Davis Joins Officials Urging Closure of Offshore Terminal

Appeals to the U.S. Coast Guard to close an offshore oil terminal at El Segundo in the wake of last weekend’s Santa Monica Bay spill mounted Thursday as state Controller Gray Davis joined nine members of Congress in urging the shutdown.

Davis, who sits on the State Lands Commission, which oversees oil and gas development near the coast, said Saturday’s spill of 21,000 gallons of an oily fuel mixture demonstrates a need for tighter safety measures.

“We will not stand by for a ‘tanker roulette’ gamble which jeopardizes the California coast,” Davis said at a news conference in Santa Monica on Thursday.

Davis proposed that oil tankers be diverted to other terminals until at least April 1, when an emergency meeting of terminal operators is scheduled in Sacramento to discuss further safety measures.

On Wednesday, Rep. Mel Levine (D-Santa Monica) and eight other House members from California wrote Coast Guard Commandant J. William Kime, urging a halt to unloading at El Segundo until the Coast Guard and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency take steps “to ensure that similar accidents will not occur again.”

Last Saturday’s spill occurred when the U.S.-registered tanker OMI Dynachem, chartered by Chevron U.S.A. and owned by OMI Corp. of New York, ripped open an undersea pipeline with its anchor while docking. The 26-inch-diameter pipe carries oil from tankers to Chevron’s refinery on shore.

Coast Guard Capt. Jim Morris said Thursday that one of four moorings at the El Segundo terminal, located a mile from shore, was still operating. He said Davis had not yet asked the Coast Guard to stop the operation.

In Washington, Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jim Simpson, a spokesman for Kime, said Levine’s letter had been received but “at this point, there are no plans to close (the terminal).”

Chevron spokesman Rod Spackman said such a closure would jeopardize gasoline production.

“In terms of Chevron, we feel very strongly that we need the flexibility to operate the terminal. We need access to the raw material for our customers,” Spackman said.

He said that half of the 250,000 barrels of crude oil processed each day by Chevron’s El Segundo refinery is delivered by tankers that unload at the terminal.

Other House members joining Levine in urging the shutdown were Reps. Glenn M. Anderson (D-San Pedro), Anthony Beilenson (D-Los Angeles), Howard L. Berman (D-Panorama City), Don Edwards (D-San Jose), Norman Y. Mineta (D-San Jose), Leon E. Panetta (D-Monterey), Nancy Pelosi (D-San Francisco) and Edward R. Roybal (D-Los Angeles).

Lt. Gov. Leo T. McCarthy, who sits on the State Lands Commission with Davis, took issue with Davis’ call for an immediate closure.

“I think there’s a way of getting safety compliance without requiring that they shut down,” McCarthy said. He said additional safety steps such as requiring tugboat assistance for mooring, would probably solve the problem.

But, McCarthy warned, if terminal operators refuse to agree to tighten safety procedures at the April 1 meeting, he will push for emergency regulations.