Photo: Alex Wong / Getty Images
After years of lawsuits, mounting owner anger and lingering uncertainty about health safety, Southern California Gas Co., agreed to the Monday pay up to $ 1.8 billion dollars to settle years of legal action against him .
Six years ago, noxious fumes escaped from a SoCalGas storage pit in the hills above the San Fernando Valley and spilled onto homes in Porter Ranch.
The stroke affected thousands of people with headaches, hem nasal blowouts and nausea.
In a statement, SoCalGas said the settlements were expected to resolve “substantially all major civil litigation” against the company, which would record an after-tax charge of approximately $ 1.1 billion this month.
Settlement costs are not carried over would grill customers, the utility said.
As part of the agreement, the utility and its parent, Sempra Energy, deny any wrongdoing.
During 112 days, about 100 1,000 tons of methane, ethane, and other chemicals were released into the air, forcing more than 8,000 families to flee their homes .
By the time SoCalGas was able to plug the fault, had become the largest methane leak in the world. United States history .
At a press conference Monday on the steps From the federal court in downtown Los Angeles, attorneys representing the plaintiffs said the settlement reflected fair compensation for their injuries.
“There was no plan when the well exploded or what to do, “attorney Brian Panish told the Los Angeles Times.
” Because of those failures, these people suffered. We are grateful that we can do everything we can to provide fair and equitable compensation. ”
Panish said affected residents gave statements for Zoom during the pandemic and that some still living in the area believe that the storage field, which is active, should be closed.
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