Meanwhile in California

The casualties of the natural gas leak that began in October are enormous. Up to 5,000 residents have fled the area to hotels and homes farther from the estimated 87.5 million tons of methane that have been pumped into the air by a Southern California Gas Co. facility. Residents have complained of nosebleeds, dizziness, nausea, headaches and respiratory problems. Students have been relocated to other schools.

A flurry of lawsuits have been filed by residents who continue to pay the mortgage on homes they can’t live in and who have had their lives turned on their heads by the disaster. Gov. Jerry Brown declared the situation a state of emergency. The South Coast Air Quality Management District, the agency that regulates Southern California’s air quality, is suing the gas company, accusing it of negligence in the design, construction and operation of one of the wells at the Aliso Canyon Natural Gas Storage Facility near Porter Ranch.

And Tuesday, the first criminal charges in Los Angeles County against Southern California Gas were filed by the county's District Attorney Jackie Lacey for failing to immediately report the gas leak to state authorities. Also Tuesday, the California attorney general filed a lawsuit, alleging state health and safety law violations.

  alJazeera

My question is: when will SoCal Gas Company file a bankruptcy claim and leave California taxpayers holding the bag?

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.

Gassed

An enormous gas leak in Southern California has led to the evacuation of thousands of residents with hundreds more having to be relocated. Residents living in nearby areas have complained of headaches, nosebleeds and trouble breathing. An estimated 70,000 pounds of gas is being released into the atmosphere every hour.

This should be huge news, but it isn’t. In fact, the leak has been going strong since October 23 and we bet this is the first time you’ve heard about it.

  Elite Daily

What’s worse, according to Southern California Gas Company, the leak isn’t likely to be stopped until spring of 2016. As of Monday, the leak has cost the equivalent of $11.5 million in natural gas.

In fact, the gas company didn't inform the state of the leak until October 23. I don't think we can be sure that's when it started.

On October 23, 2015, Southern California Gas informed the State of a natural gas leak at its Aliso Canyon natural gas storage facility. Natural Gas is composed primarily of methane (approximately 80%), which is a potent greenhouse gas.[...] [W]hen measured in terms of how they heat the atmosphere, their impacts can be tens, hundreds, or even thousands of times greater than that of carbon dioxide.

  California EPA Air Resources Board

Methane – the main component of natural gas – is a powerful short-term climate forcer, with over 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after it is released. Methane is estimated to be leaking out of the Aliso Canyon site at a rate of about 62 million standard cubic feet, per day. That’s the same short-term greenhouse gas impact as the emissions from 7 million cars.

  Environmental Defense Fund

...but hey, do what you want...you will anyway.