Council Clears Way for Oil Pipeline, Ending 7-Year Battle

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 heated crude oil per day from Kern County through the San Fernando Valley, northeast and South Los Angeles 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, which will run about five feet below the ground, saying it unjustly cut through mostly poor, Latino communities in the Valley and northeast Los Angeles, while 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 power of eminent domain 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 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 losing the battle, he said he does not regret putting 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 for allowing the line to run through the 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 legal action.

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 also will pay to install 72 fiber-optic lines running along the pipeline, which the city can use to upgrade its communications system, 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 also will 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 San Fernando.

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

The 20-inch-diameter pipeline 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 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., headed by Philip F. Anschutz, a Colorado billionaire businessman who is co-owner of the Los Angeles Kings.

Although the pipeline has been opposed by several homeowner groups along the route, there has been strong support from labor groups eager 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.