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Reporting for the Malibu Times at first, Hans Laetz looks into Australian Energy Conglomerate BHP Billiton's plans to "build a liquified natural gas (LNG) terminal floating off the local coast." But after two months, Laetz was removed from coverage by the Times amid criticism, possibly due to the fact BHP Billiton was an advertising client of the Times. He then was picked up by the Malibu Surfside News, and continued to tell a tale of the various aspects of the deal: how BHP got a smog waiver after White House officials overruled local Environmental Protection Agency officials, the safety and pollution risks of the project; citizens' letters supporting the project to the government, which turned out mostly to be fake; and the opposition of state and federal parks officials to the project.