Jul 25 2013
The Fight to Preserve Whittier Hills
The natural space that Los Angeles voters twice passed bond measures to “permanently protect” has become the subject of an ugly battle in Whittier between oil developers, City Council members, government agencies and conservation groups.
Even though a judge recently affirmed the protective status of Whittier Hills by ordering Matrix Oil company’s equipment to be removed from the land, several interested parties are now entering into a legal settlement process to pay for damages.
A lot of money is at stake and both city and county governments are salivating at the prospect of badly needed revenues.
But the most important question remains: are the Whittier Hills permanently protected from drilling as per voters’ wishes?
On July 25, 2013, Uprising host Sonali Kolhatkar interviewed Nick Donovan, co-founder and Board member of Whittier Hills Oil Watch to answer that question.
Watch a video of the interview here:
Visit www.whittierhillsoilwatch.org for more information.
Bipasha Shom recorded this interview.
One Response to “The Fight to Preserve Whittier Hills”
This oil project is happening in the “core habitat” of the preserve. It’s a preserve with in the preserve. The Environmental Impact Report was filled with flaws, including a last minute overhaul of the project. This video (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v_ouvvpz9ug) shows the horrendous flaws in the report. The City of Whittier was determined to ram this project through.