R10851City Council Meeting: December 9, 2014
RESOLUTION NUMBER
Santa Monica, California
10851 (CCS)
(City Council Series)
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL
OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA OPPOSING OIL DRILLING IN HERMOSA BEACH
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica has a long- standing commitment to
protecting, preserving and restoring the natural environment; and
WHEREAS, this commitment is reflected in, among many other things, the
Sustainability Bill of Rights, adopted by the Santa Monica City Council in 2013; and
WHEREAS, the City's work to protect the natural environment includes decades
of efforts to protect and heal Santa Monica Bay; and
WHEREAS, the energy company E &B Natural Resources seeks to erect an 87-
foot drilling rig and up to 34 oil /gas and wastewater injection wells on a 1.3 -acre plot six
blocks from the beach, in Hermosa Beach in order to extract up to 8,000 barrels of oil a
day from underneath the seafloor under a 34 -year lease; and
WHEREAS, the voters of Hermosa Beach will decide through a special election
on March 3, 2015 whether to repeal the existing oil drilling moratorium in the city; and
WHEREAS, the proposed oil drilling project would be precedent- setting with the
potential to undermine the many environmental improvements that residents,
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environmental groups, municipalities, and many others have advanced over the past
few decades throughout Los Angeles County; and
WHEREAS, the proposed oil drilling in Hermosa Beach poses significant risk to
the health of Santa Monica Bay; and
WHEREAS, the final, certified Environmental Impact Report identifies nine
significant and unavoidable impacts to air quality, biology, hydrology, land use,
aesthetics, noise, recreation, safety, and notes the risk of upset (such as spills and
explosions); and
WHEREAS, the California Coastal Sanctuary Act bars all new oil and gas leases
in submerged tidal lands within State Waters; and
WHEREAS, there are no current oil drilling operations in or under the Santa
Monica Bay; and
WHEREAS, the state and local community have made significant investments to
protect and enhance marine and coastal habitats in the Bay- such as the designation of
Santa Monica Bay as a National Estuary; establishing marine protected areas in Malibu,
Palos Verdes and Catalina Island; restoring Malibu Lagoon; restoring kelp forests in
Santa Monica Bay; and the planned restoration of Ballona Wetlands- and an oil spill
would directly undermine these restorative investments; and
WHEREAS, the health of the Pacific Ocean is directly tied to the City of Santa
Monica's economy, public health, and environment, with California's direct ocean
economy generating $39.1 billion of the state's GDP annually; and
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WHEREAS, there is a significant chance of an oil spill anywhere along the
pipeline associated with the proposed project, and spills and ruptures could be caused
by a variety of factors including geologic hazards, mechanical failure, structural failure,
corrosion, or human error during operation; and
WHEREAS, the rocky reef, deep canyon, and cobble and sand habitats, and
beaches throughout the Santa Monica Bay are home to sensitive and protected marine
life, including blue whales, juvenile white sharks, yelloweye rockfish, least terns, brown
pelicans, and abalone; and
WHEREAS, oil spills have the potential to significantly impact marine life and
habitats in the Santa Monica Bay and throughout the Southern California Bight, in part
because they can spread rapidly over great distances, and can be difficult to detect and
cleanup, as demonstrated by the relatively small oil spill from Chevron's oil marine
terminal in El Segundo, which reached from the South Bay to Malibu Lagoon; and
WHEREAS, an oil spill in the Santa Monica Bay would be disastrous to the
marine environment with significant and unavoidable impacts to residents and visitors
who live near and recreate on Los Angeles County beaches, our local economy and
tourism, water quality, and the health of marine life; and
WHEREAS, history and experience tell us that the long -term impacts of oil spills
are felt decades later through significant, adverse effects on native species and habitats
and degradation of wildlife and habitats from the spill, cleanup, and remediation
activities; and
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WHEREAS, the West Basin service area depends heavily upon the West Coast
Groundwater Basin for its potable water supply, and the proposed oil drilling project
would waste valuable water resources during an extreme drought in California,
intending to use 375+ acre -feet, or 122,194,285.875 gallons of West Basin supplied
recycled water per year during drilling of the production and injection wells; and
WHEREAS, the City of Santa Monica endorses a balanced approach to
managing, sustaining, and protecting natural resources, including open space, water
quality, and ocean health.
NOW, THEREFORE, THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF SANTA MONICA
DOES RESOLVE AS FOLLOWS:
SECTION 1. Santa Monica is committed to enhancing and protecting the health
of Santa Monica Bay; and Santa Monica therefore opposes oil drilling in Hermosa
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SECTION 2. The City Clerk shall certify to the adoption of this Resolution, and
thenceforth and thereafter the same shall be in full force and effect.
APPROVED AS TO FORM:
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Adopted and approved this 9th day of December, 2014.
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Kevin McKeown, Mayor
I, Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk of the City of Santa Monica, do hereby certify that
the foregoing Resolution No. 10851 (CCS) was duly adopted at a meeting of the Santa
Monica City Council held on the 9th day of December, 2014, by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmembers: Davis, Himmelrich, O'Connor, O'Day, Winterer
Mayor McKeown, Mayor Pro Tern Vazquez
NOES: Councilmember: None
ABSENT: Councilmember: None
ATTEST:
LA 6--
Sarah P. Gorman, City Clerk