{"id":12843,"date":"2014-06-24T18:58:22","date_gmt":"2014-06-24T23:58:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/?p=12843"},"modified":"2016-04-01T17:41:40","modified_gmt":"2016-04-01T22:41:40","slug":"methane-leaks-need-to-be-a-thing-of-the-past-and-sacramento-is-taking-a-step-in-the-right-direction-with-sb-1371","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2014\/06\/24\/methane-leaks-need-to-be-a-thing-of-the-past-and-sacramento-is-taking-a-step-in-the-right-direction-with-sb-1371\/","title":{"rendered":"Methane leaks need to be a thing of the past, and Sacramento is taking a step in the right direction with SB 1371"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">California has more than <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/primis.phmsa.dot.gov\/comm\/reports\/safety\/CA_detail1.html?nocache=5020\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">100,000 miles<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> of often-aging natural gas transmission and distribution infrastructure.\u00a0\u00a0 Methane, the primary component of natural gas, when vented or allowed to leak into the air is <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.climatechange2013.org\/images\/report\/WG1AR5_ALL_FINAL.pdf\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\"><i>84 times<\/i> more potent than carbon dioxide<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> at contributing to climate change over a 20-year timespan.\u00a0 In addition, according to data from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, more than one-third of today\u2019s human-caused global warming comes from short-lived climate pollutants that include methane. Taken together, this data shows how critically important it is to minimize natural gas leaks quickly.<\/span><\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" src=\"\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/mcsCVQF6ODs\" width=\"560\" height=\"315\" frameborder=\"0\" allowfullscreen=\"allowfullscreen\"><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p><a href=\"http:\/\/leginfo.legislature.ca.gov\/faces\/billNavClient.xhtml?bill_id=201320140SB1371&amp;search_keywords=\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">Senate Bill (SB) 1371<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">, authored by California State Senator Mark Leno, aims to cut methane pollution from California\u2019s gas transmission and distribution system by requiring the Public Utilities Commission to get more aggressive in requiring utilities to find and fix natural gas leaks.\u00a0 Yesterday, SB 1371 passed a critical vote in the State Assembly and is well on its way toward final passage later this summer.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">What does SB 1371 do?\u00a0 Put simply, SB 1371 changes the way utilities respond to natural gas leaks.\u00a0 <\/span><!--more--><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">Currently, California utilities only have to fix leaks that pose imminent public safety concerns.\u00a0 There is no corresponding requirement for those leaks that aren\u2019t a direct threat to safety but contribute to climate change. However, because of the huge volumes of natural gas that are used in residences and commercial buildings across the state, a large amount of smaller leaks that persist over time can yield serious global warming pollution and cost Californians <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.edf.org\/methanesolutions\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">millions of dollars in revenue<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u2013 money that comes directly from ratepayers\u2019 pocketbooks. <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">To prevent these negative impacts, methane leakage <\/span><a href=\"http:\/\/www.edf.org\/climate\/methane\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">needs to be reduced<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\">.\u00a0 SB 1371 facilitates this by commencing a process requiring utilities to use cost-effective strategies to identify and repair leaks of all sizes.\u00a0 By fixing those leaks that present the most economic and environmental \u201cbang for the buck,\u201d as well as requiring best practices for finding, fixing and tracking leaks over times, SB 1371 will allow California to see sustained benefits from the use of natural gas.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">In tandem with upcoming regulatory action by the California Air Resources Board that will address emissions from oil and gas production \u2013 something we\u2019ve discussed <\/span><a href=\"https:\/\/blogs.edf.org\/energyexchange\/2014\/03\/10\/science-and-economics-agree-the-time-is-right-for-california-to-get-serious-about-methane-pollution\/?_ga=1.11588465.417012472.1399334342\"><span style=\"color: #0000ff;\">here<\/span><\/a><span style=\"color: #000000;\"> \u2013 SB 1371 represents the type of forward-thinking environmental progress for which California has garnered a well-deserved reputation.\u00a0 <\/span><\/p>\n<p><span style=\"color: #000000;\">SB 1371 is a logical and necessary next step in the state\u2019s fight to address climate change and help consumers.\u00a0 We have to pay attention to this issue.\u00a0 Science tells us we need to deal with carbon dioxide AND methane.\u00a0 It can\u2019t be one or the other \u2013 it has to be both.\u00a0 Yesterday\u2019s vote in the Assembly Utilities and Commerce Committee shows that Sacramento gets this.\u00a0 Stay tuned!<\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California has more than 100,000 miles of often-aging natural gas transmission and distribution infrastructure.\u00a0\u00a0 Methane, the primary component of natural gas, when vented or allowed to leak into the air is 84 times more potent than carbon dioxide at contributing to climate change over a 20-year timespan.\u00a0 In addition, according to data from the Intergovernmental &#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":8917,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[200,42996,439,1,55717,84820],"tags":[],"coauthors":[],"class_list":["post-12843","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-california","category-smart-power","category-climate","category-uncategorized","category-methane-2","category-state"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO plugin v27.3 - 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