Los Angeles DA charges utility over massive gas leak

LOS ANGELES -- Los Angeles prosecutors filed misdemeanor criminal charges Tuesday against a utility for failing to immediately report a natural gas leak that has been gushing nonstop for nearly 15 weeks.

"While we recognize that neither the criminal charges nor the civil lawsuits will offer the residents of Los Angeles County a complete solution, it is important that Southern California Gas Co. be held responsible for its criminal actions," District Attorney Jackie Lacey said, according to CBS Los Angeles.

The leak has forced more than 4,400 families from their homes in the suburb of Porter Ranch.

The charges came the same day the state attorney general joined a long line of others in suing the gas company for the blowout that has spewed more than 2 million tons of climate-changing methane since October.

Lawmakers in Congress have urged the U.S. secretary of energy to investigate the leak, and federal regulators are crafting new safety standards for underground natural gas storage facilities.

The criminal complaint charges the company with three counts of failing to report the release of a hazardous material and one count of discharge of air contaminants.

If convicted, the company could be fined up to $1,000 per day for air pollution violations and up to $25,000 for each of the three days it didn't notify the state Office of Emergency Services of the leak. Arraignment is scheduled for Feb. 17 in Santa Clarita, CBS Los Angeles reported.

The company said it discovered the leak Oct. 23 and notified state gas and oil regulators.

But it failed to let state emergency officials know until Oct. 26, Attorney General Kamala Harris said in the latest of more than two dozen lawsuits filed against SoCalGas.

The leak has created a public health and statewide environmental emergency, Harris said.

After suffering from a litany of health problems, Nancy and Larry Davis told CBS News they had to leave Porter Ranch.

"Nosebleeds, nauseous, just couldn't stop coughing," Nancy Davis said.

The gas company says there will be no long-term health effects, but the Davises don't believe them.

"No," Nancy Davis said. "I have a biochemistry degree, so I don't trust, I don't believe that."

"I've been nauseous. I've felt lethargic," resident Christine Soderlund told CBS News. "My kids have had nosebleeds, they've had headaches."

Two schools have closed because of abnormally high levels of methane, but residents feel they are not getting enough answers about exposure.

"It's surreal," Soderlund said. "We are a living science experiment, I believe.

The lawsuit, which doesn't specify damages, says the company created a nuisance and violated health and safety codes and the state's unfair competition law.

A spokeswoman said the company doesn't comment on pending litigation and was focused on stopping the leak, which it expects to plug by the end of the month.

CBS Los Angeles reported the company has disputed characterizations that it dallied in informing authorities of the leak, saying the utility "immediately took steps to address the leak and inform the appropriate regulatory agencies" and communicated on a daily basis with state and local officials "from the outset."

Gas company CEO Dennis Arriola told CBS News last month the danger has been overblown.

"There's is a lot of emotion and passion out there. Gas storage is an integral part of our state's energy environment, not just for natural gas but for electricity," Arriola said.

SoCalGas is facing more than two dozen lawsuits - including potential class-actions from residents and businesses over the leak as well as from regional air regulators and city and county authorities.

Harris, a Democrat running for U.S. Senate, is the first state official to sue, though her lawsuit incorporates elements of lawsuits filed by the city and county of Los Angeles.

Several state agencies are investigating the blowout and have issued orders to the gas company to stop it and turn over records of the 60-year-old well and others from the field that is the largest natural gas storage facility in the West.

The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration got involved for the first time Tuesday, saying it is working to propose new regulations for gas storage and directing operators to "inspect and take immediate actions to ensure the safety of underground natural gas storage facilities across the country."

State regulators are investigating the cause of the leak, but they said they won't know until the well is plugged, which is expected by the end of the month.

Local residents have reported symptoms including headaches, nosebleeds and rashes, among other woes.

Public health officials have blamed the maladies on odorant added to make the gas detectable. They have said the leak - mostly methane but including trace elements of the carcinogen benzene - is not expected to cause long-term health problems.