Powerful Reasons to Say No

The state Energy Commission will decide Friday whether to allow an oil company to build a power plant in the middle of a Baldwin Hills park. Since Gov. Gray Davis issued emergency orders fast-tracking the review process, the commission has not denied a single approval for a new plant. It should now.

The state Legislature created the Baldwin Hills Conservancy last year and gave it $41 million to begin buying land for an expanded park around the existing Kenneth Hahn State Recreation Area. None of the plants approved so far under the emergency order is next to a major park or within a state conservancy jurisdiction.

According to the Energy Commission staff, six of the nine approved plants are, however, in predominantly nonwhite areas. Nearly 1,000 South Los Angeles residents turned out at a Monday hearing to protest a power plant in the heart of L.A.’s black community.

A loss of much-needed park space, a waste of the state’s parkland investment, questions about environmental justice--the reasons to deny approval are compelling. Energy experts testified Monday that this plant would provide too little power to really help in the state’s energy crunch. Concerns over air quality could delay construction past the deadline set by the emergency order.

Yes, Southern California must bear its share of the burden, but speed must be matched by discernment. This is not the plant and Baldwin Hills is not the place to solve the state’s energy crisis.