White House Signals Move Away from Oil and Gas Dependence in New Energy Plan

February 11, 2009

• Potential Changes Illustrate Importance of Local Opposition to Recent Bid for New Drilling Off Coast

BY ANNE SOBLE

Less than two weeks after the California State Lands Commission vetoed the first new oil drilling proposal off the state’s coast in 40 years, the White House appears to be taking steps toward developing a national energy policy along lines that could differ sharply from that of the Bush Administration.
On Tuesday in Washington, Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar announced an offshore energy plan with a strong emphasis on renewable resources. “I intend to issue a final rulemaking for offshore renewables in the coming months, so that potential developers know the rules of the road,” Salazar said. “This rulemaking will allow us to move from the ‘oil and gas only’ approach of the previous Administration to the comprehensive energy plan that we need.”
“We need a new, comprehensive energy plan that takes us to the new energy frontier and secures our energy independence,” Salazar said. “We must embrace President Obama’s vision of energy independence for the sake of our national security, our economic security, and our environmental security.”
When in the U.S. Senate, Salazar helped craft and pass the Energy Policy Act of 2005 that required Interior to move quickly and issue, within nine months, rules and regulations to guide the development of offshore energy resources, such as wind, wave, and tidal power. The Bush Administration left office without putting any regulations in place “because it was not their priority,” the Secretary said, “notwithstanding the requirement of the law.”
The new strategy first calls for “extending the public comment period on a proposed 5-year plan for oil and gas development on the U.S. Outer Continental Shelf by 180 days, assembling a detailed report from Interior Department agencies on conventional and renewable offshore energy resources, holding four regional conferences on the findings (one on the West Coast), and expediting renewable energy rulemaking for the [OCS].”
“To establish an orderly process that allows us to make wise decisions based on sound information, we need to set aside the Bush Administration’s midnight timetable for its OCS drilling plan and create our own timeline,” Salazar said.
On its last business day in office, the Bush Administration proposed a new five-year plan for offshore oil and gas leasing. Salazar said the deadline for public comment on that plan—March 23—does not provide enough time for public review or wise decision-making on behalf of the nation’s taxpayers.
“The additional time we are providing will give states, stakeholders, and affected communities the opportunity to provide input on the future of our offshore areas,” he said. “The additional time will allow us to restore an orderly process to our offshore energy planning.”
Salazar added that he will create a framework for offshore renewable energy development, so that DOI can incorporate wind, wave, and ocean current energy into its offshore energy strategy. “The Bush Administration was so intent on opening new areas for oil and gas offshore that it torpedoed offshore renewable energy efforts,” he said.

Public Probe into Possibly Purloined Palms

• Controversial Trees Mysteriously Disappear from Malibu High School Grounds Last Saturday •

How do 70-plus palm trees disappear from the grounds of Malibu High School without anyone questioning their removal, or being able to provide any information on their current whereabouts?
That’s the question now being investigated by the Lost Hills Sheriff’s Station after the school reported the alleged theft of the trees over the weekend.
MHS principal Mark Kelly told the Malibu Surfside News, “We at Malibu High did not authorize or know the trees were being removed. Similarly, no one at our district office authorized their removal.”
Kelly said, “Our information indicates that several individuals in two white trucks came to campus, removed the trees and filled the holes. I checked with our district office staff who reported that they had not authorized anyone to remove the trees."  
The school principal added, “We are at a loss as to who took them and have reported their removal to the Sheriff's Department."
Kelly said, “We have heard from both our director of maintenance and operations and the chief financial officer who both reported having no knowledge that the trees were being removed. These were the two individuals with whom we were discussing our options.”
Kelly indicated that the school and the district had been exploring whether some of the trees might remain on campus if moved to other areas of the campus where they would be less intrusive.
The tree were planted on the campus 12 weeks ago—over the Thanksgiving weekend—under similarly puzzling circumstances, with no public notice of the landscaping project having been provided.
Residents in the Malibu Park area have voiced concern that when fully grown, the queen palms could adversely impact their ocean views.
The trees are also viewed as highly flammable, and concerns were expressed about the appropriateness of their use as landscaping in a wildfire prone area.
Kelly said the school had hoped to “recapture some of the financial loss” from removing the trees by possibly selling them to other schools in the district.
The principal added that district staff was in the process of getting an estimate of what it would cost to remove the trees when it appears the palm pilferers took them without permission on Saturday.
Kelly said that, at this point, the MHS landscaping committee “is not seeking to do any new improvements but have committed to maintaining the many past projects that have been in completed in the last several years.”
                                                               —Anne Soble

School Board Meets in Malibu This Week

Malibu High School’s Measure BB improvement plan will be the key item of local interest on the agenda at the Santa Monica-Malibu Unified School District Board of Education meeting in Malibu on Thursday, Feb. 5.
Proponents and opponents of various aspects of the proposed improvements, including the controversial permanent athletic field lighting plan, Morning View Drive traffic improvement options, alternate ways to increase student parking, and overall campus development, will have an opportunity to address the board.
The school board meeting will get underway at 5:30 p.m at Malibu City Hall.

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