State Fire Marshal to hold public meeting, experts to answer questions regarding Sable’s plan to re-start oil production in SB county
SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.—State legislators, environmentalists, and community members sent letters to the Office of the State Fire Marshal demanding greater transparency on restart process for the Santa Ynez unit, which includes the pipeline that ruptured in the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill.
Cal Fire confirmed today they are in the process of planning a meeting to give the community a chance to share their concerns.
After seeing crews working in Gaviota on behalf of Sable Offshore on Friday, environmentalists have expressed frustration and worry about how quickly the pipeline restart process is moving, and without much transparency.
“The lack of transparency here is just really frustrating, especially when you have this Texas based oil company coming in who doesn't have any ties to this community. So we would, you know, we'd really like that transparency as the fire marshal continues its determinations regarding the restart,” said Environmental Defense Center Attorney Jeremy Frankel.
State legislators called on Cal Fire to release all documents pertinent to the pipeline restart and conduct an environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
“The environmental review and the access to the information allows for our community to have a better understanding, a better understanding on whether or not there is greater risk or a better understanding of whether or not the process is going to be okay. And absent that information, we're not able to make that assessment about the safety of our community,” said State Senator Monique Limón.
The letter also calls on Cal Fire to hold public meetings with public input incorporated before any further decisions are made in the direction of the restart.
“ We don't know all of the risks that are inherent in this situation unless we really hear from the public. And the public includes community members, it includes experts, it includes a whole variety of people who are part of our community that want to ensure that their voices are heard,” said Limón.
“People have already gone through a horrendous disaster in 2015 when this same exact pipeline that is extremely corroded, ruptured and spilled oil on the coastline. So those people should at the very least have an opportunity to come and tell their story and have their voices heard about why this it's not a good idea to restart operation on this pipeline,” said Brady Bradshaw from the Center for Biological Diversity.
Even legislators outside of Santa Barbara County signed onto that letter.
“We know from experience that oil, when it spills, can travel the entire length of the coastline and end up on beaches all the way down to San Diego. So it was really a kind of a statement of solidarity, but also a recognition that oil spills in Santa Barbara can impact the coastline all the way down to the Mexican border and maybe beyond,” said Bradshaw.
Cal Fire says they are still in the process of determining the meeting logistics, but they plan to host just 1 meeting to help the public understand their role in the restart process.
Sable has told KEYT multiple times that it hopes to restart oil production in Santa Barbara County before the end of the year.
