This is a worst case senario, it begins small and soon Hermosa (and a good bit of the SoCal coast looks like Baku:
https://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&STID=2S5RYDE7E7E
https://www.magnumphotos.com/C.aspx?VP3=SearchResult&STID=2S5RYDE7E7E
4
There are wells all over Southern California...California was oil country long before it was discovered by most everyone else. HB has numerous wells on- and off-shore.
"Keep oil out of Hermosa"...don't they mean keep the oil in Hermosa and not let anyone take it out?
1
No...see: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/euphemism?s=t
And the oil is under the ocean not the town.
And the oil is under the ocean not the town.
1
I just drove though that area last week.
As many commenters here are evidently ignorant of the area, I have to point out that there are very many active oil wells though out the Hermosa Beach area. You see lots and lots of them when you drive the Pacific Coast Highway from Long Beach down to Hermosa. Many are on the landward side of the PCH opposite the State Beach that is on the shore. They have been operating there for decades with no apparent problems.
And that's not to mention the active oil platforms visible from the shore.
Many commenters seem to think this project is being dropped into an area where nothing like this has ever happened before. There has been extensive oil production along the LA and Orange County coasts for over a hundred years.
As many commenters here are evidently ignorant of the area, I have to point out that there are very many active oil wells though out the Hermosa Beach area. You see lots and lots of them when you drive the Pacific Coast Highway from Long Beach down to Hermosa. Many are on the landward side of the PCH opposite the State Beach that is on the shore. They have been operating there for decades with no apparent problems.
And that's not to mention the active oil platforms visible from the shore.
Many commenters seem to think this project is being dropped into an area where nothing like this has ever happened before. There has been extensive oil production along the LA and Orange County coasts for over a hundred years.
1
You don't know what you're talking about! There are NO active oil wells in Hermosa Beach and there are no oil platforms in the Santa Monica Bay (to which HB is adjacent).
There are indeed visible platforms and rigs in Long Beach but that is a completely different industrialized city adjacent to LA Harbor about 20 miles from Hermosa.
There are indeed visible platforms and rigs in Long Beach but that is a completely different industrialized city adjacent to LA Harbor about 20 miles from Hermosa.
7
There are NO active oil wells in Hermosa Beach and there are no oil platforms in the Santa Monica Bay (to which HB is adjacent).
====================
Sorry but you are either drugged, blind or lying about where you live. I did not say they were in the Hermosa city limits, I said they were common in the area around it. And seriously you can see the oil platforms from the beach. By the way, Hermosa Beach isn't on Santa Monica Bay, which ends at the Palos Verdes Peninsula, far north of Hermosa.
====================
Sorry but you are either drugged, blind or lying about where you live. I did not say they were in the Hermosa city limits, I said they were common in the area around it. And seriously you can see the oil platforms from the beach. By the way, Hermosa Beach isn't on Santa Monica Bay, which ends at the Palos Verdes Peninsula, far north of Hermosa.
1
More science by opinion. I suppose it is 'settled' by their votes to the nation.
Modern science is run by 'consensus'. {snicker, snort} I am LESS than impressed.
Modern science is run by 'consensus'. {snicker, snort} I am LESS than impressed.
Starting to wonder if we should allow local government politicians to make decisions about the community. Perhaps we need to institute a test that proves they can read and understand contracts and bids before they are allowed to run? I'm sure people here would be up in arms, but seriously... local politicians these days are dumb as rocks and greedy as heck.
2
Let's imagine, if I were making, say, washing machines, my company shouldn't have to pay for any of the waste it creates in the process, right? And dealing with that waste shouldn't have to be part of the price of my washing machine. I get the profits, not the costs, right? Same with these oil producers and their garbage. And what if oil spills and dispersants in the air that people breathe? It is exactly what a Beach Town needs! What a criminal waste in addition to an environmental degradation..
10
My family moved to Hermosa Beach in 1948. It was so beautiful, so fun and even cheap. I hope the residents can keep it where it is now even though it's not the same: still beautiful, a different kind of fun and not cheap.
"But you are talking about a 1.3-acre site that would be behind a 35-foot wall.” And it would take a complete and total enclosure with air filtration to contain the smell, that awful pungent smell...to say nothing about the noise.
Ah, a sunny afternoon at the beach, the gentle surf, the warm sands, the clear blue sky...the noise and pungent odors coming from oil drilling right next door.
What a lovely sight walking along the beach in the early morning, a clear sky, a gentle surf, sea birds flitting about looking for breakfast...the pungent odor wafting gently out to sea while the sun slowly rises above 'the wall' among the flaming waste gas spires...
So very easy to imagine why some would be opposed to this...march of Avarice.
Ah, a sunny afternoon at the beach, the gentle surf, the warm sands, the clear blue sky...the noise and pungent odors coming from oil drilling right next door.
What a lovely sight walking along the beach in the early morning, a clear sky, a gentle surf, sea birds flitting about looking for breakfast...the pungent odor wafting gently out to sea while the sun slowly rises above 'the wall' among the flaming waste gas spires...
So very easy to imagine why some would be opposed to this...march of Avarice.
5
Have to been to California? There are wells all up and down the southern coast.
If you drive or use any products or services that require a vehicle for delivery then vote YES!!! If you walk and make all your products out of wood from trees on your property using hand tools, then vote no.
They don't want oil in Hermosa Beach? No gas stations, no cars in SoCal? Yeah, right.
They don't need the money because they are drilling the local wallets instead!
Oil corporations are ready for everything to increase their profits. Oil industry has always been the most profitable and had the biggest lobby in all branches of government. They pay money to PR companies, PR companies hire scientists and use fake researches and distorted facts to convince the public about harmlessness of oil exploration, tobacco etc. Pipeline XL is a perfect example. Some kind of oil lobby.
2
This election in Hermosa Beach is important, and hopefully people will turn out and vote NO on Measure O, even though the oil company is greatly outspending the local community members.
Meanwhile, farther east in Los Angeles County, residents of La Habra Heights are also trying to stop oil drilling in their community. See
http://www.heightsoilwatch.org/ and
http://whittierhillsoilwatch.org/la-habra-heights.php .
Meanwhile, farther east in Los Angeles County, residents of La Habra Heights are also trying to stop oil drilling in their community. See
http://www.heightsoilwatch.org/ and
http://whittierhillsoilwatch.org/la-habra-heights.php .
8
As a Hermosa Beach resident, I am looking forward to having this behind us. Years of uncertainty and expensive litigation will (hopefully) be put to rest and all the "Keep Hermosa Hermosa" signs will finally come down. In all honesty, there is not even a remote chance of this coming close to passing. The cynical side of me thinks E&B actually wants to lose. Their public outreach was late and tone deaf to the local mood. Plus, "mayor" Pete admitting we overpaid for the settlement does not help. It is soon to be time for the residents to start paying for the indecision of the last 30 years.
4
Massive refineries exist in El Segundo, Carson, and Long Beach; all a short distance from Hermosa Beach.
1
There are plenty of places in Southern California with oil wells, and they don't exactly smell like Chanel No.5. (Subtract 3 and you'll get a closer approximation.) That's why they're kept a certain distance from residential areas. They can be a bit noisy too, but sound, at least, mercifully obeys the inverse square law. Still, that's why there are those distance rules.
Hermosa Beach, a place I know well (And can't afford, darn it), doesn't have that luxury. There just isn't the room. If you ever wanted to see an example of folks living calmly and peacefully side-by-side in truly chock-a-block buildings, there it is. The beach makes it all worthwhile. And this in a place where, if you're renting and fortunate enough to have a parking space included (typically in a garage that's almost tight enough to give a mouse claustrophobia), you measure that space before buying a car. At least twice, just to be sure you get it right.
And that's why trying to fit oil rigs there makes about as much sense as having Queen Elizabeth move in. Not the monarch. The ship.
Hermosa Beach, a place I know well (And can't afford, darn it), doesn't have that luxury. There just isn't the room. If you ever wanted to see an example of folks living calmly and peacefully side-by-side in truly chock-a-block buildings, there it is. The beach makes it all worthwhile. And this in a place where, if you're renting and fortunate enough to have a parking space included (typically in a garage that's almost tight enough to give a mouse claustrophobia), you measure that space before buying a car. At least twice, just to be sure you get it right.
And that's why trying to fit oil rigs there makes about as much sense as having Queen Elizabeth move in. Not the monarch. The ship.
17
And that's why trying to fit oil rigs there makes about as much sense as having Queen Elizabeth move in. Not the monarch. The ship.
=============
The Queen Mary (the ship) is anchored right up the coast at Long Beach
=============
The Queen Mary (the ship) is anchored right up the coast at Long Beach
1
Hermosa is a really densely built, small beach community. The idea that the site will be hidden by "a 35 foot wall" is ludicrous. The wall itself is a major obstacle and would be one of the tallest buildings.
There is no way Measure O is going to pass. $800,000 a year penalty for that town is peanuts to them.
There is no way Measure O is going to pass. $800,000 a year penalty for that town is peanuts to them.
14
The density of Hermosa puts it between Boston and Jersey City, New Jersey, and more populated per square mile than Chicago and Newark, according to Census figures.
5
'It's just a shout away" - The Rolling Stones
It's just a natural event or a corporate mistake away.
It's just a natural event or a corporate mistake away.
5
Most people living in Southern California have no idea how many active oil wells there are in the city, right in the urban and residential areas. There is an interesting website that points them out:
http://www.nileguide.com/destination/blog/los-angeles/2010/06/26/urban-o...
Hermosa beach may have the spare change to pay off the contract, but they should make the decision in an informed way.
http://www.nileguide.com/destination/blog/los-angeles/2010/06/26/urban-o...
Hermosa beach may have the spare change to pay off the contract, but they should make the decision in an informed way.
1
Big, huge difference between an "active oil well" and "an oil drilling site"...
2
Big, huge difference between an "active oil well" and "an oil drilling site"…
==============
And both exist just a short distance from Hermosa. I saw them last week
==============
And both exist just a short distance from Hermosa. I saw them last week
I cannot wait to vote against this tomorrow. As the signs say, keep Hermosa Hermosa!
10
I am so sick of oil and the problems and pollution it produces. Seems others are pretty sick of it too. When will we get serious about alternative forms of energy? Americans are more than ready.
30
Quit driving or using products and services that require a vehicle. We are all hypocrites on this subject.
We ARE serious and moving forward...it's just that nobody has a magic wand to bring it about at the speed of impatient...
BlueGal, It'll take people like you to finally give up your fossil fuel burning vehicle. If we don't like oil, we need to vote with our dollars and not our ballots. Quit using things that require fossil fuel production and there will be no need for it. Companies succeed when there is a demand for it... We all demand oil too much. We hate on oil companies... we should hate on ourselves for depending on oil companies.
The horror of our capitulation to big fossil drags on and on, bringing with it the destruction of all we love. And we are to pay weregild for opposing the obsession with small and temporary profitability rather than paying forward the effort to facilitate clean energy, distribution, and storage.
What a tragedy for us all.
What a tragedy for us all.
12
I lived in beautiful Hermosa Beach for the early 2000's and dread, even from a distance, the thought of Hermosa succumbing to drilling. A 'penalty' for not approving drilling is minor compared to the enormous costs brought by destruction and inevitable catastrophes by way of spills and pollution that Hermosa stands to pay. Please, Hermosa, just say NO.
16
First impressions, this sounds like a bad idea. It doesn't make sense to build oil wells in a densely populated beach community like Hermosa Beach.
But $500 million of new revenue is tough to pass over without giving the proposal serious thought. Two questions here. First, how risky, stinky, loud, and visible will the oil well be? Second, what will the town be able to do with the extra money? It sounds like a bad idea, but until I know the answers to both those questions, I won't be able to reach my conclusion.
To be honest, the mayor of Hermosa Beach should demand E&B pay a cash dividend to every citizen, every year for the rights to drill.
If I was a voter, this is probably the only way I'd even consider voting yes.
But $500 million of new revenue is tough to pass over without giving the proposal serious thought. Two questions here. First, how risky, stinky, loud, and visible will the oil well be? Second, what will the town be able to do with the extra money? It sounds like a bad idea, but until I know the answers to both those questions, I won't be able to reach my conclusion.
To be honest, the mayor of Hermosa Beach should demand E&B pay a cash dividend to every citizen, every year for the rights to drill.
If I was a voter, this is probably the only way I'd even consider voting yes.
3
I used to bicycle or drive an econobox past onshore drilling in South Oxnard on the way to work. The sound was muffled by insulation and didn't bother me nor the neighbors. This was 30 years ago.
Far more damaging than toxics is affluent, low density beach towns, like HB and Lunada Bay, who live to say no. They are living high on the hog and I can't afford a home in the state I love. So I am an economic refugee living contract to contract.
Far more damaging than toxics is affluent, low density beach towns, like HB and Lunada Bay, who live to say no. They are living high on the hog and I can't afford a home in the state I love. So I am an economic refugee living contract to contract.
3
Small but not inexpensive homes says it all. As SoCal is full of wells, please tell me why this is not selfish. HB, share the wealth AND the pain.
2
The question is really that, if the town has lived nicely for the last 30 years without oil money, why would it suddenly need the money now? Yes, the penalty is big, but that's a finite impact that the town can work with, rather than future liability and potential environment disasters that's always on the horizon.
Then again, I'm an out-of-towner. What do I know.
Then again, I'm an out-of-towner. What do I know.
13
The 100s of millions of dollars is a falsehood - both the amount and the reporting which indicates it can be used for a wide series of uses. The fact remains that this project was laid out early last century and literally would not be approved were it to be proposed today.
Another falsehood not addressed is the fact that the city would have to pay an almost equivalent amount should the drilling be allowed, as we would need to replace our current town yard.
This city is one of the densest in the country. This is not NIMBYism, it is simply not the correct location for this project.
Those of us who live in this small town who have taken the time to read all of the literature on E&B, not simply the flashy mailers, are rightfully worried. Their past actions mandate it.
Another falsehood not addressed is the fact that the city would have to pay an almost equivalent amount should the drilling be allowed, as we would need to replace our current town yard.
This city is one of the densest in the country. This is not NIMBYism, it is simply not the correct location for this project.
Those of us who live in this small town who have taken the time to read all of the literature on E&B, not simply the flashy mailers, are rightfully worried. Their past actions mandate it.
9
And the issues can be mitigated, starting with putting this in a maintenance yard. Morally, HB is no different from South Pasadena, who junked a freeway by abusing due process.
1
As a former commission member, 10 year resident of Hermosa and organizer of the "save the railroad right of way as a linear park" I wish with all my heart that the wells are banished forever. Hermosa is a quirky, charmed, colorful, engaged place. One can influence the outcome of a local election simply by walking door to door and talking to residents. It's denser than Hong Kong. Its surf is not the best but its beach culture is fabulous. Easy to spot the tourists: they're the ones trying to engage in small talk the nearly naked roller skaters flying by. Lots in "Shakespeare Beach" were once given out along as a premium for buying a set of encyclopedias. Hardly any part of town is out of earshot of the sound of breaking surf after midnight. Keep it that way.
17
Measure O won't pass. The residents of Hermosa Beach know how fortunate they are to live in their beautiful beach community; they know that tourism is huge to its vitality and know how lucky they are to be spared the ugly mess that surrounds other neighboring beach towns like the huge Chevron plant that sits just on the border of Manhattan Beach and El Segundo. Rigs are as close as 50 feet to houses in Huntington Beach.
E&B wants to put 30 wells on a one acre lot in the middle of Hermosa's residential area. Remember what happens when you trust oil companies to do what they supposed to do for heath and safety? It's called the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29069184
E&B wants to put 30 wells on a one acre lot in the middle of Hermosa's residential area. Remember what happens when you trust oil companies to do what they supposed to do for heath and safety? It's called the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill http://www.bbc.com/news/business-29069184
21
Drilling onshore is safer and cheaper. As to beach culture, three words:
dense depressing fog
dense depressing fog
1
As to beach culture, three words:
dense depressing fog
==============
No one ever seems to mention the marine layer fog when they talk about Southern California beaches. Locals refer to the seasonal fog as "May Gray" or "June Gloom"
dense depressing fog
==============
No one ever seems to mention the marine layer fog when they talk about Southern California beaches. Locals refer to the seasonal fog as "May Gray" or "June Gloom"
Somebody who lives in La Jolla, another in some other beach town are enthusiastically advocating Hermosa Beach go for the Black Gold!
For what? one might ask.
The answer is inevitably, "Money!"
And, pray tell:
What do you want to do with money?
Improve the standard of living in Hermosa Beach.
(Presumably the City of Hermosa beach is very attentive to their clientele)
The lifestyle in Hermosa Beach would be the envy of 99 percent of Americans if they knew about it. How do you want to improve somebody's life where any improvement will be detriment to the existing lifestyle.
For what? one might ask.
The answer is inevitably, "Money!"
And, pray tell:
What do you want to do with money?
Improve the standard of living in Hermosa Beach.
(Presumably the City of Hermosa beach is very attentive to their clientele)
The lifestyle in Hermosa Beach would be the envy of 99 percent of Americans if they knew about it. How do you want to improve somebody's life where any improvement will be detriment to the existing lifestyle.
13
The lifestyle in Hermosa Beach would be the envy of 99 percent of Americans if they knew about it.
===============
True, because 99% of Americans can't afford to live there.
===============
True, because 99% of Americans can't afford to live there.
The City Council member who says “Hermosa Beach is a real small beach town" sounds like their head might be up in the clouds. Hermosa Beach is part of the Southern California megalopolis, a steaming stew of energy-intensive living. Maybe Hermosa Beach was able to stay so quaint because it could outsource its need for fossil fuels, like many places. But if a place has the oil that all of society, themselves included, demands, well, what of that?
2
OMG! I can't imagine the people in Hermosa Beach allowing this!
Is oil in Redondo Beach, Laguna Beach, Long Beach?! WT?!
I feel incredibly sad thinking that these great seaside neighborhoods of America could be ruined into our foreseeable future! Horrible.
I don't see this happening but it's horrible to think that money and cultural influence could have it's way in Hermosa Beach while other neighborhoods and counties of America are so desperate for temporary jobs as to ruin their eco related economic future.
Is oil in Redondo Beach, Laguna Beach, Long Beach?! WT?!
I feel incredibly sad thinking that these great seaside neighborhoods of America could be ruined into our foreseeable future! Horrible.
I don't see this happening but it's horrible to think that money and cultural influence could have it's way in Hermosa Beach while other neighborhoods and counties of America are so desperate for temporary jobs as to ruin their eco related economic future.
3
One small correction: There is lots of oil in Long Beach, especially being pumped out of the "THUMS" oil wells that look like condos out in the water.
2
I had the privilege of living in Hermosa Beach from August 1992 to March 1994. It was a fabulous small beach city - a jewel compared to the other beach cities in the South Bay (Redondo Beach, Manhattan Beach, El Segundo). It was sad enough seeing oil rigs out on the distant horizon in the Pacific Ocean, but any oil rigs within the city itself would be an eyesore. Property values would definitely decrease as the desire to move there would be less. It's bad enough to live in Los Angeles and see the ubiquitous thin orange brown line of smog in the air. I hope the residents of Hermosa Beach realize the idyllic place that they have in "The Great Southland" and don't vote to mar and otherwise wonderful and special community.
29
Someone forgot Beverly Hills schools have wells on site. No problem with property values.
3
Beverly Hills is making moves to stop oil wells in the city. There is great concern about a cancer cluster close to Beverly Hills High School.
3
I'm opposed to drilling oil in our coasts. I think it is bad. That being said how many of those are opposed oil drilling yet love their big gas guzzling V8
6
here's an example of the industries' behavior and why there's just a tad bit of concern among the citizenry:
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-pits-oil-wastewater-20150226...
yes, a couple of days ago it was revealed that hundreds upon hundreds of very large unlined waste pits filled to the brim with toxic drilling waste have been in use in Kern County ( SoCal, ) for months years. These pits were concealed from inspectors and the public - completely prohibited and totally unpermitted, of course. the investigation is just getting underway ( see the L.A. Times. )
http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-pits-oil-wastewater-20150226...
yes, a couple of days ago it was revealed that hundreds upon hundreds of very large unlined waste pits filled to the brim with toxic drilling waste have been in use in Kern County ( SoCal, ) for months years. These pits were concealed from inspectors and the public - completely prohibited and totally unpermitted, of course. the investigation is just getting underway ( see the L.A. Times. )
19
Hold on there. Also from the article:
Currently, linings for pits are not required, though officials said they will consider requiring them in the future. Covers are mandated in some instances.
Other beach towns don't have issues with oil. Neither will HB.
Currently, linings for pits are not required, though officials said they will consider requiring them in the future. Covers are mandated in some instances.
Other beach towns don't have issues with oil. Neither will HB.
1
I see. Are you denying that these lakes of waste were purposely kept out of view of inspectors, and that permits had never been applied for, let alone granted? You understand the meaning of " illicit, " surely.
3
Hermosa Beach fronts one of the most beautiful stretches of Southern California Beaches, and it serves as a recreation area not only to the residents of the small city, but also for all Southern Californians. And Southern Californians go there in the summer to cool off, to breath clean air and get lost in the pages of a paperback for an afternoon.
To have oil derricks uglying up the ocean view, and raw crude oil smell overwhelming the iodine smell of the beach is criminal. I for one will chip in to get the city get out of stupid obligation they got into even though I don't live there.
To have oil derricks uglying up the ocean view, and raw crude oil smell overwhelming the iodine smell of the beach is criminal. I for one will chip in to get the city get out of stupid obligation they got into even though I don't live there.
26
To have oil derricks uglying up the ocean view, and raw crude oil smell overwhelming the iodine smell of the beach is criminal. I for one will chip in to get the city get out of stupid obligation they got into even though I don't live there.
===================
You say you live in LA, but it doesn't sound like you've been to Hermosa lately or actually at all. Next time you drive the PCH to get there open your eyes and you will see active oil wells and derricks (I saw a derrick last week) all along the way from the LA County line. Many are on the opposite side of the PCH from the State Beach
===================
You say you live in LA, but it doesn't sound like you've been to Hermosa lately or actually at all. Next time you drive the PCH to get there open your eyes and you will see active oil wells and derricks (I saw a derrick last week) all along the way from the LA County line. Many are on the opposite side of the PCH from the State Beach
I'm guessing the folks in Hermosa Beach are as greedy as the rest of us and given a choice of allowing drilling (with low taxes) or prohibiting drilling (with much higher taxes) the voters will follow the money.
1
Don't be so sure. Decreased property values are also important.
1
Hermosa Beach has the most beautiful white sand beaches. It is my best memory of childhood. I can't bear the thought of yet another lovely place given over to graspy entrepreneurs. I still remember the promises made to the Gulf Coast people.
18
Hermosa Beach has the most beautiful white sand beaches.
================
And when you stand on those white sand beaches you can see the active oil platforms off shore, just like in the Gulf. And you can also see the oil tankers off shore queued up to unload oil at Long Beach or San Pedro
================
And when you stand on those white sand beaches you can see the active oil platforms off shore, just like in the Gulf. And you can also see the oil tankers off shore queued up to unload oil at Long Beach or San Pedro
Hermosa Beach could institute a moratorium on Prop 13 for say, 5 years, raise the property tax a little bit and more than cover the cost of breaking the contract. Or they could decide to legalize pot, create a stoner beach tourist enterprise zone, tax it heavily and make up the loss even sooner.
SURELY there are other alternatives to avoid caving under the potential fine. I hear the school board is considering it mandatory for all 9th grade student to read The Monkey Wrench Gang....
The idea that E&B can somehow guarantee that there would be NO adverse effects or never a spill is ludicrous.
SURELY there are other alternatives to avoid caving under the potential fine. I hear the school board is considering it mandatory for all 9th grade student to read The Monkey Wrench Gang....
The idea that E&B can somehow guarantee that there would be NO adverse effects or never a spill is ludicrous.
4
Prop. 13 is written into the California state constitution. Local governments cannot declare a "moratorium" on it any more than they can opt out of the state motor vehicle code. While many left-leaning politicians in Sacramento would love to see Prop. 13 go away, it has very strong popular support among homeowners across the political spectrum.
1
I have been watching the campaigns waged by both sides from a city directly north of Hermosa- lots of mudslinging and accusations being tossed back and forth but most of it is of course about the money. Maybe 30 years ago Hermosa was a sleepy beach town but those do not exist anymore along the CA coast that is within a 1+ hour commuting distance from a major city. Property values and the NIMBY mentality are what is driving much of the momentum against the oil (with some sensationalism thrown in too) as nothing other than maybe a tiny condo is worth less than $1M these days. I bet if Compton, Gardena, Inglewood, etc. were to find oil within their limits, this would be a completely different story (maybe not even one). Hermosa can afford to buy it's way out if it wants to, or will be sitting on even more money if the residents decide to approve.
4
A 35 foot walled enclosure would be the safest and nicest thing in Compton.
A 35 foot walled enclosure would be the safest and nicest thing in Compton.
==================
The truth. Hahahahaha!
==================
The truth. Hahahahaha!
When will this nation begin to understand that our national coasts are a bigger, more important natural resource than are fossil fuels.
We can find, indeed have found, substitutes for fossil fuels but there is no substitute for our coastlines which moderate storms, moderate land temperatures (ever hear of the gulf stream which make the northern east coast of US and Canada as well as all of Northern Europe habitable), provides homes and refuges for countless marine animals, provide nesting sites for birds and turtles an finally, provide tons upon tons of food for humns worls wide.
Get oil out of all national coastal ares asap!
We can find, indeed have found, substitutes for fossil fuels but there is no substitute for our coastlines which moderate storms, moderate land temperatures (ever hear of the gulf stream which make the northern east coast of US and Canada as well as all of Northern Europe habitable), provides homes and refuges for countless marine animals, provide nesting sites for birds and turtles an finally, provide tons upon tons of food for humns worls wide.
Get oil out of all national coastal ares asap!
32
Take the money and run. This is the United States, everyone does! If you don't, your kids will without a second thought.
1
Hermosa has the most beautiful white sand beaches! My happiest memories are of playing on that beach area as a child and teen. Promises were made to the Gulf Coast people too and look how that turned out.
4
E&B should be paying Hermosa to do this damage to the coast. I'm just north of there and hope the No votes drive them away. E&B has a lot of nerve to try to penalize little Hermosa, contracts be damned. Look at the environmental impact statement.
People are switching to electric cars and solar/wind because we don't want new oil spills into the Pacific, or anywhere else. Go away, E&B!
People are switching to electric cars and solar/wind because we don't want new oil spills into the Pacific, or anywhere else. Go away, E&B!
36
What about Huntington Beach, Seal Beach, and other Beach communities where it has been very successful? Property values have never dropped because of it. Hermosa will get even better technology than any of the others! I grew up by oil wells in the O.C. and there hasn't been issues! It seeps out of the ocean floor in Santa Barbara naturally, so I don't see an issue except histrionics!
5
They haven't done any damage. You don't like it then you don't like it, but stop the hysteria. Seriously.
4
"It seeps out of the ocean floor in Santa Barbara naturally, so I don't see an issue except histrionics!"
You apparently haven't heard of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, the largest spill in U.S. waters up until then. It fouled beaches from Goleta, north of Santa Barbara, all the way south to Ventura. Thousands of birds and other wildlife died, commercial fishing was suspended in the area, and tourism dropped sharply.
You apparently haven't heard of the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, the largest spill in U.S. waters up until then. It fouled beaches from Goleta, north of Santa Barbara, all the way south to Ventura. Thousands of birds and other wildlife died, commercial fishing was suspended in the area, and tourism dropped sharply.
6
Hope the Hermosa Beach Community vote for Red Ink!
12
If Hermosa cancels the deal, the oil is still in the ground. Why do pro-oil individuals never mention that not using oil keeps a resource available for a rainy day ahead? If they are lucky, they won't need it and can keep their money in the bank (oil in the ground.)
24
What price on a polluted environment? Does Hermosa Beach want to look like the Nigerian Mangrove Groves? Is life sustainable, after oil has snuffed everything else out?
Vote no to oil, Hermosa Beach, it is the only answer. Filthy lucre, the money for now, is dust, in the morrow.
Vote no to oil, Hermosa Beach, it is the only answer. Filthy lucre, the money for now, is dust, in the morrow.
30
I live in Hermosa Beach. The oil company put out the big fat lie in its glossy brochure that the oil wells will emit no smell. Falsus in uno, falsus in omnibus. Even Dallas prohibits a well within 1500 feet from homes. Hermosa 160 feet! They declared bankruptcy after a major spill.
List of their oil spills in California. http://w3.calema.ca.gov/operational/malhaz.nsf/f09986043e292b8a88257c920...
Latest fine for violations of water pollution law. 11/19/2014 Administrative Civil Liability E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation Kern ACLO R5-2014-0566 issued in the amount of $39,984 for the discharge of approximately 400 barrels (16,800 gallons) of produced water and crude oil into two unlined sumps.
3.5 % royalty. Would you sell your house or car for 3.5%?
List of their oil spills in California. http://w3.calema.ca.gov/operational/malhaz.nsf/f09986043e292b8a88257c920...
Latest fine for violations of water pollution law. 11/19/2014 Administrative Civil Liability E&B Natural Resources Management Corporation Kern ACLO R5-2014-0566 issued in the amount of $39,984 for the discharge of approximately 400 barrels (16,800 gallons) of produced water and crude oil into two unlined sumps.
3.5 % royalty. Would you sell your house or car for 3.5%?
57
As usual, with the mainstream media, we get more salient facts and insight from the reader's comment section than the article itself.
8
Southern California has a lot of oil. There's also something else it has: sun. Sooner or later, it's going to be smarter and cheaper to use the sun, keep the jobs (and product) local, rather than feeding the beast that is the oil and gas (please don't call it natural or clean) industries, which just sell their product to other customers. So 21st Century.
38
The NIMBYs in California hate solar projects and the transmission lines they require just as much as they hate oil
They'd rather pay for brutal dictators to get rich off of our ignorance by sending their oil here.
4
If there is that much oil in that area than it will be recovered. If not now than in the near future. How many people in sunny Cali have electric cars? I long for the day we stop exploiting fossil fuels, but first we have to reduce the demand.
10
Electric cars . . . and where does that electricity come from? That's right, 45% of electricity comes from natural gas, and maybe 20% total from renewable resources (which includes environmentally-damaging hydro as well as nuclear).
9
Henrey that seems like a lot better than 100% powered by oil.
7
I'll take your word for it, Herny [too lazy to look it up]. But as you also presumably know, it's a moving target. Twenty percent today is 30 tomorrow, and 40 the day after. Technology moves on. Get with the program.
Being conservative has a natural appeal. You know what worked in the past and you like the way things are now so why take a chance on something new. The problem is that while you are preserving what worked once, the world is changing around you.
In the 18th century there was a city in the United states that had the highest per capita income in the entire world. Take a guess as to what city. Here is another hint. It is in New England. Highest per capita income in the world. They wanted to preserve their way of life, which had brought them incredible wealth. The city was New Bedford, and the wealth came from whaling. That city today is economically depressed and best know for a famous gang rape in a pool hall. Preservation has very real dangers.
In the 18th century there was a city in the United states that had the highest per capita income in the entire world. Take a guess as to what city. Here is another hint. It is in New England. Highest per capita income in the world. They wanted to preserve their way of life, which had brought them incredible wealth. The city was New Bedford, and the wealth came from whaling. That city today is economically depressed and best know for a famous gang rape in a pool hall. Preservation has very real dangers.
8
Did it require subsidies to the whalers' competition (oil) and mandates to use their products for the whale oil industry to go under? Buggy whip manufacturers failed too, all without government help to the competition. Conservatives believe in creative destruction, which is what happened to Bedford's whaling industry.
Yes, I'll concede that oil drillers had some tax benefits but those required that the company be profitable. (No profits = no taxes.) None of the oil companies ever received the subsidies or mandates currently being handed out to alternative energy providers.
Yes, I'll concede that oil drillers had some tax benefits but those required that the company be profitable. (No profits = no taxes.) None of the oil companies ever received the subsidies or mandates currently being handed out to alternative energy providers.
1
We Have No Whaling Fleet in Hermosa
We want to conserve what is beautiful, what others spend their fortunes to get to. No whaling fleet in Hermosa, it is a beautiful little city. People wear sandals and swimming trunks year around and love volleyball. At three o'clock in the morning you can go to running on the sand or walking or biking in the Strand.
Energy needs of this corner of the country can be met by 320 days of steady bright sunlight and 24/7 wave action from the Pacific and It is a matter of choosing to implement the methods.
We want to conserve what is beautiful, what others spend their fortunes to get to. No whaling fleet in Hermosa, it is a beautiful little city. People wear sandals and swimming trunks year around and love volleyball. At three o'clock in the morning you can go to running on the sand or walking or biking in the Strand.
Energy needs of this corner of the country can be met by 320 days of steady bright sunlight and 24/7 wave action from the Pacific and It is a matter of choosing to implement the methods.
Jim , How ignorant can one be? Depletion allowances, writing off intangible drilling costs, allowing hydrocarbon exploitation firms to put into the atmosphere gas that they couldn't take to market or burn it off at the well head with a flair. While much of our American navy is fueled by nuclear energy, most of our armed forces are carried by the combustion of hydrocarbons--the world's largest consumer as we maintain over 170 Fort Apaches fighting for the interest of those who control America--national socialism.
1
Nothing will destroy the 'beach city feeling' like this project will.
Those who want it are looking at this as a potential personal windfall, not the platitudes about higher taxes or worsening services. It's about the greed.
Not everything needs to be for sale, and not every location needs the "Dill, baby, drill!" philosophy.
Those who want it are looking at this as a potential personal windfall, not the platitudes about higher taxes or worsening services. It's about the greed.
Not everything needs to be for sale, and not every location needs the "Dill, baby, drill!" philosophy.
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“I’m very much in favor of it,” said Jim Sullivan, a commercial real estate broker who is one of the most vocal supporters of the project. “It’s the best thing to come down the road for Hermosa Beach in its entire history.”
Yes! The very real possibility of oil spills and dispersants in the air that people breath, are just what a Beach Town needs!
Just add some Sun Scream!
Yes! The very real possibility of oil spills and dispersants in the air that people breath, are just what a Beach Town needs!
Just add some Sun Scream!
29
This is a wonderful piece. Ah California! Shouldn't the oil be paying instead of the community, and not paying just for a license? Or to re-phrase the question, isn't a ban a ban a ban and just to ask if it can be bought out of still presumes we haven't so squandered our stewardship of the environment?
9
The oil company bought a lease from the city and then the city banned drilling, which means they defrauded the oil company.
2
Confusing article. The author should have included a timeline. This seems to be an issue that goes back to the 1930's or earlier.
That said. I hope Hermosa Beach votes to terminate the contract (and pay off the oil contractor). For me, the beach is a priceless, almost sacred place, and should be protected at almost any cost.
I feel that way about our beautiful Long Island beaches. I wish NYC cared more about its own water quality. I'd love the bays and rivers of NYC to be clean enough to swim in safely!!
That said. I hope Hermosa Beach votes to terminate the contract (and pay off the oil contractor). For me, the beach is a priceless, almost sacred place, and should be protected at almost any cost.
I feel that way about our beautiful Long Island beaches. I wish NYC cared more about its own water quality. I'd love the bays and rivers of NYC to be clean enough to swim in safely!!
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Of course, if you can't swim in the bays and rivers of NYC, it's mostly because of government, aka your local sewage treatment plant.
2
$17M for damages? What damages? The people who own property there have to pay $17M to keep a dirty, smelly, loud, toxic industry out of the center of their little beach town? The oil company should pay them damages for even trying to do such a filthy thing. Really, if the town has to pay the oil company's expenses for trying to do such an offensive thing, that's one thing. But damages? And how is that oil going to make its way out of town, on noisy trucks that tear up the roads, on pipelines yet to be dug? What happened to the flat out ban on drilling along the California coast? I bet dollars to donuts that the Republicans are behind it. You what's going to happen at some time. A big spill. It's inevitable. A clean beach community paying an oil company damages? What is this, Alice's Looking Glass world?
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The oil company paid the city to lease the drilling rights. The oil company wants its money back if the city is reneging on the sale.
4
Well it's the resident's fault for making the deal in the first place. Nothing wrong with the oil company recouping their costs for the residents reneging on the deal.
1
It is because Hermosa is such a crowded small beach city, and because this project is another fix for our oil addiction that will help blunt yet again the drive for alternative energy sources, that this is a very bad idea. Have we not learned that drilling oil in sensitive beach areas is a terrible thing? Santa Barbara, 1969? The Gulf oil disaster?
I admit to a bias. I live in a beach community--Santa Monica--some miles north of Hermosa Beach. The idea of more oil wells even in our community, with its wider expanses and open spaces, is abhorrent to me. So I say fight the good fight, Hermosans. Keep oil out!
I admit to a bias. I live in a beach community--Santa Monica--some miles north of Hermosa Beach. The idea of more oil wells even in our community, with its wider expanses and open spaces, is abhorrent to me. So I say fight the good fight, Hermosans. Keep oil out!
73
Yep, true. One cannot purchase a home there for under a million. So, as long as the real estate gouging continues, nothing else matters.
I hear ya. No one wants oil rigs spoiling the scenery, waste , etc. Oil rigs have been a part of the scenery for 50 or more years.
I would love to go back to that area to love, but the regal prices keep the area restrictive and exclusive.