RESOLUTION NO. 04-32

A RESOLUTION OF THE MALIBU CITY COUNCIL REAFFIRMING MALIBU GENERAL PLAN’S VISION STATEMENT AND STRONGLY OPPOSING THE TWO LIQUEFIED NATURAL GAS DEEPWATER PORTS PROPOSED OFF THE COAST OF OXNARD, CALIFORNIA

The City Council of the City of Malibu does hereby find, order and resolve as follows:

SECTION 1. Recitals.

A. Many energy companies have announced plans to build a host of new terminals where large amounts of gas could be imported by tanker in liquefied form and then distributed by pipeline to American customers.

B. Recently, several high-profile gas projects have been canceled. For example, intense local opposition led the Calpine Corporation to withdraw plans in March 2004 for a gas receiving terminal at Eureka in Northern California. In addition, ConocoPhillips canceled a terminal project in Harpswell, Mexico, for the same reason. Likewise, Marathon Oil pulled out of a project near Tijuana, Mexico, that would have supplied gas to Southern California after the land for it was seized by the state government of Baja, California. Finally, Exxon Mobil suspended work on a terminal near Mobile, Alabama.

C. There are many inherent risks in liquefied natural gas (LNG) terminals/ports. Liquefied Natural Gas’s ability to quickly evaporate into the atmosphere results in vapor that is flammable and detonable when mixed with the air at certain concentrations.

D. In "Against All Enemies," the recent book by Richard A. Clarke, the Bush administration's former counterterrorism chief, Mr. Clarke wrote that Al Qaeda operatives may have been traveling to Boston from Algeria on liquefied gas tankers shortly after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001; "Had one of the giant tankers blown up," Mr. Clarke wrote, "it would have wiped out downtown Boston."

E. Two companies, BHP Billiton and Crystal Energy, have proposed offshore gas terminals close to the coast of Malibu. These proposals envision offshore facilities that would include underwater pipelines that would come ashore underground in Ventura County. Specifically, BHP Billiton proposes to establish a floating terminal 14 miles off the county's southern coast. Crystal Energy seeks to convert Platform Grace, an existing offshore oil platform 12.6 miles due west of Oxnard, to an LNG terminal. In each case, the liquid would be converted back to gas at the facility, then shipped through pipelines to a Southern California Gas Co. facility near Ventura.

F. According to the Vision Statement in the Malibu General Plan adopted in 1995, the people of Malibu are committed to protecting the environment and to preserving Malibu’s unaltered natural resources. The people of Malibu are a responsible custodian of the area’s natural resources for present and future generations. The Vision Statement provides: Malibu is a unique land and marine environment and residential community whose citizens have historically evidenced a commitment to sacrifice urban and suburban conveniences in order to protect that environment and lifestyle, and to preserve unaltered natural resources and rural characteristics. The people of Malibu are a responsible custodian of the area’s natural resources for present and future generations. (Emphasis added.) [LBReport.com note: The added emphasis is part of the resolution's text]

G. The proposed LNG terminal/ports can take human and marine life, leave our ocean forever altered and destroy properties. Specifically, a large explosion and blast wave -- set off, perhaps, by an earthquake or a terrorist attack would result in the loss of human and marine life and property.

SECTION 2. The City Council does affirm the Vision Statement in the General Plan and will act as necessary to protect the area’s natural resources including human, marine and ocean life.

SECTION 3. In light of the foregoing considerations, the City Council has determined that the public welfare of the City, as articulated by the principles in the General Plan Vision Statement, will now be served and advanced by strongly opposing the two proposed Cabrillo Liquefied Gas Deepwater Ports proposed by BHP Billiton and Crystal Energy off the coast of Oxnard, California.

SECTION 4. The City Council hereby directs staff to send a letter to the U.S. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission strongly opposing above-mentioned proposed Liquefied Natural Gas Ports by the May 28, 2004 due date and continue to monitor the development of the any proposed Liquefied Natural Gas project and send any and all additional letters opposing such terminals and/or ports to appropriate agencies as necessary.

SECTION 5. The City Clerk shall certify to the passage and adoption of this resolution and enter it into the book of original resolutions.

PASSED, APPROVED, and ADOPTED on May 24, 2004.
_____________________________
SHARON BAROVSKY, Mayor

ATTEST:
___________________________
LISA POPE, City Clerk
(seal)

APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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CHRISTI HOGIN, City Attorney