AAEA Press Conference Supporting Malibu LNG Project

The Cabrillo Port Liquefied Natural Gas facility is being proposed by BHP Billiton, which wants to locate the terminal 15 miles off the coast of Malibu. Opponents are trying to kill the project by complaining that the terminal fails to meet federal clean air requirements. Pierce Brosnan, Barbra Streisand, Cindy Crawford, Martin Sheen, Tom Hanks, Sting and Charlize Theron and other celebrities are protesting plans to build the liquefied natural gas (LNG) facility. The Environmental Protection Agency is preparing a draft air pollution permit for BHP but is still reviewing public comments and will make a decision in 2007.

The Malibu City Council passed a resolution opposing the project.AAEA supports this project. Where are these celebrities when these projects are being proposed for minority neighborhoods. Nowhere to be found. It is a good project for the residents of California. We support a similar that is proposed to be located in the middle of Long Island Sound (Broadwater). We believe this project would provide a reliable source of low-polluting natural gas. Next the celebrities will be complaining that the project represents a disproportionate impact on rich, famous people and will be calling for environmental justice. BHP Billiton, an Australia-based company, has submitted an license application to construct a $800-million floating deep-water liquefied natural gas port terminal off the Ventura County coast. Public hearings by the Coast Guard and the California State Lands Commission will provide stakeholders with an opportunity to participate in the environmental review process, which will take into account economic, environmental, marine habitat and public safety issues.

The Cabrillo Deepwater Port, which would act as a receiving point for shipments of California-bound natural gas, would be the first such floating terminal on the West Coast. Stored liquefied natural gas would be converted to vapor through a heat exchange system and transported by an undersea pipeline to existing onshore natural gas facilities. BHP has stated that the terminal would also be placed outside shipping lanes. Once the environmental review process is completed, the Coast Guard will issue a recommendation on the review to the state Department of Transportation, which will ultimately decide whether to issue an operating license to BHP.

MSNBC
LA Times