Cabrillo Port Approval Process Moves Forward

• 2007 Hearings Start Taking Shape

BY HANS LAETZ

Public hearings on the controversial Cabrillo Port liquefied natural gas terminal are likely next March and April, and a final decision by Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is due in early May, the Malibu Surfside News has learned.

State agencies processing the Cabrillo Port application have been told that the port—if it gets five key approvals plus an okay from the governor—could have its operating licenses and air and water discharge permits in hand by the middle of 2007, nearly two years behind schedule.

A state LNG task force was told Tuesday that a key environmental impact assessment will be completed and released in late February, triggering a series of timetables and calendars that will result in a final decision by June 1.

Proposed in 2003, Cabrillo Port would feature an aircraft-carrier-sized LNG tanker permanently anchored in 3000-feet of water offshore Malibu’s northern end. BHP Billiton, an Australian mining conglomerate, proposes to import more than $5 billion worth of natural gas into California through the floating terminal.

According to the latest timetable, the second version of the Environmental Impact Report is expected to be finished in late February and handed over to federal and state agencies processing the application.

After a two-week period, both the Coast Guard and California State Lands Commission will each hold a last public hearing on BHPB’s application to use public lands for the project.

The day after the Coast Guard’s hearing, probably in mid-March, a 45-day clock starts for the governor to cast his decision. But in the meantime, and assuming the Lands Commission approves the project, the California Coastal Commission will consider a Coastal Permit for the ship.

The Lands Commission is tentatively planning a meeting in Ventura County in mid-March to deal solely with the Cabrillo Port environmental report and operating license. The final state hearing would apparently be at the Coastal Commission’s April meeting, scheduled for Santa Barbara between April 11-14.

On the federal side, the Coast Guard and Commerce Department also both must issue approvals, which is expected. Separate air and water discharge permit hearings have already been held by the Environmental Protection Agency, and have generated significant controversy after the EPA changed its mind and allowed Cabrillo Port to avoid the highest level of smog regulation.

EPA has not indicated when a final decision on the make-or-break smog permit will be released, and the White House has already intervened once on behalf of BHP Billiton.

Opponents and BHP Billiton are girding for a court fight that could delay the project further.

The company is in a tight race to secure permits and build its $800 million Malibu LNG terminal. Five other companies plan similar installations between Ensenada and Oxnard, and federal officials expect that the market can support only one or two expensive facilities.

The company plans to build its ship in an undetermined foreign nation in 2009, and start natural gas imports 16 miles west of Point Dume on July 1, 2010.