Voters in Hermosa Beach have soundly rejected an initiative which would have allowed E&B Natural Resources to drill over two dozen oil wells beneath the quaint beach town.
Measure O was defeated Tuesday by 78.9 percent of voters, following a contentious campaign that saw over $1 million in spending.
Had it been approved, Measure O would have created an exception to the city’s existing oil drilling ban in order to allow E&B to proceed with a contract approved in the 1990s. Now that it has been defeated, the city owes $17.5 million to E&B, per the terms of a legal settlement reached in 2012. That same settlement required the city to present the issue to voters.
The city has set aside $6 million for part of the payout. The rest will be paid in annual installments of approximately $800,000 a year. Despite the massive monetary loss, all five Hermosa Beach City Council members opposed the measure, citing environmental and health impacts.
Read more about Tuesday’s results here.