In other action, the council supports dog park and practice field at Trancas.
By Jonathan Friedman / Assistant Editor
The City Council on Monday voted unanimously to oppose the OceanWay liquefied natural gas facility, proposed by Australia’s Woodside Energy to be located approximately 21 miles off Point Dume.
The resolution was approved as part of the Consent Calendar, a list of items that are voted on together with the expectation of a unanimous vote. A council member or any member of the public can remove an item from the Consent Calendar.
“As the process to approve this and other LNG ports proceeds, it is imperative that the city continue to voice its opposition and keep the state of California and the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission informed of the real threat LNG ports pose to the environment, public safety tourism and property values in Malibu and the surrounding areas,” the resolution reads.
Michael Hinrichs, a spokesperson for the project, said in an interview on Tuesday, he was disappointed the City Council took an official stance on the proposal prior to the publication of the environmental impact report/environmental impact statement.
“However, we still want to meet with them [city officials],” Hinrichs said. “We want to tell them how different it actually is from the other LNG projects that have been proposed.”
The proposal for the OceanWay project calls for two regasification ships to receive LNG from overseas carriers. After being warmed, the natural gas would be piped ashore through the city of Los Angeles to a receiving station in Westchester. Although Point Dume is the non-island land point closest to the ships, they would not be visible from Malibu.
Public comments have already been received in preparation for the creation of the draft EIR/EIS, but the process is currently being held up by the city of Los Angeles and the U.S. Coast Guard, which have asked for what is called a Greenhouse Gas full-cycle analysis. Hinrichs said he is glad the project will be getting such high-level scrutiny, to ensure its friendliness to the environment. He said he expects the draft EIR/EIS to be ready sometime in the spring, with the public hearing process beginning later in the year.
Several government entities have authority in the project’s approval, including the Los Angeles City Council, three city of Los Angeles commissions, the California Coastal Commission and the U.S. Maritime Administration.
The OceanWay project is the third LNG proposal to be opposed by the Malibu City Council. The council passed a resolution against BHP Billiton’s Cabrillo Port, which was rejected by state officials earlier this year. And city officials voted against Houston-based NorthernStar Natural Gas Inc.’s ClearWater Port, which involves the transformation of an oil platform into an LNG facility. That project is still in the application process.
Trancas Park moving forward
Also at the meeting, the council voted 3-2 to support the Parks and Recreation Commission’s proposal for a dog park and two-acre practice field along with other features on the east side of Trancas Canyon Road.
Mayor Jeff Jennings and Mayor Pro Tem Pamela Conley Ulich cast the dissenting votes because they believed, among other things, that the fields could be made larger. Some community members complained about the possibility of the project creating too much traffic, while others didn’t like that it would not be used for playing fields.
The project is still far from getting started. An EIR and a final park proposal will still need to be approved by the council. Also, the city only has $665,000 in the bank for the project, of which the estimated cost is $3.1 million.