They indicate that they want to avoid diseases; in addition to a clean environment for them and their families
María Madrigal has lived in the same Sun Valley neighborhood, in the San Fernando Valley, for the last 33 years.
But now she is concerned because she says she recently learned that the Valley Generating Station of the Department of Water and Gas (LADWP) gas and water plant – adjacent to her neighborhood – has been emitting a methane leak for several months.
“We were never told about the problem and for months we have been breathing in these toxic emissions,” said the 69-year-old woman. “I live about two blocks from the towers and nobody bothered to come and tell us to protect ourselves.”
Madrigal said that a few months ago she began to have dizziness and that she estimates that the problem worsens in the afternoon when she goes for a walk. It indicates that the current situation is terrible since while you are trying to protect yourself from the pandemic, there is another silent enemy that is attacking your health.
“I already managed to buy my little house and now where am I going? I can’t go anywhere. This problem must be solved ”, she expressed.
Another resident of the area, Carlos Regalado, 18, said that a while ago the LADWP said that in a period of 10 years they planned to completely close the plant or change it to a cleaner air method.
“And in exchange for their promise they do this. Methane is very bad because we cannot see it but it affects us all, ”said the young man, who can see the plant that affects his health and that of his neighborhood every day from his apartment.
Regalado said he has lived in the same neighborhood for 14 years and has suffered from a stuffy nose for several years. Now, he imagines that it may be related to the plant since when he leaves his neighborhood the congestion clears him but when he returns home it returns again.
He also knows several children in the area who suffer from asthma, including one of his cousins.
They demand explanations
This Tuesday Madrigal, Regalado and other residents met with a group of activists from the Pacoima Beautiful organization to protest in front of the LADWP plant, located in the 11801 block of Sheldon Street in Sun Valley.
The protesters called for an immediate investigation and a transparent report of exactly how long the leak has been going on, the amount of emissions released and the radius of impact.
They also demanded the immediate shutdown of the Valley Generating Station to repair the equipment and end the methane leak.
Andrés Ramírez, Pacoima Beautiful policy director, said that what bothers them the most is that the community did not know that the plant was emitting these toxic gases without taking into account the well-being of the residents.
“The methane that is leaking out causes dizziness, headaches, memory loss and more,” Ramírez said.
“The LADWP had said that it is nothing serious but we believe that they take advantage because we are not rich and it is a primarily Latino and African American community that has been here for generations.”
He explained that the objective of the protest is to ask the LADWP representatives to establish communication with the residents of the area through a meeting that is at appropriate times for the community, in the afternoon or on the weekend.
“We want them to come and tell them step by step how the escape was and what they plan to do,” said Ramírez.
They are also trying to have the plant shut down for at least two weeks so the problem is resolved and there is a plan in place to permanently shut it down in the future or move to cleaner air.
The activists say that LADWP knew of the leak since August 2019 but had not said anything.
It was thanks to an emissions study carried out using a drone by NASA’s Jet Propulsion Laboratory that the problem was made public.
On August 25, LADWP General Manager Martin Adams admitted during the Board of Commissioners meeting that JPL found a significant amount of methane emitted from the Valley Generating Station.
Additionally, LADWP staff admitted to having previously known about a methane leak originating
for faulty compressor kit in September 2019.
Norman Cahill, director of operations and power supply at LADWP, added that nearly 10,000 feet
standard cubic / hr had been leaking for the past few years.
In response to the disclosure, LADWP said in a statement that they completely shut down one of the compressors and after additional repairs, by Tuesday, September 1, the methane gas leak was reduced by 95%.
“The company’s focus now is to keep the community better informed,” Adams told the board of commissioners yesterday.
However, he added that it is also important to recognize that Valley Generating Station is an integral part of the power supply.
“As we rebuild our system and meet our goals of greening the entire grid, we are relying on Valley and other power plants to keep the system running.”
The general manager agreed that they could and should have done more to inform the community.
“We are committed to doing so so that we can build trust with the community and our stakeholders,” he said.
