven state organizations actively working on site.
- Hold a town hall meeting hosted by the Governor’s Office and future town hall meetings going forward as needed until the crisis has ended.
- Feasibility to keep all fines assessed against SoCal Gas in the Porter Ranch community.
- Direct the Governor’s Office of Emergency Services to have an authoritative voice on declaring the community safe for people after leak is stopped.
Once the leak is finally stopped, the PRNC and the greater community expect a complete investigation along with comprehensive measures and regulation to prevent any such further incident from the remaining 114 wells.
