Court-Ordered Referee Sought In Clash of Porter Ranch vs. SoCalGas Co.

LOS ANGELES, CA --- The county plans to request a court-ordered referee to help manage its contentious relationship with Southern California Gas Co. as both sides work to get Porter Ranch residents back into their homes, the county's lead lawyer said today.

Supervisor Michael Antonovich expressed frustration on behalf of residents who say they aren't being reimbursed on a timely basis for hotel stays, meals and mileage incurred as a result of the Aliso Canyon gas leak.

Antonovich read a letter from a resident who said her family of five was owed more than $23,000 by the utility.

"Twice when I tried to buy food for our family, my credit card was declined. Can I tell you how embarrassing that was and the anxiety as a mother not knowing how I'm going to feed my family?'' the woman wrote. "Our credit cards are maxed out due to the costs of relocation we have had to incur with no reimbursement from the Southern California Gas Co. in two months.''

By its count, the utility has processed more than 41,000 reimbursements totaling $78 million as it has provided temporary housing to an estimated 8,000 residents displaced by the natural gas leak.

"We continue to work quickly to process reimbursements,'' the utility said in a statement issued Friday.

The county called a halt Sunday to the Gas Co.'s cleanup of residents' homes because Department of Public Health representatives said the cleaning wasn't being done properly.

Antonovich said the process followed by the contractor hired by SoCalGas was actually spreading contaminants in some cases.

"It was stupid and I am so frustrated that we can't just go back into court now and have a mediator come in and oversee the cleaning,'' Antonovich said, "or give that responsibility to the Department of Public Health and we will bill Southern California Gas Company.''

County Counsel Mary Wickham said county representatives had been talking with Gas Co. representatives over the last two days and the utility had agreed to follow the court order for cleanup issued Friday by Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Wiley.

Public Health assigned environmental health specialists to observe the cleaning performed by SoCalGas contractors over the weekend and "found that the contractor was neither equipped nor trained for proper cleaning as required
by Public Health,'' according to a statement issued by the agency.

The Gas Co. said in response that it was committed to following the DPH protocol for cleaning and was "working to address any issues immediately.'

A DPH representative, asked this afternoon whether the two sides had reached an agreement and if any cleaning was underway, said the county's stop-work order remained in effect.

Wiley ruled that the housing relocation program can end but required SoCalGas to offer cleaning services to owners of as many as 2,500 homes. Residents in hotels have until 5 p.m. tomorrow to request cleaning, and residents in housing other than hotels have until 5 p.m. Friday to request it.

Once homes are cleaned, the residents will have 48 hours to return under the ruling. Residents who do not request cleaning had 48 hours after those deadlines to return home.

Public Health announced last week that its environmental testing found no airborne contaminants, but surface dust contained "low levels of metal contaminants'' consistent with those found in "well-drilling fluid,'' suggesting they came from the Aliso Canyon gas leak that was discovered in October and capped Feb. 18.

That finding prompted the cleanup operation.

Previous:

• L.A. County Health Officials Halt Clean-Up Of Porter Ranch Homes After Gas Leak
• Judge Orders Gas Co. to Pay Ongoing Rent for Displaced Porter Ranch Residents
• Judge Orders Gas Co. to Clean Thousands of Porter Ranch Homes

--City News Service