Yaroslavsky says the Cabrillo Port project proposed for Malibu’s coast is unsafe, and would damage and pollute the environment. BHP Billiton declines to respond to the supervisor’s criticisms.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
Calling BHP Billiton’s plan to build a liquefied natural gas terminal off the coast of Malibu an “ill-sited and ill-planned proposal,” Los Angeles County Supervisor Zev Yaroslavsky urged Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to oppose the project in a letter written to the state leader last week. This marks the first time the influential politician, whose district includes Malibu, has taken a firm stance on the Australian company’s proposal.
“After thorough review of the environmental documents and additional facts surrounding the proposed Cabrillo Liquefied Natural Gas Deepwater Port, I am writing to express my firm opposition to this project,” Yaroslavsky wrote.
In his letter, Yaroslavsky said the proposal “poses significant public safety impacts,” “would severely damage the scenic beauty of the Malibu coast” and threatened the environment. He also challenged BHP Billiton’s argument that LNG was a clean alternative fuel.
“This claim fails to hold true when the entire supply chain of LNG is considered in the equation,” Yaroslavsky wrote. “…the LNG will have to be shipped several thousand miles, potentially on diesel-powered tankers, which will add greenhouse gasses to the Earth’s atmosphere. Then the liquefied gas will have to be heated using a process that will use up a sizable amount of its available energy thereby reducing LNG’s overall efficiency and further adding to the greenhouse gasses and other air pollutants produced by the LNG process. Finally, the supply ships, tug boats and other support vessels will also contribute to the air quality impacts of the port.”
BHP Billiton officials declined to comment specifically on Yaroslavsky’s criticisms about the Cabrillo Port project in his letter.
“We appreciate Mr. Yaroslavsky’s interest in the Cabrillo Port natural gas transfer facility,” BHP Billiton Director of Public Affairs Patrick Cassidy wrote in an e-mail to The Malibu Times. “We’ve not yet had the opportunity to meet with Mr. Yaroslavsky but look forward to do doing that soon so we can address his questions and provide him with additional information on Cabrillo Port. Cabrillo Port can provide California with a much needed safe, new reliable supply of natural gas.”
BHP Billiton has proposed building its facility 14 miles off the Malibu coast. Before it could be built, Cabrillo Port must be approved by the State Lands Commission and the U.S. Coast Guard, with the California Coastal Commission, the Maritime Administration and the governor having a say in the matter.
The federal Environmental Protection Agency is in charge of granting air quality and water discharge permits for the project. One of the controversial issues involved with the air quality permit is that the facility will be subject to air quality standards as if it were on an island rather than on the mainland, a decision made by the federal government earlier this year. Documents obtained by environmental opponents to the project revealed last month that the White House influenced the EPA’s change of position after lobbying by BHP Billiton.
The SLC will conduct hearings on the draft environmental impact report for the project later this year.
The EPA will not make a decision on the permits it oversees until the project as a whole has been considered by the necessary state and federal entities.
There are three other proposals by other companies to build LNG facilities off the Los Angeles County coast, but the Cabrillo Port project is the one furthest along in the permitting process.