(See pdf below)
After examining PXP’s timely response this afternoon to City Hall’s letter of inquiry last week regarding controversial oil drilling and the company’s intentions, Mayor Andy Weissman said, succinctly, “Looks fine to me.”
Not that the message from Vice President Steve Rusch of Plains Exploration & Production Co., was so serene.
In the penultimate paragraph, Mr. Rusch wondered why City Hall was seeking to speed up a process that he said is on schedule.
Further, he said the company has been hearing for years that City Hall urgently needs information because the City Council is making law.
Well?
In Mr. Rusch’s words: “PXP finds the timing demands of your letter to be quite curious as the City has advised PXP since at least 2005 that they were working on a new drilling ordinance. PXP and the City have entered into various letter agreements over the last several years to allow the City to work on such an ordinance with PXP specifically agreeing to delay filing of any new well drilling permits.”
Mr. Weissman’s reaction to the slightly longer than one-page response was placid. “The substantive response seemed understandable and appropriate given the pending release of the long awaited fracking study.
“I take encouragement from Steve Rusch's statement that if the study doesn't provide the answers to our questions, that PXP agrees to meet with the city and attempt to answer those unanswered questions.
“Inasmuch as PXP has said it does not plan to do high volume horizontal hydraulic fracturing, there is no immediate urgency in terms of a response.
“We have asked questions in order to obtain the most relevant data to inform our decision on the issue.
“We can wait a short while longer to try and obtain that most relevant data.,” Mr. Weissman said. “If we don't get it from the study, the city will meet with PXP to obtain additional information, we need to be able to act responsibly.”
City Hall has requested a far more comprehensive reply from PXP within a month.
