Temporary halt to Porter Ranch gas facility operations dissolved by appeals court

PORTER RANCH, LOS ANGELES (KABC) -- An appeals court ruling that issued a temporary halt to a restart of the Aliso Canyon gas storage facility in Porter Ranch was dissolved Saturday.

The stay had been ordered by California's 2nd District Court of Appeals Friday and prevented SoCalGas from pumping gas into the utility's facility.

On Friday, Los Angeles County attorneys requested the restart be halted, saying earthquake risks were not taken into account during the state safety review.

But on Saturday, the court chose to dissolve the temporary injunction.

In a statement, SoCalGas said the facility is safe.

"Aliso Canyon is safe to operate. This is not just our conclusion, but the conclusion of the only State regulators with lawful jurisdiction and expertise to oversee the safety of our operations," the statement said, in part.

The facility was shut down for 18 months after a four-month blowout released about 100,000 tons of methane gas into the air, which forced thousands of families to leave their homes temporarily. Many residents continued to fight for the closure of the facility after they were allowed back home.