Recent & Forthcoming Activities
Proposed Title V Permit Renewal Public Information Meeting
Weds., May 29, 2019:
Prior Permitting Activities
Permit to Construct Issued
Argus Contracting, a third party contractor for So Cal Gas, was issued a Permit to Construct (P/C) to construct and operate a portable open spray system. The location of this equipment will be at the Aliso Canyon Storage Field located at 12801 Tampa Blvd., Northridge, CA 91326.
Blade Energy, a third party working under the direction of the CPUC and DOGGR, is conducting a “Root Cause Analysis” of the October, 2015 incident related to well SS-25. This entails removing the tubing and casing from wells SS-25 and SS-25A, and transporting by flatbed trucks to Houston, Texas. In order to protect the tubing and casing from mechanical wear due to expected heavy abrasion during transport, Blade energy has specified the coating material to be used to coat the tubing and casing that will be removed from well SS-25, and the tubing that will be removed from well SS-25A prior to transport.
Coating on the inside of the tubing and casing will be applied by spray gun, while the exterior of the tubing and casing will be coated using hand rollers. The staging area for coating operation will be at the well SS-9 location (within a quarter mile of well SS-25), and the nearest residence is located about 5,500 feet from the staging area. No odor problems are expected during the duration of this permit.
The proposed coating system meets all the requirements of South Coast AQMD. Based upon the need of CPUC and DOGGR to conduct a Root Cause Analysis of the well tubing and casing, and the need to maintain integrity of the tubing and casing during transport, a short term, conditional use P/C was issued for the portable open spray system. The process is expected to take a few weeks, and the permit to construct for the spray system expires 90-days after the date of issuance, May 2, 2017.
SoCalGas Application - Partial Gas Capture and Control System
SoCalGas operates equipment at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility under an South Coast AQMD-issued Title V Facility Permit. As part of their efforts to mitigate the release of natural gas from the leak at their facility while proceeding with the permanent fix of the leaking SS-25 well, SoCalGas filed applications with South Coast AQMD in early January 2016 for permits to construct and operate a partial gas capture and control system.
South Coast AQMD expeditiously began the evaluation of the permit applications and proposed gas capture and control system and made it clear that permits would not be issued until it was determined that such a system can operate in a safe manner. The details of this proposed system were shared with other regulatory agencies which have jurisdiction over SoCalGas operations, including, but not limited to, U.S. EPA, CPUC, CalOSHA, CalEPA, DOGGR, LA County Fire Department, LA County Public Health, and others. South Coast AQMD then participated in interagency meetings and other meetings with SoCalGas to discuss safety issues associated with the construction and operation of the proposed gas capture and control system.
On January 18, 2016, SoCalGas sent a letter to Governor Brown advising him that "a methane capture and processing system cannot be installed at the SS25 well site without adding unnecessary safety risks." For this reason, on January 19, 2016, SoCalGas sent a letter to South Coast AQMD for the partial capture and control system it had proposed. South Coast AQMD has cancelled these applications and is no longer evaluating the proposed gas capture and control system.