California Lawmakers Advance Gas Moratorium After Porter Ranch Leak

SACRAMENTO (AP) — California's state Assembly is advancing legislation to extend the closure of a gas storage facility after it spewed massive amounts of natural gas for nearly four months.

Lawmakers sent a bill to the state Senate Thursday on a 67-1 vote as thousands of Porter Ranch residents wait to return to their homes.

SB380 by Democratic Sen. Fran Pavley responds to the leak of climate-changing methane at the Aliso Canyon facility.

It continues Gov. Jerry Brown's January moratorium on injecting natural gas into the Southern California Gas Co. underground site.

It requires state regulators to complete a safety review and decide if one of the nation's largest natural gas storage fields should be eliminated.

Opponents fear that limiting the major natural gas supplier for Southern California could lead to power outages.

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