California lawmakers okay oil drilling in Long Beach port
California's state legislature has passed a bill to allow more oil drilling in the Long Beach port near Los Angeles, promising extra money for the cash-strapped city but also drawing opposition from environmentalists and local residents, the Long Beach Press-Telegram daily reported Monday.
The bill were passed overwhelmingly with 57-0 vote and 38-1 vote over the weekend in the state assembly and senate respectively, and headed to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for his signature.
Schwarzenegger can sign or veto the bill or do nothing and allow it to become law, according to the newspaper.
"This is an excellent outcome that creates the opportunity for significant, long-term revenue increases for the city and the state," said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster.
The bill gives the State Lands Commission the authority to negotiate a contract with the city, the Port of Long Beach and Occidental Petroleum Corp. to search for reserves and open new wells. The oil giant would assume a bigger share of the revenue in exchange for a larger share of the risk.
It is estimated that the drilling could generated 130 million U.S. dollars in revenues for the city over 10 years, as well as 150 million dollars for the port and 200 million dollars for the state.
But local residents question why the new drilling would be exempt from a new environmental review process, which would force Occidental to explain what types of pollution would be caused and commit the company to take care of as many negative impacts as possible.
The state legislature passed the bill after a group of environmentalists from Long Beach and Los Angeles traveled to the state Capitol to challenge the measure.
U.S. President George W. Bush announced in July to remove the executive ban on offshore exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf, saying that Americans were tired of rising gas prices. The ban has stood for nearly 20 years since it was issued by Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, in 1989.
The bill were passed overwhelmingly with 57-0 vote and 38-1 vote over the weekend in the state assembly and senate respectively, and headed to Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger's desk for his signature.
Schwarzenegger can sign or veto the bill or do nothing and allow it to become law, according to the newspaper.
"This is an excellent outcome that creates the opportunity for significant, long-term revenue increases for the city and the state," said Long Beach Mayor Bob Foster.
The bill gives the State Lands Commission the authority to negotiate a contract with the city, the Port of Long Beach and Occidental Petroleum Corp. to search for reserves and open new wells. The oil giant would assume a bigger share of the revenue in exchange for a larger share of the risk.
It is estimated that the drilling could generated 130 million U.S. dollars in revenues for the city over 10 years, as well as 150 million dollars for the port and 200 million dollars for the state.
But local residents question why the new drilling would be exempt from a new environmental review process, which would force Occidental to explain what types of pollution would be caused and commit the company to take care of as many negative impacts as possible.
The state legislature passed the bill after a group of environmentalists from Long Beach and Los Angeles traveled to the state Capitol to challenge the measure.
U.S. President George W. Bush announced in July to remove the executive ban on offshore exploration on the Outer Continental Shelf, saying that Americans were tired of rising gas prices. The ban has stood for nearly 20 years since it was issued by Bush's father, former President George H.W. Bush, in 1989.