Los Angeles – Last night, residents living around the Playa del Rey Gas storage facility reported hearing a loud roaring sound and the smell of gas. SoCalGas has since confirmed the facility did an emergency gas release due to a build up of pressure. 

Environmental advocates and community members who have been demanding this dangerous facility be shut down released the following statements: 

“I am shocked that SoCal Gas could release methane into a residential neighborhood and have no communication or engagement with that neighborhood to warn us or notify us they have done this,” said Paull Young, a Playa del Rey neighbor impacted by the facility. “We have many young families in the neighborhood and this seems dangerous especially for small children and elderly neighbors.” 

“Another gas-release alarm at the Playa del Rey facility is the latest reminder of a troubling pattern of problems,” said Faith Myhra, Volunteer Organizer, Protect Playa Now. “The facility has a history of gas leaks, an oily mist that coated nearby homes and cars, and failures to complete required well pressure tests. These are serious concerns that raise questions about SoCalGas’s commitment to safety and accountability. A good neighbor doesn’t leave a community dealing with repeated alarms and unanswered questions. As a member of Protect Playa Now, I believe this latest incident reinforces why we need to stop accepting the status quo and commit to closing this facility for good.” 

“SoCalGas has a long, proven history of being a bad neighbor, and while we’re not surprised, it is still egregious there is no system in place to notify residents of the dangers as soon as this gas release occurred,” said Food & Water Watch Los Angeles Organizing Manager Andrea Vega. “We are a week away from the 11-year anniversary of the Aliso Canyon Gas Blowout, which displaced thousands of San Fernando Valley residents and resulted in devastating health impacts for countless others, and even now SoCalGas continues to threaten the safety of Angelenos. For years we have been begging our state and local officials to take these concerns seriously so that no other community experiences a disaster like the 2015 Aliso Blowout. We need our city officials to open their eyes to the dangers of these fossil fuel facilities and actually take steps to get them out of our communities and hold SoCalGas accountable. Until we do so, fossil fuel infrastructure will continue to put people at serious risk.”

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