BREAKING: Dangerous Gas Leak at Valley Generating Station Covered Up By LADWP

Los Angeles - Food & Water Action learned yesterday at a meeting of the L.A. Dept. of Water and Power (LADWP) Board of Commissioners that the Valley Generating power station in Sun Valley has been leaking methane – an explosive greenhouse gas – since at least July, 2019. LADWP General Manager Marty Adams disclosed to the Commissioners a recent phone call on which NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory (JPL) raised its discovery of the leak with him. But further revelations at yesterday’s meeting among Adams and the Commissioners appeared to confirm that LADWP officials have known about the leak since at least July, 2019 and have been covering it up from the public and city officials.

Food & Water Action is demanding that L.A. Mayor Eric Garcetti and the LADWP Board of Commissioners act immediately to shut down Valley Generating Station until the power plant is fully repaired and capable of operating safely. This demand comes out of urgent concern for the health and safety of Sun Valley residents.

“It is unconscionable that LADWP would seek to cover up an ongoing gas leak at a massive power plant for more than a year, potentially putting the lives of thousands of nearby residents in immediate danger. This is an abject failure of city officials to prioritize and protect workers and the community. Mayor Garcetti needs to do the right thing and shut this hazardous power plant down immediately,” said Wenonah Hauter, executive director of Food & Water Action.

The discovery of the methane leak at Valley Generating Station comes amid the ongoing fight by residents, community leaders, activists and some city and state officials to shut down the nearby Aliso Canyon gas storage facility, site of the worst methane gas leak in American history. There, scores of residents complained for years of serious health effects related to the leak. 

In addition to being highly flammable, methane (the primary component of natural gas) is 86 times more potent a greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.

Contact: Jasmin Vargas - jvargas[at]fwwatch[dot]org