April 2 – April 15, 2004
Power Grab
By Coby Skye, Environmental Reporter

     The California Energy Commission Attempts a Hostile Takeover of Petroleum Infrastructure Permitting from Local Governments, Lower Courts and the AQMD
     The  California  Energy Commission  (CEC)  held  a community forum at Banning’s Landing in Wilmington on March 24 to discuss  its proposal to centralize all petroleum permitting under its jurisdiction—bypassing all local bodies, from city planning commissions to the Air Quality Management District (AQMD).  The meeting was unanimous—everyone who commented opposed the proposal.
     According to the CEC, there are “growing concerns about the negative impacts of infrastructure constraints” with regards to petroleum infrastructure, which it attempts to blame for gasoline price spikes—a claim critics hotly dispute.  A CEC-comissioned report in 2003 concluded that lack of infrastructure was diminishing supplies of petroleum products and recommended a “one-stop licensing processing center for petroleum infrastructure, including refineries, import and storage facilities, and pipelines that would expedite permits” as a solution to this perceived problem.
     Jesse Marquez, Executive Director of the Coalition for a Safe Environment, was a leading critic.  “This proposal moves control and accountability from the local level, where we have input and a voice, up to Sacramento.  This streamlining cuts community groups out of the process” remarked Marquez.
     However community groups aren’t the only ones upset with the CEC.  Fresh from the fight against permitting Kinder Morgan’s expansion in Carson, Rita Boggs and Vera Robles DeWitt criticized the loss of city control. Barry Wallerstein, the Executive Director of the South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD), stated in a letter sent to the CEC on March 4 that the AQMD had “grave concerns” about the CEC’s activities and felt left out of the process altogether.  The CEC’s proposal would remove AQMD’s regulatory oversight, but AQMD knew nothing of the proposal until contacted by Marquez.  The letter ends by affirming the AQMD’s “disappoint[ment] that the CEC has publicly embarked on the concept of one-stop permitting… without even discussing this concept with AQMD or giving us advance notices of your meetings.”
     Under questioning by Augustin Aichwald, of Communities for a Better Environment, CEC staff admitted that only two power plant applications had been rejected in CEC’s three-decade history.
     Labor opposition came from building trades representatives. Richard Slauson of the Orange County Building Trades Council expressed concern that hastily-approved bad projects would generate backlash, ultimately preventing a steady flow of well-conceived projects.
     Finally, Joseph Lyou, Executive Director of the California Environmental Rights Alliance, made the point that under existing law, approved permits can be challenged at three levels in state court—superior court, appeals court and the California Supreme Court—while CEC’s proposal would limit review to the Supreme Court alone, which (unlike superior court) could simply decline to take the case.
     At the forum, the CEC seemed cognizant that they may have taken a misstep by issuing this proposal without additional feedback.  CEC representatives emphasized they were interested in the public’s input, however they felt immediate steps must be taken to alleviate the problem of insufficient capacity for petroleum infrastructure to meet rising demand.
     A number of politicians are not convinced of the infrastructure-price spike rationale, and have launched investigations into recent gasoline price spikes. Assemblywoman and Transportation Committee chair Jenny Oropeza (D-Long Beach/Carson) is holding a number of hearings on the subject of soaring gas prices, and has publicly compared the issue to the energy crisis in California.
     If the analogy is accurate, then permit streamlining would be in vain.  Already, some are questioning the inappropriate timing of refineries being closed for “maintenance” when they should be ratcheting up production.  Similar maintenance shutdowns played a crucial role in the energy crisis that cost California billions of dollars.   

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