Posted on 10/02/2007 11:45:05 AM PDT by NormsRevenge
State and federal regulators this week will kick off a long process to consider another proposal for a liquefied natural gas terminal off the Ventura County coast.
Officials will take suggestions from the public on what to include in an environmental study for the Clearwater Port project during a hearing Wednesday at the Oxnard Performing Arts Center.
Houston-based NorthernStar Natural Gas wants to convert an oil platform 12.6 miles off the coast of Oxnard to accept liquid natural gas from various companies, convert it to vapor and send it ashore via an undersea, 36-inch-diameter pipeline.
It is the second such project that has been proposed.
Earlier this year, two state commissions and Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger rejected a natural gas terminal proposed by Australian mining firm BHP Billiton, citing problems with air pollution and effects on global warming.
The fierce public opposition to the BHP concept is likely to be repeated with Clearwater Port.
Opponents already are saying the terminal would threaten marine life and pose safety and security problems. Company officials say they will address every issue that comes up, while arguing that Clearwater Port can meet California's need for a stable natural gas supply.
To secure an operating permit, NorthernStar must run the same regulatory gauntlet as BHP.
It involves approvals by the California State Lands Commission, California Coastal Commission, U.S. Coast Guard and Federal Maritime Commission. Schwarzenegger has final veto authority.
Comments from Wednesday's hearing will shape a study on the project's potential environmental impacts, said Marina Brand, assistant chief of the Lands Commission's Environmental Planning and Management Division.
"We welcome maximum participation early in the process," Brand said.
"That will help our ability to facilitate a document that meets everyone's needs."
Regulators will later release a draft environmental impact report, which the public will have an opportunity to comment on. Those statements will be included in the final report.
The California Coastal Commission also will prepare a separate report.
Just how long the process will take and when the documents will be released is unclear "because we don't know all the issues that will come up (at Wednesday's hearing)," Brand said.
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They’d have a better chance bringing it ashore in Reno, NV.
(flip)
(flip/flip)
(flip/flip/flip/flip/flip/flip)
Hey, what’s going on? Did somebody turn off all the lights?
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