City leaders and a coastal environmental group point to the contradiction in the governor’s signing of an environmental bill and his support of a liquefied natural gas facility. Gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides vows to veto the gas project if elected.
By Ward Lauren / Special to The Malibu Times
Malibu Bluffs Park has become the bully pulpit of the anti-BHP Billiton liquefied natural gas terminal movement. Last week, two separate press conferences were held at the city’s picturesque recreational facility by the California Coastal Protection Network/Coastal Advocates, the public benefit corporation leading the opposition to the floating industrial complex proposed by the energy conglomerate to be anchored 14 miles off the coast.
The first was held at noon Sept. 27, two hours before the scheduled start of Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger’s ceremonial signing of the environmental bill, AB 32, at Pepperdine University. Several city officials and scores of members and supporters of Coastal Advocates met with news and TV reporters to highlight the contradiction in the governor approving the new California Global Warming Solutions Act while favoring the BHP LNG terminal project at the same time.
Two days later, many of the same group and others met to hear gubernatorial candidate Phil Angelides declare his opposition to the project and vow to veto it if he became governor.
Malibu Mayor Ken Kearsley headed the list of speakers to kick off the conference on Sept. 27. He said it was “the epitome of hypocrisy” that the governor was trying to claim credit for an environmental bill that would reduce greenhouse gas emissions at a time when he actively supports projects that will only serve to undermine the intent of that bill.
“The people in the L.A. Basin should take note,” Kearsley said, “because we get the air first but it finally ends up there, so they are also the ones who are going to be affected. Everybody’s going to be affected, if we don’t put our foot down now. We’re not indignant about this; we’re outraged!”
Susan Jordan, director of CCPN, said, “I’d like to say how delighted we are that the governor is signing AB 32 into law. However, what we don’t understand is why Gov. Schwarzenegger has also announced his strong support for the construction of an offshore LNG processing terminal … that will spew up to 25 million tons of greenhouse gases every year for the next 50 years. It simply doesn’t make sense.”
She urged reporters to ask tough questions of the governor at the signing ceremony that afternoon.
“Ask what his position is on LNG,” she said. “Why he is supporting President Bush’s vow to ‘clear the path for this terminal’ and allow it to avoid compliance with the rules of the Clean Air Act? Why is he playing fast and loose with the residents of Oxnard and Malibu?
“Ask if he’s going to allow the largest mining company in the world to have an exclusive franchise totally dependent on another fossil fuel. Ask him now before it’s too late. This governor has the absolute authority to veto this project. If he says no, it goes away. If he does nothing, it’s deemed approved.”
No one was allowed to ask any questions at the AB 32 signing ceremony at Pepperdine, and the governor did not respond to one reporter who shouted a question about the LNG terminal.
At Friday’s conference, actor and Malibu resident Daniel Stern and Andres Herrera, mayor pro-tem of Oxnard, added to the list of speakers introducing Angelides. Stern said his problem with the LNG proposal was that he saw no plan; it was not part of a plan for greater use of biodiesel fuel, solar or wind power.
Herrera said, “We [in Oxnard] would be the most impacted by BHP Billiton but yet we’re not even at the table, we’re not even in the room. We vote, we pay taxes; we’re concerned about the environment. That’s why the city of Oxnard, on behalf of all its residents, has voiced opposition to this project.”
Angelides, as part of his platform in his campaign for governor, says he will protect California’s coast, including vetoing the BHP LNG facility.
“This plant would be a Hindenburg on steroids,” he said. “We’ve got to wean ourselves away from fossil fuels; the risk is too great. Whether it’s oil or LNG, we’ve got to take the smarter path.
Kathi Hann, environmental advisor for BHP Billiton, who witnessed the press conference, said the green house gas emissions from burning natural gas are far less than those from oil or diesel fuel.
“We will be so far offshore we will have to generate our own electricity,” she said. “The engines generating the power will be burning natural gas, so they will give out a certain amount of air emissions, but we will be controlling those with technology, which will lower the possible emissions. These are the same kinds of controls and standards we would follow if we were onshore.”