By Parnia Mazhar
Staff Writer
Hermosa Beach residents should lift the ban on oil drilling in the March election as it will raise funds toward beautifying and improving the city’s beaches and schools.
According to E&B Natural Resources Management Corp., the Hermosa Beach project is estimated to create a total of $519 million in revenue for the city over a 35-year span, and 80 percent of that estimate will be earned within the first 10 years.
E&B states that $12 million will be designated for the Hermosa Beach school district. These funds will positively affect Hermosa Beach citizens as they will be put toward causes that will better Hermosa Beach overall.
According to Protect Hermosa’s Future, an independent organization made up of Hermosa Beach citizens in favor of the oil drilling, the city’s lack of funds has led to overcrowded schools, as both Hermosa Valley Elementary School and Hermosa View Middle School have 300 students over capacity. The revenue E&B guarantees to set aside toward the Hermosa Beach City School District could give the city the opportunity to expand its schools, ensuring plenty of room and resources for each student.
In order to increase safety for residents and tourists, the Protect Hermosa’s Future organization stated that a portion of the revenue the city will be gaining from the oil production could go into splitting the strand’s pathway, including a path for bikes and pedestrians.
Furthermore, Hermosa Beach can benefit from these funds by using them to promote cleanliness. Currently, Hermosa needs approximately $14 million to replace its sewers and storm drains that were built in the 1920s, but according to the City of Hermosa Beach Sewer Study, the city has only allotted $1 million to the much-needed project. The project would give Hermosa Beach the opportunity to build this necessary equipment to help benefit the city.
The Kosmont Company’s City of Hermosa Beach Oil Drilling and Recovery Analysis says that the city would have to set aside $850,000 to $1.1 million a year for the next 20 to 30 years to pay off the current E&B debt. This major debt will have a negative impact on the city as it will cut into money allotted for other projects and issues that need to be dealt with.
According to the city’s cost-benefit analysis, Hermosa Beach’s option to pay the debt includes requesting all voters to pay a 0.15 percent property tax increase for the next 30 years. The financial inconveniences citizens will have to face as a result of not approving the proposal are unfair and costly because the citizens did not vote in favor of the original loan.
By E&B drilling for oil, Hermosa Beach would not be as environmentally sound as before, but E&B has ensured that directional oil drilling is one of the safest and most accurate procedures of oil recovery.
On-shore, directional drilling has many techniques, including applying a large number of layers of underground steel pipes to make sure that oil does not leak into the soil, as well as adding sound-reducing cellars and material around the well-heads. There are currently 698 active wells along California’s coast successfully utilizing these techniques, proving this system is safe and effective.
Although an inconvenience to some, the overall effect of the Hermosa Beach oil drilling will be a major benefit to residents by increasing revenue and providing funds for much needed projects.
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