SUN VALLEY, LOS ANGELES (KABC) — A settlement was reached during the years-long gas leak at LADWP’s Sun Valley Generating Station that sickened more than 1,000 Sun Valley and Pacoima residents.

“My migraines were getting worse,” said Leticia Trascian, a resident of the area.

Many residents of Sun Valley and Pacoima, like Trascian, have been complaining of severe headaches, nausea and more for years. It’s a terrifying ordeal, given that the victims couldn’t pinpoint exactly why their health was wrong. The doctors were also puzzled.

That is until residents realized there was a gas leak at the Los Angeles Department of Water and Power’s Sun Valley Generating Station. The law firm reached a settlement with the city for nearly $60 million.

“I’m just happy overall because they’re finally doing something about it, which they should have done years ago,” Trascian said.

“This is a historic environmental justice settlement in Sun Valley,” said Alex Wheeler of the Parris Law Firm. “DWP has been poisoning the Sun Valley community for years without telling anyone what’s going on.”

At least 1,200 residents teamed up, hiring the Parris law firm to sue the city of LA, claiming the leak spewed toxic methane gas, sickening residents. The lawsuit also alleged that the DWP failed to conduct adequate on-site safety inspections and not notify residents of the leaks in a timely manner. The Parris law firm argued that the toxic spill had been contained for years, from 2016 to 2020.

Residents’ complaints did not fall on deaf ears as several agencies stepped in to alleviate the problem.

“So people in this community got sick and had no idea what was causing their illness,” Wheeler said. “They were going to doctors, they were going to the hospital with headaches with nausea and they had no idea what was causing it.”

The law firm said the leak has been fixed and includes monitoring stations that post publicly available readings for methane on a website.

The LADWP also included permanent equipment upgrades that result in zero natural gas emissions at the site. Monitoring has shown that there have been no leaks of any quantity since the modified packing seals were installed in December 2020.

“I’m happy the DWP is finally stepping up and doing the right thing,” Trascian said.

Resident victims say at the end of the day, they’re just glad this crisis is resolved.