Guide to the Collection of California Coastal Commission Liquefied Natural Gas Files MS.R.140

Processed by Joanna Lamb;machine-readable finding aid created by Joanna Lamb
Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
(cc) 2009
The UCI Libraries
P.O. Box 19557
University of California, Irvine
Irvine 92623-9557
spcoll@uci.edu


Contributing Institution: Special Collections and Archives, University of California, Irvine Libraries
Title: California Coastal Commission Liquefied Natural Gas files
Creator: California Coastal Commission
Identifier/Call Number: MS.R.140
Physical Description: 3.6 Linear Feet (9 boxes)
Date (inclusive): 1970-1983
Date (bulk): 1977-1978
Abstract: The California Coastal Commission Liquefied Natural Gas files contain reports, correspondence, court records, newspaper clippings and miscellaneous files relating to liquefied natural gas (LNG) sites proposed by several public utility companies in 1972. The California Coastal Commission was created through the California Coastal Act to prevent the privatization of California's beaches through the regulation of land and water use in the coast. At the time of the LNG proposals the California Coastal Commission was the state authority for approving and permitting rights for LNG terminals.
Language of Material: English .

Access

The collection is open for research.

Publication Rights

Property rights reside with the University of California. For permissions to reproduce or to publish, please contact the Head of Special Collections and Archives.

Preferred Citation

California Coastal Commission Liquefied Natural Gas files. MS-R140. Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California. Date accessed.
For the benefit of current and future researchers, please cite any additional information about sources consulted in this collection, including permanent URLs, item or folder descriptions, and box/folder locations.

Acquisition Information

Transferred from the UCI Libraries Government Documents Division, date unknown.

Processing History

Processed by Joanna Lamb, 2008.

Historical Background

The California Coastal Commission was established by voter initiative in 1972 to identify and prevent ecological and environmental dangers threatening California's coastal landscape and to protect coastal land from privatization. Since the California Legislature passed the California Coastal Act of 1976, the Coastal Commission has planned and regulated the use of land and water in the coastal zone through reviews of local and federal government programs and activities.
In the late 1960s, declining domestic natural gas reserves resulting from federal price controls on interstate gas led some U.S. utility firms to explore Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) imports as an alternative source of natural gas. Western LNG Terminal Company, Pacific Gas and Electric, and El Paso Natural Gas Company proposed to build and employ LNG import facilities at multiple California coastal sites in 1972. The Port of Los Angeles, Oxnard, and Point Conception were first identified as prospective LNG Terminal sites; however, the three state agencies involved with siting authority: the California Coastal Commission, the California Public Utilities Commission (CPUC), and the California Energy Commission were unable to approve the sites because of conflicts of interest stemming from environmental and safety concerns of the Coastal Commission.
The LNG Terminal Siting Act of 1977 was passed by California legislature to prevent a stalemate and increase the likelihood of site approval allowing for permitting of proposed LNG Terminal sites. The new law gave state siting authority for the project to CPUC, while simultaneously acknowledging environmental concerns by granting the Coastal Commission the task of identifying and ranking proposed sites that would mitigate environmental damage. The Coastal Commission initially evaluated 82 sites, and found only four met the strict population density standards and other protective criteria that they had established regarding wind and wave conditions, earthquake hazards, and soil conditions. Of these four, the Point Conception site was conditionally approved by the CPUC despite concerns about minimal seismic risks in the area.
The Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC) (formerly the FCP) also granted conditional approval of the Point Conception site. However, project opponents appealed FERC's approval, and the Federal courts remanded the case back to FERC for reconsideration of seismic risk factors. Although the Point Conception site eventually regained conditional approval from FERC in 1983, the project was ultimately abandoned. The utility companies were forced to acknowledge that the project was no longer economically viable after Congress passed the Natural Gas Policy in 1978, which lifted price controls on domestic natural gas discovered after 1977 and diminished the cost of domestic LNG.

Biographical/Historical note

Chronology

1972 Several public utilities announce plans to import LNG
1972 The California Coastal Commission established by voter initiative
1976 California Legislature adopts the California Coastal Act and makes permanent the California Coastal Commission as we know it today
1977 California Legislation passes the LNG Terminal Siting Act of 1977
1978 U.S. Congress passes Natural Gas Policy Act of 1978
1983 FERC gives conditional approval to the Point Conception LNG Project site

Collection Scope and Content Summary

This collection comprises records assembled by the California Coastal Commission and associated with proposed LNG Terminal Site Projects in the 1970s. The bulk of this collection includes reports that were collected or created by the California Coastal Commission. Additionally the collection includes correspondence, LNG Terminal court records, miscellaneous LNG files, and LNG related newspaper clippings.

Collection Arrangement

This collection is arranged in alphabetical order by material type.
California Coastal Commission. California coastal commission home page. Available from http://www.coastal.ca.gov/ (accessed December 10, 1978). California Energy Commission, and Mignon Marks. 2003. Liquefied natural gas in California: History, risks, and siting. http://www.energy.ca.gov/reports/2003-07-17_700-03-005.PDF (accessed December 10, 2008). National Association of Regulatory Utility Commissioners. 2005. The need for effective and forthright communication planning for LNG siting: A checklist for state public utility commissions. http://fossil.energy.gov/programs/oilgas/publications/lng/LNG_NARUC_communication_lngfacsiting.pdf (accessed December 15, 2008). Weems, Phillip R., and Kevin D. Keenan. 2002. Greenfield LNG import terminal approvals. LNG Journal (May-June 2002), http://www.kslaw.com/library/pdf/GreenfieldLNGTerminals.pdf (accessed December 16, 2008).

Subjects and Indexing Terms

Coastal zone management -- California -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
Liquefied natural gas -- California -- History -- 20th century -- Sources
California Coastal Commission -- Archives

 

LNG correspondence 1977-1978

box 1, folder 1-4

General correspondence 1977-1978

box 1, folder 5

Opposition of LNG terminal sites correspondence 1978 March-April

box 1, folder 6

Orange County work program correspondence 1978 December-August

box 1, folder 7

Miscellaneous correspondence (bound) 1978

 

LNG court records 1978 April-May

box 2, folder 1

Legal Brief on Behalf of Western LNG Terminal Associates 1978 May 8

box 2, folder 2-4

Public hearing transcripts 1978 April

box 2, folder 5-6

LNG terminal sites: newspaper clippings 1978

 

Miscellaneous LNG related files 1977-1979

box 2, folder 7

Documents and brochures (bound file) 1977-1978

box 2, folder 8

Cojo Bay magazine article and correspondence 1978

box 2, folder 9

Notes, recommendations, environmental factors and timelines 1978-1979

box FB-042, folder 7

Alternate Site Comparisons Based on Coastal Commission Ranking Criteria scrapbook undated

 

Reports collected by the California Coastal Commission 1971-1978

 

California Advisory Commission on Marine and Coastal Resources report

box 3, folder 1

Fourth Annual Report, The California Marine Environment 1971

 

California Department of Fish and Game reports 1971-1978

box 3, folder 2

Fish and Wildlife Resources of Five Proposed Onshore LNG Terminal Sites 1978 March 31

box 3, folder 3

Fish and Wildlife Resources of Five Proposed Onshore LNG Terminal Sites 1978 March 30

box 3, folder 4

Fish and Wildlife in the Marine and Coastal Zone 1971 November

 

California Public Utilities Commission reports 1978

box 3, folder 5

Draft - Environmental Impact Report for Proposed Point Conception LNG Project 1978 February 28

box 3, folder 6

Final Environmental Impact Report for the Point Conception LNG Terminal Project, vol. I, Summary of Revision to DEIR 1978 July

box 4, folder 1

Final Environmental Impact Report for the Point Conception LNG Terminal Project, vol. II, Comments and Response 1978 July

box 4, folder 2

Final Environmental Impact Report for the Point Conception LNG Terminal Project, vol. III, Comments and Response 1978 July

box 4, folder 3

Final Environmental Impact Report for the Point Conception LNG Terminal Project, Appendices I 1978 July

box 5, folder 1

Final Environmental Impact Report for the Point Conception LNG Terminal Project, Appendices II 1978 July

box 5, folder 2

Camp Pendleton Wildlife Inventory undated

 

Citizens Against the Coastal Initiative report

box 5, folder 3

The Coastal Zone Initiative (Proposition No. 20) Fact Sheet undated

 

City of Oxnard (Ca.) report

box 5, folder 4

Environmental Impact Report for the Proposed Oxnard LNG Facilities undated

 

Coastal Zone Commission report

box 5, folder 5

Financing Coastal Zone Plan Implementation undated

 

Coordinating Council for Higher Education report

box 5, folder 6

Marine Resources for California 1972 April

 

Department of Navigation and Ocean Development report

box 5, folder 7

Agriculture in the Coastal Zone undated

 

H.J. Degenkolb & Associates report

folder 6, folder 1

The Earthquake Resistant Design of Five LNG Import Terminals in California 1978 May

 

Kelco Company report:

folder 6, folder 2

Statement to California Coastal Commission: Proposed LNG Facility at Point Conception 1978 April

 

Madrone Associates Environmental Consultants reports

folder 6, folder 3

Biological Impacts, Mitigations, and Conditions: Proposed Onshore LNG Terminal Sites 1978 April

folder 6, folder 4

Draft - Biological Impact Analysis of Natural Resources Proposed Onshore LNG Terminal Sites, Mitigations and Conditions 1978 April

 

Marine Review Committee report

folder 6, folder 5

Annual Report to the California Coastal Commission, August 1976-August 1977: Summary of the Estimated Effects on Marine Life of Unit 1, San Onofre Nuclear Generating Station 1977 September

 

South Coast Regional Conservation Commission report

folder 6, folder 6

Coastal Land Habitats in the South Coast Region 1974 January 21

 

South Coast Regional Commission reports 1974-1978

folder 6, folder 7

County of Orange Commission Staff Summary and Recommendation 1978 October 20

folder 6, folder 8

The Marine Environment in the South Coast Region 1974 May 6

 

Southern California Gas Company report

folder 6, folder 9

A Report of a Study in Santa Barbara County 1978 April

 

Reports created by the California Coastal Commission 1977-1983

box 7, folder 1

Ballona Creek Wetlands - Draft Working Paper 1978 August 17

box 7, folder 2

California Offshore LNG Terminal Study 1978 February 1

box 7, folder 3

Comments by Western LNG Terminal Associates on the California Coastal Commission Staff's Recommendation of Ranking of LNG Terminal Sites 1978 May 5

box 7, folder 4

Decision Analysis of California LNG-Draft Report 1977 December 20

box 7, folder 5

Final Report Evaluating and Ranking LNG Terminal Sites 1978 May 24

box 7, folder 6

Geotechnical Evaluation of Five Potential Mainland California LNG Import Terminal Sites 1978 April 28

box 7, folder 7

Initial LNG Facility Site Evaluation - Maritime Factors Relative to Onshore Mainland Sites 1978 January 18

box 8, folder 1

LNG Documents Accession List undated

box 8, folder 2

Malibu Lagoon and Wetlands - Draft Working Paper 1978 August 17 and 18

box 8, folder 3

Marina Del Rey/ Ballona Land Use Plan (LUP), Addendum to October 7, 1983 Staff Report 1983 December 23

box 8, folder 4

Maritime Factors Analysis: Onshore LNG Facility - Draft 1978 April 18

box 8, folder 5

Maritime Factors Analysis:Onshore LNG Facility 1978 January 6

box 8, folder 6

Mitigation Appendix, MRC Doc. 80-04 (I) 1981 January- February

box 8, folder 7

Point Conception LNG Facility Design Criteria Recommendations 1978 May

box 8, folder 8

Preliminary Evaluation of Wind and Wave Effects at Potential LNG Terminal Sites 1978 January

box 9, folder 1

Preliminary Geotechnical Evaluation of Potential Island and Offshore California LNG Import Terminal Sites 1978 February 1

box 9, folder 2

Preliminary Structural Engineering Evaluation of Geotechnical Conditions at Eleven Possible LNG Terminal Sites 1978 January 16

box 9, folder 3

Responses Submitted by Western LNG Terminal Associates 1978 April 12

box 9, folder 4

Staff Recommendation on Ranking of LNG Terminal Sites 1978 May 5

box 9, folder 5

Supplement for Geotechnical Evaluation of Potential Mainland California LNG Import Terminal Sites 1978 January 16

box 9, folder 6

Transportation of Liquefied Natural Gas 1977 September