Flynn Seeks Allies in Fight Against Offshore Gas Plant

Hoping to put a quick end to plans for an offshore natural gas plant, Supervisor John Flynn is asking the Board of Supervisors to oppose the project before it even comes to them for a vote.

Crystal Energy of Houston wants to ship liquefied natural gas to Platform Grace, 11 miles offshore, convert it there into vapor and funnel it via an underwater pipeline to an area near the Mandalay Bay power plant in Oxnard.

Converting the oil platform would invite environmental disaster, Flynn said. Risks such as accidental explosions, release of methane vapors and rips in high-pressure tanks are well-documented, making the project incompatible with the heavily populated coastal area, the supervisor said.

“We don’t want this off our shore in Ventura County because of safety issues primarily,” said Flynn, whose Oxnard district abuts the planned pipeline facility. “But secondarily, these people are shopping for a site and we should go tell them to shop someplace else.”

Flynn said Crystal Energy has already been turned down by Vallejo, Calif. Company officials could not be reached for comment.

But William O. Perkins, president of Crystal Energy, has previously said that the environmental effects would be minimal. If approved, the $125-million project would provide a safe and much-needed natural gas supply for California’s consumers, Perkins has said.

The project must go through a lengthy approval process before several agencies, including the U.S. Coast Guard, the California State Lands Commission and the California Coastal Commission.

The Board of Supervisors would also have to sign off on the project.

Flynn said he will present a formal opposition resolution to his colleagues on May 6.