Speak now or live with the consequences
Whether you are for or against more oil drilling in the Baldwin Hills, your voice will count only until next Tuesday, Aug. 19, the date the public comment period closes.
Submit your comments to Mr. Paul McCarthy, Dept. of Regional Planning, Room 1348, 320 W. Temple St., Los Angeles, CA 90012.
Questions you may want to ask the County can cover the whole range of possible liabilities. For example, why is there no emergency response plan? What do we do in case of a fire spewing carcinogens and threatening our homes? Do we shelter in place? Or run for our lives through this toxic firestorm?
PXP, the oil drilling company, admits in its 2007 SEC report that it does not have adequate insurance coverage because the premium is too high, or it is not available. Will the County pay for damages from PXP occurrences?
If so, is it fair to use taxpayers’ money to thereby subsidize a private corporation and its stockholders? If not, how will the County spare us from paying for any damages that PXP’s explorations may cause?
Since PXP is not even sure there is oil, is it fair to allow new drilling that consumes thousands of gallons of pure water and then dumps it into the ground filled with toxics just to find out if there is oil there? And to do this up to 1,065 times when we are being asked to ration water?
Who writes the spin for PXP?
They tell us they contribute to the local economy, (but can’t afford to insure us against their damages). They say they put back into the local economy about a million dollars every three days.
Even without PXP, the million of us who live around the Baldwin Hills spend at least a dollar a day and more locally.
And so we put more than a million dollars a day into our local economy.
PXP says they asked for stricter regulations. Why did they not put them in before they hurt us with toxic smells? Why do they try to dismiss our distress as an odor event?
Why are they recommending odor suppressants to address this issue that people still smell in the very early mornings? Do they think air freshener can stop asthma? Lung diseases? Cancer?
Why don’t PXP and the County sit down with the community and work out a win-win for all involved? In whose interests are they rushing to promulgate these very inadequate regulations?
Remember: Your voice counts. Make a difference and write your letter now.
