He firmly declined to speculate on the possibility the Plains Exploration and Production Co., the oil-drilling firm known commonly as PXP, employed any deceitful methods in seeking approval, soliciting communal comments for adding 24 new drilling sites, beginning next month. PXP was reported to have been responsible for notifying residents and groups within the immediate area of its drilling sites in the Baldwin Hills, and it did not. Culver Crest residents, twice driven from their homes last winter by stenches from oil drilling, the residents of Ladera Heights and the West Los Angeles College — all prominent players in protesting past PXP activities — were ignored in the low-profile notification process. Since PXP was the only signatory on a document requiring state agency approval, suspicions of corner-cutting by the Texas-based company have emerged. The Councilman did not detect any waywardness. “I have to assume people are operating in good faith,” Mr. Malsin said. “Speculation would serve no particular purpose.”
Accent on County
The City Councilman said the key ingredient in healing relations with residents within range of the drilling sites and preventing future leaks, will be a tightening ordinance generated by Los Angeles County officials. “The (affected) area within Culver City is really very small,” Mr. Malsin said. “When you get down to it, an ordinance (formulated) by Culver City will not adequately protect us from the concerns that we have. The operations are limited within Culver City. They are extensive immediately outside of our borders.
Parochial Approach
“I am very interested in seeing the County proceed. The County has indicated they are going to do an environmental impact report, and will create an ordinance that will manage this oil field for years to come. So, Culver City adopting an ordinance is a perfectly reasonable approach. There is nothing wrong with it.” But the City Council member does not think such policy would substantively curb fears or reduce the possibility of odiferous — or worse — outcomes.
County Is the Main Player
“The larger issues — meaning what the County does — are of critical importance,” said Mr. Malsin. “The County would like to work with Culver City in accordance with the ordinance they are going to adopt.” Mr. Malsin expressed certitude that Yvonne Brathwaite Burke, the County Supervisor responsible for this region of the Westside, “wants to see residents of this district safe in their homes. The way this (flap over non-notification) has been handled over the past month put Culver City in a bad position. We were essentially bound to respond, as we did, to a legal document (joining in a wider protest to the state over non-notification). We had to do that to protect our rights. We’re not getting in the middle of that. We didn’t get in the middle of anything, as far as I am concerned. Culver City is but one agency that submitted comments. The oil field within our borders is small. The Southern California Air Quality Management District has broad authority.”
Disposing of Oil
The Culver City policy-shaper acknowledged that notification and related concepts “are important because the oil field is very active, and it is surrounded by millions and millions of people. In California, if you change the oil in your car in the driveway, you are still required to take the used oil to the service station to get rid of it. These oil fields have been operating for decades. I think there are more than quarts of oil up there.”
Postscript
Mr. Malsin, approaching the end of his first year on the City Council, talked about his main goals. “I want to put in place safeguards for residents and to gather the information our firefighters will need if they are called upon to respond to any kind of incident up there,” he said. “At that point. Culver City’s interests probably will be better served by participating in a co-operative process that will lead to the County’s adoption of a modern ordinance to regulate oil production in the Baldwin Hills.”