Plan to Reroute Oil Pipeline Along Avalon Blvd. Worries Carson Officials

Carson officials are worried that a revised plan to tear up the city’s major north-south artery for an oil pipeline would disrupt city beautification efforts and hurt businesses that line the street.

The $225-million project would send a river of crude oil coursing at almost 10,000 gallons a minute through a 30-inch pipeline from Santa Barbara and Kern counties to South Bay refineries.

Wilmington Avenue

In Carson, the pipeline originally was to have run along Wilmington Avenue, a largely industrial street, but the consortium of oil companies planning the line now intends to route it along Avalon Boulevard instead.

“Avalon has received a great deal of attention from the city in terms of its physical and aesthetic development,” said Carson community planner Conrad Guzkowski.

“It is lined with countless businesses, mobile home parks and other types of uses that would be significantly affected by the pipeline, whereas Wilmington (Avenue) already is an industrial corridor. If there has to be a pipeline, that certainly stands out as a preferred choice over Avalon.”

The reason for the proposed shift is Caltrans’ objection to putting the pipeline on existing bridges over freeways. Caltrans engineers argue that it would violate state and federal regulations because the bridges were not designed for the extra load. Wilmington Avenue goes over the Artesia Freeway, while Avalon goes under it.

Catherine Tyrrell, energy program manager for the Southern California Assn. of Governments, said Caltrans, which is managing an environmental review of the project, notified the four major oil companies involved about 10 months ago that their proposal had to be amended because of the freeway problem. Carson was informed in November of the new plans.

Guzkowski said Carson is cautioning state officials that the city will insist on a thorough environmental review of the project and new route.

“Moreover,” he said, “we suggested that consideration should be given to the trade-off between freeway over-crossing and the impact to Carson from having Avalon selected.”

Review of Management

In addition to traffic problems during construction, he said, the city wants a review of management of the pipeline and particular attention paid to the effects of a break during an earthquake.

Officials expect that a draft environmental impact report will be available in March, public hearings will be held in May and a final report will be issued in the summer.

Carson officials said backers of the project will have to apply for a conditional- use permit before the city grants approval. Tyrrell said legal opinion is divided on whether municipal approvals are required.

The pipeline will also be routed through Inglewood, El Segundo, Hawthorne, Lawndale, Gardena and Manhattan Beach, as well as the Harbor Gateway portion of Los Angeles.

Construction of the line, which is to be called the Angeles Pipeline, is a joint project of Chevron, Texaco, Shell and Arco.

It will allow crude oil taken from off the Santa Barbara coast and in Kern County to be piped to South Bay refineries instead of being shipped by water or rail.

Current offshore oil production from an Arco field off Santa Barbara is about 15,000 barrels a day. During the 1990s, expansion of the Arco field, development of new fields by Texaco and Shell and construction of new oil platforms by Chevron is expected to increase offshore production to 250,000 barrels a day, according to Robert Almy, permit section manager of the Santa Barbara County energy division.

The current and projected production of the Kern County fields could not be determined.

Reduce Pollution

Supporters of the pipeline argue that it is the best way to transport oil without air pollution caused by ships and trains.

Opponents concede this but argue that the effect of refining so much oil would hurt South Bay air quality. Oil pumped from the offshore fields has been found to be a heavy crude with a high content of sulfur and heavy metals, ingredients that complicate refining processes.