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Report on Hazards Offshore California's Ventura County Coast Compiled in Response to Congressional Request
U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) scientists recently released "Comments on Potential Geologic and Seismic Hazards Affecting Coastal Ventura County, California" (USGS Open-File Report 2004-1286) in response to a request from Congresswoman Lois Capps (Santa Barbara, CA), who sent a letter to the USGS in June requesting advice on geologic hazards that should be considered in the review of two proposed liquefied-natural-gas (LNG) facilities offshore Ventura County, CA. A team of USGS scientists from Menlo Park, CA, Pasadena, CA, and Golden, CO, assembled the Open-File Report, which was published and sent to Congresswoman Capps in August. Based on previously compiled, publicly available and existing data on seismic activity in the area, the report shows a potential for major earthquakes that could damage the LNG facilities. The report's authors identify additional investigations that could be performed to produce more detailed recommendations.
Congresswoman Capps' request was prompted by proposals from two companies, BHP Billiton and Crystal Energy, to site LNG terminals off Ventura County's coastline. Both facilities would convert the liquid back into a gas and then ship it to an onshore Southern California Gas Co. facility through a system of pipes on the sea bottom. BHP Billiton wishes to build a permanently moored deep-water LNG regasification facility, called Cabrillo Port. The floating terminal would be located 14 mi off the county's south coast, anchored to ocean-floor pipelines. Crystal Energy seeks to use Platform Grace, an offshore oil platform 12 mi off Oxnard, as a docking site for ships importing LNG. On the basis of the USGS report, Congresswoman Capps is asking the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Energy, and the Department of Transportation to investigate possible seismic activity in the Santa Barbara Channel region before deciding whether to endorse construction of the LNG import facilities. More information about this issue is available on Congresswoman Capps' Web site. The USGS Open-File Report, by Stephanie L. Ross, David M. Boore, Michael A. Fisher, Arthur D. Frankel, Eric L. Geist, Kenneth W. Hudnut, Robert E. Kayen, Homa J. Lee, William R. Normark, and Florence L. Wong, can be downloaded from URL http://pubs.usgs.gov/of/2004/1286/.
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in this issue:
Coastal Ground Water Discharge Benthic Habitats Near Oil Platforms
Suspended Sediment, Turbidity, and Fish Feeding Behavior USGS Monterey Bay Science Prototype
USGS Biologists Receive DOI Honor Awards
Netherlands Students Assist USGS in Florida
USGS Contributes to New Book About Point Loma |
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U. S. Department of the Interior | U.S. Geological Survey
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