Tenneco Agrees to Independent Study of Power Plant’s Effects

Tenneco Oil Co., attempting to calm the fears of Santa Clarita residents, has agreed to conduct an environmental review of a power plant that the company is building in Newhall.

The company said it will spend up to $25,000 on the review and will let the Santa Clarita City Council decide which firm handles the study.

The Placerita Canyon Homeowners Assn. has said the plant could pollute the air and ground water. Tenneco has maintained that the plant will not harm the environment.

Santa Clarita City Manager George Caravalho recommended in a memo released late Monday that the council accept Tenneco’s offer when it meets Thursday.

Independent Consultant

Under the proposed agreement, the council would hire an independent consultant to conduct the study and then bill the work to Arco Oil and Gas Co., which purchased Tenneco last year. The report is to be completed by March 27, Caravalho said. The consultant would formally present the study’s findings to the council April 5.

As part of the agreement, neither Tenneco nor the city could use the consultant’s findings in their legal battle over the $35-million project.

Santa Clarita has tried to scuttle the cogeneration plant for more than a year. Tenneco has fought back tenaciously. In recent months, it has won a string of legal victories to allow the project to continue.

Tenneco officials could not be reached for comment Tuesday. But Caravalho said in his memo that company officials hope to win the support of the council and city residents for the project--to be built atop an old oil field near Placerita Canyon Road and Sierra Highway.

The company has said it plans to pump steam into the ground to recover an estimated 30 million barrels of oil. The steam would power generators to produce electricity for Southern California Edison Co.

Whirring Generators

In addition to their environmental concerns, the Placerita Canyon homeowners have said the plant’s whirring generators will destroy the canyon’s tranquil atmosphere.

The council tried to kill the plant with a moratorium passed Dec. 15, 1987, the day Santa Clarita incorporated. But while the new city organized its government, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Works issued four building permits for the plant in May, July and August.

The council learned of the permits in August and ordered Tenneco to stop construction Sept. 1, arguing that the permits are illegal.

Tenneco sued the city, saying it should not be penalized because the county had issued the permits by mistake. A Los Angeles Superior Court judge agreed and ordered the city to lift the stop-work order Jan. 11. The firm began work at the Newhall site immediately after the ruling.