TIMES O.C. POLL : ’90 Spill Led to Worries About Environment

Most residents believe that the city has recovered from the oil spill that happened one year ago today, but the memory of the disaster lives on in the form of a new wave of environmental awareness, according to a new survey.

The Times Orange County Poll also found that a majority of residents favor removing the offshore oil unloading terminal where the tanker American Trader spilled 397,000 gallons of oil last year. More than half of the Huntington Beach residents polled said they are still worried about the possibility of another major spill close to home, a fear that has helped fuel new concerns about the environment.

“If any good came out of that oil spill, it was in terms of public awareness,” said Gary Gorman, executive director of the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, which owns and maintains a 25-acre ecological preserve near the ocean. “It taught us that an oil spill is something that can happen in our own back yard, not just in some Godforsaken place on the other side of the world.”

The Times Orange County Poll, conducted by Mark Baldassare & Associates, surveyed 600 adult residents of Huntington Beach by telephone Jan. 19 through 21. The poll has a margin of error of plus or minus 4%. In analyzing the results, Baldassare said the spill had a dramatic effect on city residents.

“The oil spill off the coast shook Huntington Beach to its roots, and the fears of a repeat oil disaster persist today,” Baldassare said. “An important legacy of the oil spill in Huntington Beach--and a clear indicator that things are not totally back to normal--is residents’ increased interest in environmental issues.”

The oil spill also put local environmental groups into the spotlight, the poll showed. Two environmental groups--Save Our Parks and the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy--were rated favorably by more than half the respondents.

The concern about environmental issues was apparent in last November’s municipal election, according to Mayor Peter M. Green. Green noted that city voters approved Measure C, a citizens’ initiative aimed at protecting park and beach land, by a 71% majority. “And the two highest vote getters among the City Council candidates both ran on strong environmental platforms,” he said.

According to the poll, 54% of Huntington Beach residents are more interested in environmental matters since the American Trader accident. Adults ages 18 to 34 were especially concerned, with 61% saying they had become more interested in the environment since the oil spill.

“The oil spill really hit me,” said poll respondent Brian Yamato, 22, a surfer and a student at Orange Coast College. “I grew up only a couple of blocks from the beach, and something like this really opens your eyes. We’ve got to do something to prevent it from happening again.”

The poll also showed that city residents have a specific target for their environmental concern--54% of those surveyed want the offshore oil terminal removed. Some said they are angry and frustrated that officials are not making more of an effort to get rid of the facility, which is 1.3 miles offshore.

“I don’t think there’s a whole lot of interest by the politicians,” said Susan Pfeffer, a mother of seven and one of those polled. “Politicians talk about moving the thing and making the coast safer, but it’s mostly public hype--vote-for-me sort of stuff--and no real action. I want it moved to where it would be safer--where there’s less chance to do harm to the environment.”

The terminal, the only one in Orange County, is leased by Golden West Refining Co. of Santa Fe Springs and is one of 70 in the state. Golden West’s 25-year lease will not expire until 2005, but the Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously on Feb. 20 to make an attempt to shorten the contract, which is controlled by the State Lands Commission. That agency has launched a long-range study on the environmental impact of offshore moorings that includes the one at Huntington Beach.

Former Mayor Thomas J. Mays, whose high visibility during the oil spill crisis helped him get elected to the state Assembly last year, is among those lobbying to have the mooring moved from Huntington Beach. “But because of the questions about the long-term lease, it may take a while to eliminate this offshore mooring,” Mays said.

Gorman, of the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, said he is not surprised that the poll found that most city residents want the offshore oil-unloading facility closed.

“To me this thing is archaic,” Gorman said. “Not only does the city risk another accident by a ship” at the offshore mooring, “but there is also the risk of leakage from the underground pipes. I think the unloading should be done in the ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach, which are among the biggest ports in the world and are better equipped for this sort of thing.”

The Coast Guard last April instituted tougher restrictions for the Huntington Beach mooring, among them a requirement for monthly ocean-bottom depth readings at the unloading site. The Coast Guard said the new restrictions would make the mooring safer; 300 million gallons of oil have been safely unloaded in the last year.

“New safety and precautionary measures developed by Golden West experts, working closely with the the U.S. Coast Guard following the oil spill, have eliminated the possibility of a repeat of last year’s oil spill,” said Richard Leicht, assistant refinery manager.

“These precautions . . . serve to guarantee that there will be adequate water depth between the bottom of a vessel’s hull and the ocean floor. Had the American Trader followed these operating procedures one year ago, the American Trader would not have attempted entry into the Huntington Beach sea berth, and the oil spill would not have occurred.” Paradoxically, it is because of oil that Huntington Beach evolved into a big city. The community had only about 1,500 residents, most of them farmers, until 1920, when a huge underground pool of oil was discovered. Almost overnight, the population jumped to 5,000, and the oil boom continued well into the 1930s. Active oil wells are still seen in many parts of the city, even at the Civic Center and on the Huntington Beach High School campus.

Oil wells are now being phased out in the city, however, and some residents have in recent months complained to the City Council about the way well removals were handled. The poll, however, found that 65% of residents believe that the city’s efforts to control oil drilling and oil-well removal are adequate.

But although most residents are confident about the safety of oil wells on the land, the poll found that 56% are at least somewhat worried about the oil brought in from the ocean.

“We found that the beach is very important to individuals who live in Huntington Beach,” Baldassare said. “It’s the symbol of Huntington Beach life and plays a big role in the quality of life there. Residents are very concerned when there is any risk to the beach.”

Asked what they thought was the worst effect of the oil spill, 48% said it was harm to wildlife, 26% said beaches and the ocean were most damaged, and 9% said the biggest loss came in the areas of tourism, cleanup costs and damage to the city’s image.

But residents also think the oil spill cleanup was well handled, with 86% rating the effort as “excellent” or “good.”

The survey also found that the oil spill had increased the visibility of several environmental citizens’ organizations in Huntington Beach.

Residents were asked about four environmental groups: the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, Save Our Parks, the wetlands preservation group Amigos de Bolsa Chica and the “managed-growth” group Huntington Beach Tomorrow. Those surveyed were asked whether they had a favorable or unfavorable view of each organization or whether they had heard of it. The Wetlands Conservancy, a citizens group formed in 1985 that succeeded in saving 25 acres of degraded wetlands off Pacific Coast Highway, drew the most favorable rating, 56%. Save Our Parks was rated favorably by 54%, followed by 41% for Amigos de Bolsa Chica, an environmental group formed in 1976 whose chief aim is to preserve and protect the Bolsa Chica wetlands north of Huntington Beach.

Least well-known was Huntington Beach Tomorrow, which drew a favorable rating from 13% of residents. Huntington Beach Tomorrow, launched in 1985, is a grass-roots citizens coalition that sponsored a controlled growth initiative, Measure J, that was rejected by voters in 1988.

Only 3% said they had unfavorable opinions of any of Huntington Beach’s environmental groups.

Save Our Parks, formed just 17 months ago, gained visibility in working to pass Measure C, the parks-beaches protection initiative.

Councilwoman Grace Winchell, a strong backer of Measure C, said the favorable impression of Save Our Parks shows “the citizens’ growing concern about protection of public opens spaces, including parks and beaches.”

How the Poll Was Conducted

The Times Orange County Poll was conducted Jan. 19 to 21 by Mark Baldassare & Associates. The telephone survey of 600 adult residents of Huntington Beach was conducted on weekend days and weekday nights using a computer-generated random sample of listed and unlisted telephone numbers in Huntington Beach.

The survey divided Huntington Beach into four areas. The margin of error for the total sample is plus or minus 4%. For subgroups, such as residents of a particular ZIP code area, the margin of error would be larger.

Sampling error is just one type of error that can affect opinion polls. Results can also be affected by question wording, survey timing and other variables. All responses were anonymous, but some respondents agreed to be re-interviewed later for a news story.

How Huntington Beach Residents Feel About Last Year’s Oil Spill

Oil and Water

“The Huntington Beach City Council has unanimously voted to request the state to outlaw the offshore oil terminal where the American Trader incident occurred. Do you favor or oppose this oil terminal? Favor: 54% Don’t know: 13% Oppose: 33%

“Huntington Beach--since its great oil discovery in 1920--has had a history of being an oil town. Do you think the city’s efforts to control oil drilling and oil-well removal are adequate or inadequate? Adequate: 65% Don’t know: 15% Inadequate: 20%

Environmental Groups

“Here are the names of citizen groups in Huntington Beach. Do you have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of these groups, or have you never heard of them? Favorable Unfavorable Never heard H.B. Wetlands Conservacy 56% 3% 41% Save Our Parks 54% 3% 43% Amigos de Bolsa Chica 41% 3% 56% Huntington Beach Tomorrow 13% 3% 84%

Oil Spill Anxieties

“About one year ago--last Feb. 7--the ship American Trader became ruptured off the coast of Huntington Beach and spilled 397,000 gallons of oil. At the time, how worried were you about this oil spill? Very worried: 55% Don’t know: 2% Not worried: 11% A little worried: 9% Somewhat worried: 23%

By Area

South Inland Downtown Harbor Very worried 53% 48% 63% 59% Somewhat worried 26 25 21 19 A little worried 6 11 8 10 Not worried 14 14 6 12 Don’t know 1 2 2 N/A

“Today how worried are you that another major oil spill could occur off the Huntington Beach Coast? Very worried: 21% Not worried: 24% A little worried: 20% Somewhat worried: 35%

By Area

South Inland Downtown Harbor Very worried 19% 14% 28% 25% Somewhat worried 33 32 39 39 A little worried 20 22 15 19 Not worried 28 32 18 17

N/A equals Not available Source: The Times Orange County Poll