HomeMy WebLinkAboutCity Council - 5758 RESOLUTION NO. 5758
A RESOLUTION OF THE CITY COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF
HUNTINGTON BEACH OPPOSING THE FEBRUARY 17, 1987,
"CALIFORNIA COMPONENT" OF THE PROPOSED FIVE YEAR
OCS LEASING PROGRAM FOR 1986 - 1991
WHEREAS, the Secretary of the Interior has recently
promulgated his five year Outer Continental Shelf Oil Leasing
Program covering the period from mid 1987 to mid 1992; and
The proposed program calls for two separate lease sales in
Southern California during those five years; and
The five year plan offers only minimal protection for the
Orange County coastline in that it anticipates leasing of all
tracts offshore Orange County except for those within a three mile
Federal buffer zone off of Newport Beach, the Irvine Coast Marine
Life Refuge and Heisler Park ASBS; and
The City of Huntington Beach has repeatedly opposed Federal
efforts to allow oil drilling off our shoreline because of adverse
environmental and economic impacts which would include increased
air pollution, desecration of ocean views, and damage to the
beaches and sensitive ecological habitats, should an oil spill
reach our shoreline; and
Two energy-related facilities are currently operating in
Huntington Beach which contribute heavily to air pollution in
Orange County; and
The eight and one-half miles of beaches within Huntington
Beach city limits provide a major portion of public beach use
opportunities for all of Southern California; and
The Huntington Beach area includes sensitive ecological
1.
systems such as the Santa Ana River mouth, Huntington Beach wetlands,
Huntington Beach State Beach Least Tern Natural Preserve, and the
Bolsa Chica Wetlands and Ecological Reserve which provide critical
resources for migratory birds and endangered species; and
Tidal flushing will soon be restored to seventeen acres of the
Huntington Beach wetlands and is expected to be restored to portions
of the Bolsa Chica in the future, thereby increasing the potential
for damage to critical ecological resources should an oil spill reach
the shoreline; and
The City of Huntington Beach has already accepted its fair share
of the responsibility and risks associated with the provision of the
nation' s energy needs; and
The Five Year Program fails to achieve "an equitable sharing of
the developmental benefits and environmental risks among the various
regions of the United States" , as specified by OCS Lands Act; and
The Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) for the proposed five
year plan seriously underestimates the negative impacts resulting
from oil exploration, especially by referring to region wide effects
while minimizing the localized impacts which would occur,
particularly in communities which are highly dependent upon tourism
for their economic livelihood; and
The EIS for the five year plan indicates that tankers will
probably be used to transport oil obtained from wells in Federal
waters off the Orange County coast and that there exists significant
environmental hazards associated with ship transportation of oil; and
2 .
There are several alternatives, as discussed in the EIS,
which would be less damaging to the environment and economy of
Orange County that could have been selected by the Secretary of
the Interior .
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, that the City Council of the
City of Huntington Beach believes that the five year oil leasing
program proposed by the Secretary of the Interior should be
substantially modified to preclude oil exploration between the
Orange County coastline and Catalina Island.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City of Huntington Beach
vigorously opposes the Secretary of the Interior ' s five year plan
as being detrimental to the economy and the environment of our
community.
PASSED, APPROVED, AND ADOPTED THIS seventeenth day of
February, 1987, by the following roll ca vote:
Mayor
ATTEST: APPROVED AS TO FORM:
City Clerk City Attorney
REV EWED AND APPROVED: INITIATED AND APPROVED:
City Administratorj`? irector of Development
Services
3 .
Res. No. 5758
STATE OF CALIFORNIA )
COUNTY OF ORANGE ) s s:
CITY OF HUNT INGTON BEACH )
I, ALICIA M. WENTWORTH, the duly elected, qualified City
Clerk of the City of Huntington Beach, and ex-officio Clerk of the
City Council of said City, do hereby certify that the whole number of
member• of the City Council of the City of Huntington Beach is seven;
that the foregoing resolution was passed and adopted by the affirmative
vote of more than a majority of all the members of said City Council
at a regular meeting thereof held on the 17th day
of February 19 87 by the following vote:
AYES: Councilmen:
Winchell , Mays, Finley, Kelly, Erskine, Green, Bannister
NOES: Councilmen:
None
ABSENT: Councilmen:
None
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City Clerk and ex-officio Clerk
of the City Council of the City
of Huntington Beach, California