Judge Orders SoCal Gas To Continue Paying For Displaced Porter Ranch Residents' Temporary Housing

LOS ANGELES (CBSLA.com) — Porter Ranch-area residents displaced by the Aliso Canyon natural gas leak will be able to remain in temporary housing -- at Southern California Gas Co. expense -- until at least June 7, a judge ruled Wednesday.

Los Angeles Superior Court Judge John Wiley Jr. noted there is still uncertainty about the safety of returning to their homes and set another hearing on the issue for June 7 to revisit the issue. SoCal Gas and LA County officials will have to provide a status report to the court by May 31.

The ruling was another courtroom loss for SoCalGas, which argued there is no lingering health risk for residents in the Porter Ranch area. The Aliso Canyon leak, which was discovered Oct. 23, was capped on Feb. 18.

A different judge last month ordered that the temporary housing program end, but a state appeals court overturned that decision, ordering SoCalGas to continue funding the program until at least today.

Gas Co. attorneys argued last month the company was paying about $1.8 million a day to pay for the roughly 2,600 residents still living in temporary housing.

But the temporary accommodations are not necessarily luxurious.

"Life for us in the hotel is chaotic," said Andrew Krowne, who relocated with his family from their Porter Ranch home to a Courtyard Marriott in Thousand Oaks. "We're in two rooms with seven people. We just had a birthday over the weekend; it's basically like living in a sardine can with seven people ... They want to get out and run around. They want to be kids. So, it's tough."

Krowne said he and his family would like to return home, but remain worried about adverse health impacts of living near the capped leak.

Attorneys for Los Angeles County and the city argue that more thorough testing is needed to ensure residents will be safe when they return home.

County health officials said last month they had received about 300 complaints from Porter Ranch residents who returned to their homes and claimed to have developed more health problems.

The complaints -- including nausea, stomach aches and respiratory irritation -- prompted the county to begin door-to-door visits in hopes of understanding why symptoms were still being reported.

SoCal Gas said in a statement, "There is no scientific evidence that justifies continued relocation ... Today's decision unfortunately adds to the potential fear and confusion. We are disappointed in the court's ruling and we are evaluating our options."

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