Jeff Duclos Says, "E&B Natural Resources Shows A Shocking Level of Management Incompetence"

Hermosa Beach City Council Member Jeff Duclos says we should be upset with E&B Natural Resources and the shocking level of management incompetence. They took no responsibility for the lack of oversight pulling a drilling permit and DID NOT apologize for their error.

Former City Council Member Michael Keegan says, E&B has proven so incompetent they can't even pull a proper drilling permit and why isn't the City Council upset? Why isn't Hermosa Beach looking for a new oil drilling applicant?

Hermosa Beach City Council Members Took An Oath To Protect & Serve Its' Residents

    
Hermosa Beach City Council Members Took An Oath To Protect & Serve

Chris Miller (Daughter of Famous Ski Movie producer Warren Miller) delivers a power speech to the City Council.  "You took at oath of office to protect and serve its' residents.  This is not what Hermosa Beach stands for and I do not want to be owned by an oil company.  The California Tide Lands Trust was founded to protected the Coastal areas above the surface and was not developed to sell out what is below the surface."

"Don’t Be Fooled by E&B" - Michael Keegan Beach Reporter

The Beach Reporter Letter February 13, 2013

E&B oil drilling recently placed full-page ads in this paper touting the benefits of industrializing our coastal areas. Here are some of the more informative “did you know” things about E&B and their massive oil-drilling test project.

Did you know that E&B plans to drill 35 oil well sites on 1.2 acres of land, making Hermosa Beach the home of the most densely drilled oil exploration site in the country?

Did you know that E&B’s Steve Layton and Francesco Galesi negotiated with our city council to carry a mere $1 million of liability insurance over the 30-year life of the project? This policy is to protect the city residents and government from the extraordinarily high risks associated with oil drilling and exploration. These risks include chemical, electrical and mechanical fires, intense gas pressure explosions, blowouts with fire (like the one BP had in the Gulf of Mexico), earthquakes, oil spills, truck crashes, falling power lines, lightning and tsunamis. Any of these events could produce claims in the $200 to $500 million range.

Did you know that E&B was formed primarily through acquisition of the bankrupt Equinox Oil Drilling of Louisiana, whose principal was Steve Layton?

Did you know that Mr. Layton left his creditors unpaid and changed his shirt for a new one with the label E&B on it after a record oil spill in Plaquemines Parish, Louisiana? The oil spill covered approximately two square miles of wetlands — that is an area larger than the entire city of Hermosa Beach! E&B has a problem with truthfulness. These people have a well-documented history of bankruptcies and environmental disasters. Are these the type of “partners” the citizens of Hermosa Beach want for the next 30-plus years? Don’t be fooled. E&B has embarked on a very slick campaign to win votes and influence the community. They will say and promise anything for your support, but they will put nothing of relevance in writing.

This is about our health, our community and our environment.

Michael Keegan

Hermosa Beach

Editor’s note: Keegan is a former two-term city councilman and former public works commissioner.

Beach Reporter Letter