Company Wins Round in Bid for Pipeline

Pacific Pipeline System Inc. won a federal court round in its bid to build a 132-mile pipeline to carry crude oil to local refineries. U.S. District Court in Los Angeles ruled this week that Pacific Pipeline’s rival, Southern California Edison, has no standing to appeal the U.S. Forest Service’s approval of the pipeline, the company said. Edison owns a competing pipeline company. The ruling removes the utility from an appeal filed by the city of Los Angeles in October. The pipeline would carry oil from the San Joaquin Valley and off the California coast. It would run beneath large sections of Los Angeles and neighboring communities to Wilmington. Some environmentalists and neighborhood groups have expressed concern about a pipeline spill. The company contends the pipeline would be safer than hauling the oil in trucks, trains and ocean tankers.