To the editor: The Times’ statement that those fighting for closure of the Aliso Canyon gas storage field are “changing tactics” and no longer “focusing primarily on the facility’s closure” is a mischaracterization. (“New tactic to close Aliso Canyon gas storage facility: Switch more neighbors to electric appliances,” Dec. 5)
In the past weeks, my group Food & Water Action has launched an advertising campaign highlighting Gov. Gavin Newsom’s longstanding promise to close Aliso Canyon, which leaked for 121 days in 2015 and 2016, sickening nearby residents. Thousands of people have written to the governor demanding he order the closure; last week, more than 100 scientists implored him to do the same.
Furthermore, our objection to the California Public Utilities Commission plan for Aliso Canyon isn’t that it fails to offer a “clear enough” timeline for a shutdown, but that it does not establish any timeline.
While the $71-million settlement will provide benefits for the community, the only full justice for residents of the San Fernando Valley will come from shutting the facility down. This settlement doesn’t absolve Newsom of his duty to protect Californians.
Andrea Vega, Los Angeles
The writer is Southern California senior organizer for Food & Water Action.