"Judge OKs Settlement From Nation’s Largest Natural Gas Leak"

"LOS ANGELES — A $120 million court settlement from the nation’s largest-known natural gas leak was approved by a California judge Monday despite objections from local residents and criticism from environmentalists.

Judge Carolyn Kuhl in Los Angeles Superior Court signed a consent decree putting the settlement into effect after saying her role was limited in overseeing the deal between Southern California Gas Co. and the state and city of LA.

“If I find, as I was supposed to find, that it didn’t violate the law or public policy, that’s the end of my determination,” Kuhl said.

The settlement was criticized by environmentalists for how it plans to mitigate the large amount of climate-changing methane that spewed for nearly four months from the 2015 blowout at the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility."

Brian Melley reports for the Associated Press February 25, 2019.

Source: AP, 02/26/2019