Press Release: SoCalGas Continues Campaign to Expand Leaky Methane Compressor
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: August 25, 2023
CONTACT: Haley Ehlers, haley@cfrog.org, (805)263-7408
Ignoring Community Pleas, SoCalGas Continues Campaign to Expand Leaky Methane Compressor Station in Low-Income Ventura Neighborhood
SoCalGas continues to commit environmental injustice.
VENTURA, CA — After years of community opposition to the expansion of a toxic methane compressor station on Ventura Ave — which is sited across the street from an elementary school — SoCalGas submitted a new application to the California Public Utilities Commission today. The application includes none of the community’s requested changes to the project.
SoCalGas’ purported compressor station “modernization” project was initially submitted as part of the company’s 2022 rate adjustment case. The West Side Clean Air Coalition (WCAC), in alliance with community groups including Patagonia, Food and Water Watch, CAUSE (Central Coast Alliance United for a Sustainable Economy) and CFROG (Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas), successfully lobbied the CPUC to move the compressor station project to a separate application, which was introduced today.
“Our message to SoCalGas and the CPUC is simple: our community is united in opposition to expanded fossil fuel infrastructure in our community,” said Haley Ehlers, director at CFROG, member organization of Westside Clean Air Coalition. “In 2017, NASA labeled the Ventura compressor station as a ‘super emitter’ of methane. These leaks emit climate-warming greenhouse gasses and can be toxic to nearby children and families. SoCalGas wants to treat one of Ventura’s lowest income neighborhoods as a dumping ground — it’s an egregious environmental injustice. SoCalGas should know: the community is united and we’re not going anywhere.”
Led by the Westside Clean Air Coalition, the community has three requests of SoCalGas and the CPUC:
An environmental impact report on the proposed project which includes health and safety considerations for the students and families in the project area — the facility is notoriously leaky and nearby families and school children have complained of nosebleeds, headaches, and the smell of gas in the air.
Continued consideration of alternative sites for the compressor station, specifically sites that are not located in proximity to homes, schools or healthcare facilities. WCAC and allies successfully lobbied CPUC to include alternative sites in the next decision-making process. The consideration of alternative sites must be independent and thorough — unlike internal reports completed by SoCalGas — which deemed the current site, across the street from an elementary school, most well suited for the project.
No expansion of the methane compressor station and/or a feasibility study of an all-electric facility, given local municipalities move to all-electric building codes.
In 2022, SoCalGas was fined $10 million by the CPUC for using ratepayer dollars to oppose climate action. For more information or to get involved with WCAC visit: https://westsidecleanair.org/
