A second proposal for an LNG terminal in the Channel will begin seeing the light of day this week with several public hearings scheduled for the local area. This plans calls for the conversion of Platform Grace, which is west of Oxnard and about 11 miles north of Anacapa, for use as an LNG receiving station. The gas would then be transferred underwater to So. Cal. Gas plants on the coast.

Claims that this plan is environmentally friendly because it uses existing infrastructre seem disingenuous. The gas will be brought directly to the platform by tankers, so from the start this project would increase the number of ships operating in the channel. Likewise the claim that an increase in the use of natural gas will help the environment doesn’t float particularly well. One has to wonder how much air and ocean pollution will result from all the activities needed to convert the platform, provide the gas via tankers, build the needed pipelines, and ultimately to maintain the facility. Given the recent whale deaths, the already increasing tanker traffic in the channel, and the obvious lack of alternatives provided by energy interests and this administration for meaningful approaches to reducing energy consumption (not increasing energy production), the need for this facility in an already crowded ocean should be carefully scrutinized.