Why not ask the military if placing an enormous bomb in their Sea Range is a good idea?
Dianne Safford
November 06, 2005
On October 28, 2005, an article was published in the Ventura County Star entitled: “Military warns of LNG site conflicts.” The following is excerpted from that article: SACRAMENTO – “Leading West Coast officials of the Navy and Marines told a state legislative panel Thursday that regulatory agencies overseeing the siting of liquefied natural gas terminals should strongly consider their potential effects on military training and preparedness…. agencies are preparing a report…that will address potential conflicts between offshore military training exercises and both the sites of the proposed LNG terminals and the routes of tankers that will dock at those terminals….it has not had an opportunity to comment formally on these proposed sites.”
Ventura County’s Navy facility at Pt. Mugu has a prestigious history and an important function. In 1947, Congress appropriated funding to establish a permanent Navy presence here for the purpose of testing both missiles and pilotless aircraft. The mission has evolved to include the development, testing, and evaluation of missiles and related systems, as well as drones to use in naval test programs. This location was chosen and continues to be valuable because of the sea range capability. The Sea Range Operational Area is comprised of the main base complex at Point Mugu which includes the Laguna Peak complex, the offshore islands (with key instrumentation located on San Nicolas Island and Santa Cruz Island) and the adjacent 36,000 square nautical miles of controlled operational air space.
BHP Billiton plans to place a floating LNG regasification terminal smack in the area of this missile testing sea range. Three tankers carrying the equivalent of 20 billion gallons of natural gas will offload at the terminal each week. The terminal and the tankers will be approximately three football fields long and as high as 10 to 17 story buildings. This is tantamount to proposing to place the largest and most explosive bombs imaginable in front of a firing range. And the opinions of the firing range people have not been requested.
Last summer, legislation (SB 426) was passed by the Assembly, but, unfortunately, the Senate adjourned before it could be brought to a vote. This bill called for logical criteria, including safety and the environment, in the placement of LNG terminals in California. If Schwarzenegger wants to “fix” California, he can start by supporting this legislation.
Ventura County’s Navy facility at Pt. Mugu has a prestigious history and an important function. In 1947, Congress appropriated funding to establish a permanent Navy presence here for the purpose of testing both missiles and pilotless aircraft. The mission has evolved to include the development, testing, and evaluation of missiles and related systems, as well as drones to use in naval test programs. This location was chosen and continues to be valuable because of the sea range capability. The Sea Range Operational Area is comprised of the main base complex at Point Mugu which includes the Laguna Peak complex, the offshore islands (with key instrumentation located on San Nicolas Island and Santa Cruz Island) and the adjacent 36,000 square nautical miles of controlled operational air space.
BHP Billiton plans to place a floating LNG regasification terminal smack in the area of this missile testing sea range. Three tankers carrying the equivalent of 20 billion gallons of natural gas will offload at the terminal each week. The terminal and the tankers will be approximately three football fields long and as high as 10 to 17 story buildings. This is tantamount to proposing to place the largest and most explosive bombs imaginable in front of a firing range. And the opinions of the firing range people have not been requested.
Last summer, legislation (SB 426) was passed by the Assembly, but, unfortunately, the Senate adjourned before it could be brought to a vote. This bill called for logical criteria, including safety and the environment, in the placement of LNG terminals in California. If Schwarzenegger wants to “fix” California, he can start by supporting this legislation.