Pipeline Plan Opposed by City Council

The Los Angeles City Council adopted a resolution Tuesday opposing a proposed oil pipeline that would connect oil pumping stations off the Santa Barbara coast to refineries in Wilmington.

The proposed $215-million Pacific Pipeline, which is being backed by a Ventura company, would replace existing pipelines that run circuitously through Kern, San Bernardino and Riverside counties.

The 171-mile pipeline would carry up to 130,000 barrels of oil a day from pumping stations in the Santa Barbara Channel, through Ventura and Los Angeles counties, ending in Wilmington.

The council voted 12 to 2 to adopt the resolution, ignoring the suggestions of Councilman Marvin Braude and Councilwoman Joan Milke Flores that the issue be studied further by the council’s environmental quality committee.

Several residents spoke out against the pipeline, saying it could increase the chances of oil spills in densely populated areas, especially since the pipeline crosses several earthquake fault lines.

Councilman Mike Hernandez spearheaded support for the resolution, saying the pipeline would cut through the poorest and most highly populated areas of the city. “I’m going to fight this pipeline tooth and nail,” he said.