Community Case Studies
In September 2003, we filed our applications for a deepwater port licence and land lease for the Cabrillo Port project in southern California on the west coast of the USA. The plan is to develop a floating, liquefied natural gas (LNG) receiving facility that will transfer shipped cargoes of LNG, store it at the port's offshore facilities and convert it back to natural gas for delivery via pipelines to the existing distribution system onshore. As part of the planning and approvals process, we are conducting an extensive consultation program with community and other key stakeholders.
Background
Over the last two years, LNG has been gaining a higher profile as a potential remedy to the USA's increasing energy demands in the face of declining domestic gas production. Many environmentalists and NGOs prefer the fuel as an alternative to oil and coal because of its clean-burning, more efficient properties.
The Project and Approval Process
The proposed Cabrillo Port project is to be located more than 14 miles offshore from Ventura County in southern California, beyond the western horizon from the shoreline. The proposed location is designed to minimise disruption to onshore activities, populations and the environment while enhancing safety by operating in a remote area far offshore.
Cabrillo Port is unique in that it will be a specially designed LNG receiving terminal for southern California. There is presently no such facility on the West Coast, and LNG represents only a small fraction of the energy supplied to the USA, which has had abundant supplies of natural gas from local sources. In comparison, Japan has nearly two dozen LNG receiving terminals and Asia, Africa, Europe and the Middle East have been shipping or receiving LNG since the 1960s. LNG has been shipped to the East Coast of the USA since the 1970s.
Before the project can move forward, the United States Coast Guard (USCG) and the California State Lands Commission (CSLC) must grant permits for a deepwater port licence and a land lease for the pipelines connecting the port to the distribution system onshore, which is operated by Southern California Gas Company. Numerous other permits are required but are dependent upon these initial approvals.
As part of this permitting process, the USCG and CSLC have commissioned an independent third party to conduct a thorough Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) and Environmental Impact Report (EIR). Both the National Environmental Policy Act and the California Environmental Quality Act require this review. Public meetings to discuss issues that should be covered in the EIS/EIR were held in March 2004 in Oxnard and Malibu, the two main coastal communities near to the proposed site. The following October, a draft of the EIS/EIR was submitted for public review and a further round of hearings was held to discuss the project with the public. A final draft of the EIR/EIS is expected later this year.
The Consultation Program
LNG is currently a relatively small part of the energy supply mix in the USA, and there is still little knowledge of it among the general population. To familiarise people with the product and the project, we are undertaking an extensive consultation program in the area and surrounding locales with various stakeholders, including elected and regulatory officials, non-government organisations (NGOs) such as environmental and conservation groups, community-based organisations, small local groups and individuals.
We have participated in numerous presentations, meetings and other forums throughout Ventura County and elsewhere in southern California to discuss the proposal, listen to community concerns and answer questions about the project. In the 12 months to April 2005, seven public hearings and open houses, hosted by the USCG and CSLC, have been held in Oxnard, Malibu and Santa Clarita. Several hundred people and organisations have participated in this process.
Public comment has focused primarily on safety and environmental issues, the need for LNG supplies and the potential economic and social impacts of the project.
While some stakeholders have expressed concern about the proposed development, a number of community leaders have expressed strong support for LNG and Cabrillo Port in particular. Tom Cady, retired Assistant Police Chief, Oxnard City Police Department, has said, 'Finally, federal and state regulators have determined what we already know: that LNG is safe. Out of all the proposed LNG facilities, Cabrillo Port provides the strongest commitment to ensure public safety and protect our local community'.
Steve Caplan, former Captain of the Oxnard City Fire Department has acknowledged that 'Cabrillo Port is fully committed to working with federal, state and local public safety officials here in Oxnard and all the Ventura County communities, to ensure that the safety of our families and loved ones is of utmost priority'. Commenting on social issues, Hank Lacayo, State President, Congress of California Seniors, stated, 'California needs new energy supplies such as LNG to keep prices in check and home heating and cooling costs low'.
We support open, constructive and reasoned dialogue about the project. A transparent consultation process can help our host communities and the state to fully understand the potential for Port Cabrillo to provide clean, safe, reliable energy to meet the growing energy needs of Ventura County and California, today and into the future.
