SoCalGas reaches $119.5M government settlement for Aliso Canyon leak

Sempra Energy utility Southern California Gas Co. reached a $119.5 million settlement with state and local government bodies in California over the leak at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility.

The settlement will reimburse government agencies for costs associated with the leak, establish programs to mitigate emissions from the event and fund local initiatives for environmental benefit.

Environmental, local advocates pan SoCalGas' $119.5M Aliso Canyon settlement

Environmental and residents' groups criticized Southern California Gas' $119.5 million settlement with state and local government bodies in California, saying the deal inadequately protects residents after the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility's multi-month leak.

Alexandra Nagy, a Southern California organizer for the Washington, D.C.-based Food & Water Watch, argued that the agreement represents a failure to benefit those directly affected by the incident. Save Porter Ranch, a group focused on the neighborhood that was most directly affected by the leak, agreed with Food & Water Watch that the settlement neglects residents from Porter Ranch and other communities near Aliso Canyon that were forced to relocate.

US appeals court vacates permit for Atlantic Coast gas pipeline

Presenting a further legal hurdle to the Dominion Energy Inc.-led Atlantic Coast Pipeline natural gas project, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the 4th Circuit on Aug. 6 vacated a permit the National Park Service issued that allowed the pipeline to cross under the scenic Blue Ridge Parkway.

Considering the National Park Service right of way that allowed for the pipeline to pass under the Blue Ridge Parkway, the court found that the service invoked inapplicable laws to back its decisions. Moreover, it found that the agency failed to assure the action was consistent with purposes of the scenic parkway and conservation goals of the national park system.

Atlantic Coast opponents cite Transco description of 'duplicative' pipeline

Opponents of the 1.5-Bcf/d Atlantic Coast natural gas pipeline held up a description of the project as redundant and unnecessary in an attempt to convince federal regulators to reconsider authorization. That description came from another pipeline company.

The opponents, 18 conservation and environmental organizations, submitted to the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission comments that Transcontinental Gas Pipe Line Co. LLC made to state regulators. Transco insisted its pipeline system, which includes the 1.7-Bcf/d Atlantic Sunrise expansion due to enter service at the end of August, can meet customer demands in South Carolina in the region that would be served by the Atlantic Coast project.

Pa. regulator slaps $148,000 penalty on Sunoco for Mariner East 2 violations

The Pennsylvania Department of Environmental Protection imposed a penalty of $148,000 on Sunoco Pipeline LP for water pollution violations during the construction of the Mariner East 2 liquids pipeline.

The violations against the Clean Streams Law and the Dam Safety and Encroachment Act in Berks, Chester and Lebanon counties of Pennsylvania include impacts on residents' private water supplies, resulting in "cloudy water, turbid water, and discolored water, diminution of domestic water supply, and loss of water pressure," according to a consent assessment of civil penalty issued Aug. 2 by the department.