Construction of Oil Pipeline Is Rejected

The Los Angeles City Council voted Tuesday to reject a franchise for an oil pipeline that would bisect the city, opting instead to continue a contentious legal battle against the $170-million project.

On a 10-2 vote, the council opposed construction of the 132-mile Pacific Pipeline that would travel from Kern County through parts of the San Fernando Valley to refineries in Wilmington, setting the stage for a courtroom decision to resolve the fate of the line.

If the franchise had been approved, the city would have been allowed to impose certain environmental conditions on the project. But if the Pacific Pipeline Systems wins the court battle, it would only be required to meet the minimal conditions imposed by the state.

As proposed, the pipeline would pump 130,000 barrels of heated crude oil per day through a 20-inch line for Chevron and Texaco. The California Public Utilities Commission gave Pacific Pipeline Systems permission to build the pipeline by ruling in April that the firm met environmental requirements.

But the council responded by filing two lawsuits to block construction, saying the state failed to study two alternative pipelines that already exist, one owned by Southern California Edison and the other by Arco.

Pacific Pipeline Systems filed its own suit last month seeking to condemn city property along the route to allow construction to begin.