LOS ANGELES -- Earlier today Wendy Greuel held a press conference calling on her chief rival in the race for Mayor, Eric Garcetti, to cut his ties with one of the worst local polluters, Venoco.
In a desperate attempt to divert attention from whether or not he'll cut ties with Venoco, Garcetti went on the attack, rather than answering Greuel's call.
In response to Garcetti's baseless attacks, Greuel issued the following statement:
"Today I called on Eric Garcetti to cut his ties with Venoco. Instead of answering my call to sever his ties with this firm, Eric avoided answering. Even worse, he completely ignored the issue. He said that there's a ban on oil drilling under his property -- but that's false. The ban doesn't start until the end of 2016, and according to Eric's agreement with Venoco, the oil drilling can start as soon as tomorrow. This is an oil company that has been fined $10,000 for releasing toxic fumes over a school play yard, and Eric’s signature on this lease essentially endorses the activity of this oil derrick.
"The fact is, Eric has campaigned across Los Angeles touting his environmental record and has claimed he's an environmental champion, but his actions today show the complete opposite.
“Today’s events are symbolic of Eric’s character of being everything to everyone. One day Eric says he’s an environmentalist, yet the next he’s hiding his 15-year relationship with Big Oil Venoco. In an effort to distract voters from the issue, Eric brought up a contribution for $250 to me from a firm that represents a variety of clients. The contribution was from four years ago and is perfectly legal. The reality is that not disclosing the fact that Eric was a Beverly Hills property owner is illegal. It appears Eric broke the law and he needs to explain why and how this happened.
"I have never been lobbied by Venoco. I don't have a 15-year relationship with Venoco. I authored the resolution to oppose Venoco's offshore drilling in 2005. On the other hand, when Venoco lobbied Eric Garcetti to sign the lease – he signed it!
"Again, I ask you Eric, cut your ties with Venoco!"
To view the Beverly Hills City Council ordinance regarding the Venoco lease which exists through 2016 and can be extended, click here:
Below is the language from the Beverly Hills municipal code regarding this issue.
10-5-323: CESSATION OF ACTIVITY:
A. Notwithstanding the provisions of chapter 3, article 41 of this title, all drilling, production, and extraction activities occurring from surface locations in the city, including controlled drill site no. 1, shall cease by December 31, 2016.
B. The city council may extend the date set forth in subsection A of this section for controlled drill site no. 1 upon application of the property owner and upon finding that an extension of time would be in the public interest. (Ord. 11-O-2614, eff. 11-18-201)