To the consternation of local government officials and community activists in Ventura County northwest of Los Angeles, a joint federal-state draft environmental impact report (EIR) released earlier this month minimizes any safety concerns about a proposed offshore liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving terminal 21 miles off of Oxnard, CA, as contemplated by Australian resource giant BHP Billiton.

A local Billiton project spokesperson said the company intentionally sited the proposed terminal beyond 14 miles of the shore to give Californians minimal visual, environmental and safety concerns. A spokesperson for Houston-based Crystal Energy LLC, proponents of a second offshore site in the area at a currently idle offshore oil platform, said her company is studying the draft EIR and will make its initial public comments on it next week.

The California State Lands Commission, U.S. Coast Guard and Maritime Administration jointly prepared the 1,234-page draft EIR, and ultimately they must decide whether to grant Billiton a permit to build the project. The public has until 3 p.m. Dec. 20 to submit written comments.

In local Ventura news media, Oxnard Mayor Manuel Lopez and a local attorney representing citizen opposition efforts expressed their commitment to scrutinize the draft report closely and critically, and said that in time they will urge Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger to “veto” either the BHP or Crystal projects, which they maintain the governor has the legal authority to do.

Both projects’ proponents have argued that the location of their projects offshore and other design features made them both safe and environmentally sound, however, local residents are not accepting the assurances.

To develop the draft EIR, more than 40 technical and agency experts conducted computerized modeling tests of various LNG accident scenarios as part of a risk analysis, concluding that the chances of a major accident were very low, according to a news report on the draft EIR by the Ventura Star. It said a gas cloud at the terminal is not likely to draft beyond a 2.3-mile radius, and a terminal-to-shore gas pipeline failure is unlikely.

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