California's Governor, Pete Wilson, (Spelled REPUBLICAN) approved the state's first early ("dirty") transfer of contaminated federal property on December 1, 1997: the sale, by the Department of Energy, of the 37,000-acre Elk Hills Naval Petroleum Reserve No. 1 to Occidental Petroleum for $3.65 billion!
Ironically, the first California application of Section 334 of the 1997 Defense Authorization Act is not a military base closure. Consequently, it may not set a precedent for how the state will address future proposal for early transfers.
At least three other characteristics of this transfer distinguish it from other potential proposals:
1) The sale is likely to bring the state an immense tax windfall once Occidental starts pumping and marketing oil from the site.
2) The intended use is continued management as an oilfield, not exactly a place where one expects a pristine environment.
3) Elk Hills is located in the southern San Joaquin Valley, not noted for the high level of environmental awareness and activism found throughout much of California.
It's of course of great concern that this approval was made before any of us on the outside knew it was pending. A second proposal, a 25-acre transfer at Mather Air Force Base, is now under consideration by regulators, local officials, and a private business. That proposal
should be carefully reviewed by the Restoration Advisory Board and other community interests.
Source: California Base Closure News, December, 1997. |
