Oil drilling in Hermosa Beach? [2012 Newsmaker]
The mural of Hermosa Beach in 1909 was painted by local artist Chris Coakley on the side of the New Orleans Cafe. Photo by Ed Pilolla E&B Natural Resources of Bakersfield filed its application last month to drill for oil and gas, continuing the nearly 20-year saga of whether or not an oil company will be allowed to dig wells at the city maintenance yard. E&B arrived on the scene in March as part of a settlement between the city and Macpherson Oil, which claimed Hermosa Beach breached its contract in 1998 when the City Council determined that drilling for oil could be unsafe. Macpherson was seeking up to $750 million in damages and the trial was set to begin in the spring. However, in a deal negotiated to avoid major liability for the city, E&B paid $30 million to Macpherson to have the opportunity to convince voters to support the oil project, and residents will go to the polls sometime in 2014 to decide. If voters reject the oil proposal, then the city will pay $17.5 million to E&B, which the city would likely finance through a multi-year bond measure. If the voters approve the oil project, the city will owe $3.5 million so long as the project is also approved by the California…
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