Seal Beach : Panel to Consider Plant Reopening

Unocal’s controversial proposal to reopen an oil-water separation plant on Marina Drive will come before the Planning Commission tonight, three months after the panel first considered the issue.

Nearby residents oppose Unocal’s plan, fearing it will create noise, traffic and pollution in their neighborhood next to the San Gabriel River.

The Planning Commission delayed a vote on the proposal in July after residents raised their concerns. Unocal officials have since met with residents and have modified their plan. But some homeowners remain opposed.

If approved, the plant will process oil from offshore wells. The facility--at Marina Drive and 1st Street--was closed in 1983 after powerful winter storms destroyed the offshore wells. The wells are now working, and Unocal wants to reopen the plant.

Some residents, however, fear that the plant will degrade their neighborhood.

“It’s been shut down for a decade. It’s a heavy industrial processing center immediately next to very nice homes, townhouses and a preschool,” said resident Hugh Nelson. “Many of these places were built after (the plant) was shut down.”

Nelson and others said they also fear that the plant might emit harmful pollutants, despite data from four studies provided by Unocal that show such a separation plant poses no health risks to residents.

Unocal recently agreed to modify its proposal to include landscaping around the plant and other aesthetic changes.

“I compliment Unocal for being responsive. . . .” Nelson said. “But we still have concerns.”