California Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency Wednesday for a methane leak that has emerged from a mountain for months, making nearby residents sick.

The natural gas leak started with an eruption at a storage well underneath a mountain on Oct. 23, 2015, according to the Environmental Defense Fund. Since then, about 80,000 metric tons of methane have leaked into the air, which, in addition to polluting the air with a greenhouse gas, has caused health problems for people in Porter Ranch.

"Methane – the main component of natural gas – is a powerful short-term climate forcer, with over 80 times the warming power of carbon dioxide in the first 20 years after it is released," said the EDF. "Methane is estimated to be leaking out of the Aliso Canyon site at a rate of about 62 million standard cubic feet, per day. The daily leakage has the same 20-year climate impact as driving 7 million cars a day."

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For many in the town of 30,000, normal life has not been possible since the leak began. because of the nauseating fumes,NBC News reports. There have been a wide variety of other side effects including nosebleeds and breathing problems.

The disaster has even garnered a response from environmental activist Erin Brockovich, who held community meetings , according to the L.A. Daily News.

"This is the biggest community and environmental disaster ," Mitchell Englander, who has represented Porter Ranch on the Los Angeles City Council since 2011, told Bloomberg."Life there is not on hold -- it's on the edge and it's on the brink of pandemonium. People are living with fear, uncertainty and doubt."

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Sempra, an energy company that provides the natural gas to Southern California Gas (SoCalGas), could be forced to pay as much as $900 million in relocation and legal expenses, Bloomberg said. Sempra has denied those claims, but also said they're working on a relief well that will divert the gas since the pipeline is unable to be repaired, the report added. That diversion could take weeks to get ready.

SoCalGas spokesperson Melissa Bailey told Mother Jones that the company is " to stop the leak as quickly as possible."

According to the emergency declaration, Brown's office mentioned that the governor , where the gas has been leaking into the air in Porter Ranch. The emergency proclamation allows for better coordination and additional resources to help the state fix the leak as quickly as possible.

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This photo provided by CalFire San Luis Obispo shows a mobile home that was overturned by strong winds in Paso Robles, Calif., Wednesday, Jan. 6, 2016. The winds are associated the first of a series of El Nino storms that are lined up across the Pacific, dumping heavy rain and snow throughout California. (CalFire San Luis Obispo via AP)