ASPEN REPORT

Recommendation:

1. Review and receive the report prepared by Aspen, take any public comments and comments from Macpherson Oil Company.
   
2. Direct staff as deemed appropriate.

Background:

The City Council authorized the preparation of a report by the Aspen Environmental Group after concerns were expressed about potential hazards that were discussed as part of the Coastal Commission review of the oil project. The attached report states that additional work should be done in order to determine whether or not the project poses a public safety risk. In order to have an idea of what it would take to answer the questions that were raised in the report, Apsen responded by providing a new proposal to do an Integrated Risk Assessment, which is intended to address the recommendations set forth in the report. They have quoted a cost at $31,416.00 and 6 - 8 weeks to deliver a report. A representative of Aspen will be at your meeting and can answer any questions that you have on its proposal for this study.

Aspen has noted that there is a difference in the limit of H2S between the Coastal Commission approval and the City approval, including our Final EIR and CUP for the project. Aspen notes that the City's CUP is more restrictive than the Coastal Commission approval of 40ppm, since the City's approval only permits 4ppm as addressed in the FEIR. Aspen suggests that either a supplement to the EIR or subsequent EIR would need to be done. This would probably take anywhere from 6 to 9 months. I did not ask for a proposal for this as the scope of the work would have to be determined first.

In summary, it would appear that the report before you does not completely respond to your request and will not without additional work. The Integrated Risk Assessment proposed would provide additional information to you that may be useful in determining whether or not the public safety is protected by the safeguards included in the project approvals. Some of this risk assessment will involve H2S and, as a result, any effort to amend the CUP should probably wait until the report is finished. It is possible that there would not be a need to amend the CUP if the project could proceed under the lower City H2S standard.

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