Monday, December 5th, 2022
Re: C-8 – OPPOSITION – REQUEST TO REMOVE FROM CONSENT CALENDAR Mayor Garcia, Members of the Council, City Clerk,
I hope this finds you all well.
I write on behalf of the Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy, to convey our opposition to 12/06/22 City Council Meeting Agenda Item #8, and to request that this item (C-8, File#22-1393), be removed from the consent calendar for separate action to be heard on the regular agenda, per section 2.03.040 of the Long Beach Municipal Code.
In the view of our non-profit organization, this agenda item needs to be read and heard publicly, particularly should there be any staff presentation in supplement of the staff report attached (http://longbeach.legistar.com/View.ashx?M=F&ID=11478619&GUID=6505323F-A2B7-4DB8-AC23- F07E29BA0C60, accessed 12/05/2022), prior to the call for public comment. The public at large stands to greatly benefit from clarity from City Staff and City Councilmembers in considering such an item, and has a direct, tangible, and express interest in being able to comment on the details and merits of the proposed item, prior to City Council deliberation upon it.
This agenda item seeks to fundamentally alter the cost structure of utility purchases by the City of Long Beach requisite for its current level of permitted activity in oil and gas operations. The putative reasons given are to reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions, without any verifiable method of calculation of their current levels in upstream or downstream operations, or exactly how the proposed “interconnection agreement” would alter them.
As you may be aware, both the costs and benefits of these and other utility operations have recently been put in front of the voters, notably through local Measure BB (2022) with an emphasis on financial cost savings to Long Beach consumers and rate-payers. There is ample, documented, concern about the implementation of the City of Long Beach's Climate Action and Adaptation Plan, and which costs burdens will be shifted onto Long Beach residential, commercial, industrial, and institutional utility ratepayer accounts to meet pollution and emission reduction measures. The public deserves to have the details and merits of this item discussed in the appropriate open forum, which in this case would be a regularly agendized item of business.
I am available to answer any questions or concerns you may have in this regard.
Thanking You,
Dave Shukla, Operations
Long Beach Alliance for Clean Energy