Freeport McMoran Oil and Gas Versus Residents

Category: Community News
Published on Thursday, 30 October 2014 16:19
Written by D.V. Lawrence
In our last story (June 2014) regarding the conflict between local residents surrounding the Murphy oil site (on Adams west of Western) and the oil sites new owners, the notorious Freeport McMoran Oil and Gas (FMOG) company, we reported that LA City Council President (and Councilman for District 10) Herb Wesson, had brokered an agreement between Michael Salman and Steven Peckman and FMOG.  Michael and Steven had appealed the LA City Planning departments approval allowing FMOG to install a clean emission burner in their enclosed park on their property.  They did so without community notice or public hearing.  octfreeportweb
Michael Salman contributed this recent update:


As a result of the negotiated resolution of the two appeals brokered by Council President Wesson, FMOG abandoned its December 2013 approval to install a new waste gas burner in the parkland next to 27th St and it submitted a new application to the Planning Department in July 2014. That application is for a full Plan Approval case, which will include a public hearing. Planning has required that FMOG submit an Environmental Assessment Form, which Planning will then review in order to decide on the level of CEQA (California Environmental Quality Act) review that Planning believes is required. The public hearing will not be scheduled until after that CEQA process is completed, which could take as little as a couple of months or as long as a year. When a hearing date is announced, it must be done with at least 24 days advance notice. The earliest possible date for the hearing would be in November, but we regard that as unlikely. December or later is more probable, and it could be considerably later. Stay tuned. 


Photo by Dawn Kirkpatrick