Malibu Protests Neighboring LNG Proposals

Malibu’s City Council has passed a resolution opposing two massive liquefied natural gas projects in the Santa Barbara Channel, echoing similar protests by cities near other proposed LNG facilities.

Although Malibu has no jurisdiction over the proposed projects, bitter local opposition has recently sunk LNG proposals in a number of locations, including Eureka in Northern California and Harpswell, Maine.

To help overcome such protests, Australia’s Prime Minister John Howard is to meet next week with Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger as part of a U.S. visit.

BHP Billiton, the developer of one of the Santa Barbara Channel projects, is an Australian company that would ship natural gas via a terminal 14 miles off the coast north of Malibu.

“If this project can be won for Australia, it will be an enormous additional export victory for this country,” Howard told his nation’s parliament Tuesday.

The other project in the Santa Barbara Channel would be an LNG terminal proposed by the privately held Crystal Energy of Houston for a dormant oil platform 11 miles from Oxnard.

Oxnard, which must approve pipelines that come ashore in the city, has signaled its probable opposition in letters to state and federal regulatory agencies.

Malibu’s unanimous resolution Monday night asserted the possibility of environmental damage from the projects. It also alleged they would make attractive targets for terrorists.

“In a day and age where they can fly planes into the Twin Towers, I see no reason they couldn’t do the same thing with liquid gas and obliterate a couple of coastal communities,” Mayor Sharon Barovsky said in an interview Tuesday. “It’s my understanding that if they explode, Thousand Oaks becomes a beach town.”

Sponsored by Councilwoman Pamela Conley Ulich, the resolution cited “Against All Enemies,” the recent book by Richard A. Clarke, the Bush administration’s former head of counter-terrorism. In the book, Clarke raised the prospect of terrorists using LNG tankers as floating bombs.

The projects’ developers have argued that natural gas in its super-chilled, liquid form is not nearly as volatile as critics claim. They say recent technology would minimize the risks, which are being assessed in state and federal environmental studies.

“These concerns will be addressed during the environmental review and public hearing process, which is an important part of the licensing procedures,” said Kathi Hann, a local spokeswoman for BHP Billiton.

Crystal Energy could not be reached for comment on Malibu’s action.