Company Wants To Store Natural Gas Underneath Homes In South Sacramento

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) – A local company is shelling out millions of dollars to store natural gas underneath hundreds of Sacramento homes. But some residents are questioning the safety of the project.

The Sacramento Natural Gas Storage Company wants to fill an already existing natural gas sandstone reservoir with billions of cubic feet of natural gas.

The reservoir sits a mile beneath 760 homes in South Sacramento east of 76th Street and north of Florin Road. Three out of every four homeowners has already signed an agreement to lease the land beneath their homes. Of course, that means one fourth of them have not.

Businessman Don Russell is now one PUC approval away from filling the reservoir. He says the facts show the risk posed is miniscule.

"If the risk is less than one in a million of a major mishap, then it should be considered safe," said Russell. "Our project has passed that sniff test."

However, some residents need more convincing.

"If they can satisfy the fact that my insurance rates are not gonna go up because I'm sitting on a potential time bomb," said resident Emmett Harden. "I have not been sufficiently satisfied as far as the safety issues."

The PUC's expected approval comes on the heels of the deadly natural gas pipeline explosions in Rancho Cordova and San Bruno.

There would be no pipelines underneath this neighborhood, but the images are still enough to scare some homeowners here.

The company is offering homeowners $500 up front and then $500 per year for the earth a mile under the homes.

If homeowners do not agree, eminent domain could be used to force them to allow the company to store the gas under their homes.

If that happens, a court would determine the value of the land and homeowners may be forced to accept a much lower price.