My name is Christine Katz.  I, along with my husband Brian and our five children, live in Porter Ranch, California with our two dogs.  Just like many other Porter Ranch families, we bought our home here to live in a safe neighborhood, beautifully situated in the Santa Susana Mountains.

Everything changed just a few months ago when we learned that Southern California Gas Company was injecting natural gas in the Santa Susana Mountains near our home.  The gas injected by SoCalGas is not “natural” to the Santa Susana Mountains but instead is piped into the area where it is injected into illegally permitted wells.  In September alone, SoCalGas injected 5.7 billion cubic feet of gas underground near the residents of Porter Ranch.  No one ever told us that the wells were there or that SoCalGas was injecting natural gas into these wells

Then, in October of this year, the unthinkable happened.  One of the injection wells suffered a massive failure and blowout while injecting similar gas amounts, leading to a massive gas leak.  The safety valve also failed, resulting in a massive leak of natural gas mixed with various other chemicals, including benzene (a known carcinogen), hydrogen sulfide, sulfur dioxide, and methane.  The gas from this injection has now leaked into the air and into the underlying aquifer.  Upwards of 25% of all methane released in California is now being released from this one injection well.

Our family, just like the other 30,000 residents of Porter Ranch and surrounding communities, began suffering from air contamination shortly after the massive failure of the gas injection well.  We have been exposed to an uninterrupted flow of noxious gases for months with no end in sight.  Our family and children have been suffering from physical problems, including neurological, gastrointestinal, and respiratory, as well as dizziness, light-headedness, nausea, vomiting, headaches, and nosebleeds.

Despite knowing of this catastrophic gas leak since as early as October 2015, Governor Jerry Brown has done absolutely nothing to protect our community.  In fact, Governor Brown has yet to even address the issue or speak with our community directly (probably because his sister is a paid board member of SoCalGas!).  We’re tired of Governor Brown ignoring us during this crisis.  Governor Brown needs to declare a state of emergency so that the citizens of Porter Ranch can get the help we so desperately need.

If Governor Brown were to declare a state of emergency, the citizens of Porter Ranch could have access to the following:

1.     Incentives to landlords to enter into short-term leases, including premiums, if necessary to provide comparable housing.

2.     Immediate cash compensation for those who cannot be immediately moved, upon request, to comparable housing.

3.     Provision of out-of-pocket health-related costs to relocated residents or those declining relocation to assess current or ongoing health effects.

4.     Providing moving companies to help relocate residents.

5.     Private security patrols 24/7 for vacant residences so as not to put an undue burden on Los Angeles Police Department.

6.     Provision of maintenance and landscaping services for vacated properties.

7.     Monetary consideration and accommodation for residents who receive assisted nursing services in their homes.

8.     The cessation of billing all residents in the affected area for natural gas services until the leak is fixed.

9.     Prevent price gouging on rental units in neighboring cities;

10.  Temporary deferment of rent payments and mortgage payments.

Please join me in my fight to get Governor Brown to acknowledge the Porter Ranch community and declare a state of emergency.  It’s time for Governor Brown to serve the people rather than his corporate donors.