Council Accepts Pipeline Accord

Ending a seven-year legal battle, the Los Angeles City Council approved a settlement Wednesday that clears the way for construction of a pipeline that will carry 130,000 barrels of crude oil per day from Kern County through the San Fernando Valley to refineries in Wilmington.

The settlement came on a 9-2 vote at the behest of the city attorney’s office, which told the council that further legal challenges to the controversial Pacific Pipeline would probably fail.

The council had opposed the $171-million line, saying it unjustly cut through mostly poor, Latino communities in the Valley and northeast Los Angeles, posing a risk of leaks and ruptures.

But the pipeline’s fate was largely determined in January when a Superior Court judge gave the pipeline owners eminent domain authority to build the project under city streets.

“The reality was that we weren’t going to have the votes to win this,” said Councilman Mike Hernandez, a longtime opponent of the project who voted along with Councilman Nate Holden to oppose the settlement.

Councilman Richard Alarcon, another vocal opponent of the line that will cut through his northeast Valley district, was absent for the vote. Despite having lost the battle, he said he does not regret having put up a fight.

“Clearly, I am disappointed,” Alarcon said. “It has been a long battle and I think the community made a strong statement that you can’t just roll over the community.”

Gleeful Pacific Pipeline officials said they were surprised that the legal fight lasted so long and had expected quick approval because the line would cut down on the need for oil-carrying trucks, trains and ships.

“We didn’t expect this length of time because of the environmental benefits,” said Pacific Pipeline spokesman Charles McLean.

Construction is expected to begin in June.

The city’s last hope for halting the project was a lawsuit against the U.S. Forest Service over allowing the line to run through Angeles National Forest.

But Hernandez said the city attorney’s office told the council in a closed-door hearing that the city was not expected to win the lawsuit.

Pacific Pipeline has already won several rounds in court and still has a $300-million antitrust suit pending against the city and Southern California Edison, which is working on a competing oil pipeline. The suit charges that the city and Edison have conspired to kill the Pacific Pipeline project.

Under terms of the settlement, both sides will drop the suits against each other. Pacific Pipeline will also pay to install 72 fiber optic lines running along the pipeline, which the city can use to upgrade its communications systems, including 911 emergency lines. The pipeline will have a total of about 300 lines, some of which will be used to monitor it for leaks.

Pacific Pipeline will also install 150 computers in more than 30 schools, community centers and libraries along the route. The first computer will be installed in the Valley Family Center in the city of San Fernando.

Hernandez and Alarcon conceded that the amenities will benefit their constituents, but Alarcon said “the negatives still outweigh the benefits.”

The 132-mile line will carry 130,000 barrels of heated crude oil per day from the Emidio Pump Station in Kern County to Wilmington.

The 20-inch diameter line will enter the city of Los Angeles in Sylmar and follow the Southern Pacific Railroad right of way through San Fernando, Burbank and Glendale before cutting through northeast Los Angeles to Wilmington.

The line is also routed to pass near the city’s main aqueducts and reservoirs in Sylmar, which carry 75% of the city’s water. Opponents have argued that a pipeline rupture in that area would contaminate the city’s water supply. But supporters argue that the line will use state-of-the-art technology to monitor for leaks.

Pacific Pipeline is owned by Anschutz Corp., which is headed by Philip F. Anschutz, a Colorado billionaire businessman who co-owns the Los Angeles Kings hockey team.

Although the pipeline has been opposed by several homeowner groups along the route, their opposition has been matched by strong support from labor groups anxious to get a piece of the $50-million construction payroll.

Richard Slawson, a spokesman for the Los Angeles-Orange County Business and Construction Trade Council, said the project will create more than 600 jobs, including positions for pipe fitters, welders, electricians and engineers.

“We are excited that the project was approved finally because it’s another step in maintaining and expanding the economic base in Los Angeles,” he said.