DISASTER

Cali Gas Leak Prompts State of Emergency

Gov. orders new regulations for gas facilities.

California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Wednesday amid an out-of-control natural-gas leak at Aliso Canyon that’s released about 85,000 tons of methane from the broken wellhead north of Los Angeles. The governor also ordered a series of new regulations for all natural-gas facilities in the state, including conducting daily inspections of wellheads and drafting a risk-management plan for safety threats. The orders come as Southern California Gas Co. engineers grapple to close a natural-gas well leak that has released planet-warming methane for more than 10 weeks and may not be shut down until late February at the earliest. The leak has led to the evacuation of hundreds of residents. Scientists say methane pollutes at more than 80 times the rate of carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.