Natural Gas Suppliers Face $16-Million Suit

Lawyers for Southern California Gas Co. have filed a $16-million suit against Texaco and four other natural gas providers, claiming they contaminated the gas supply and threatened the health of customers in Ojai and Ventura.

The complaint, filed in Ventura County Superior Court earlier this week, seeks to recover what the gas company contends it spent to repair or replace potentially damaged valves, regulators and meters.

Texaco, Conoco, Shell Western, Seneca Resources Corp. and Santa Fe Energy Operating Partners introduced nitrous oxide, nitrogen dioxide and sodium dioxide into the supply of natural gas, the suit said.

The contamination allegedly occurred at a facility in School Canyon, where Texaco last month was raided by investigators from the Ventura County district attorney’s office for allegedly leaking 370,000 gallons of toxic fuel into the ground water supply.

The defendants’ “introduction of the contaminants into the natural gas supply in Ventura and Ojai threatened the safety of residents in the area,” the suit contends.

Gas company officials spent $16 million to repair the damage “in order to maintain the integrity of its pipeline and to prevent the release of contaminants into the environment,” according to the suit.

Attorney Terry D. Avchen, who filed the suit for Southern California Gas, said his clients inspected the majority of the homes and businesses since the contamination was discovered in July, 1992.

“So far, most all of the 34,000 homes in the targeted area have been visited and thousands of devices have been replaced at no charge to the customers,” Avchen said.

A Texaco spokesman on Thursday declined to comment, saying the company had not yet reviewed the lawsuit.