Forces dig in for energy battle (LNG terminal, CA)

[jpak]

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/04/08/LNG.TMP

(04-08) 04:00 PDT Sacramento -- A four-year battle to bring liquefied natural gas to California comes to a head beginning this week, as Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger and two state commissions make key decisions on a project that pits the state's dependence on fossil fuels against the push to boost renewable energy and combat climate change.

An Australian company hopes to build a terminal off the Southern California coast with the promise of creating a new supply of the liquid natural gas needed to fuel California's electricity power plants. The LNG terminal would be located 14 miles offshore near the cities of Oxnard (Ventura County) and Malibu (Los Angeles County).

The proposal has generated emotional debate and sparked plenty of political intrigue. The company pushing the project, BHP Billiton, has poured millions into its lobbying effort and hired several friends of Schwarzenegger to work on its behalf. And while the lobbying effort has taken place primarily behind the scenes, a congressional committee under Democratic leadership has launched an inquiry into whether the White House influenced a federal environmental ruling that benefited the company.

Decisions made this week by the state Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission, as well as a verdict from Schwarzenegger due by mid-May on whether to allow the terminal could have profound impacts on the state's energy future.

<more>

[XemaSab]

1. I'm strongly in favor

of my office doing the EIR. :D