ExxonMobil’s Oil Trucking Proposal expects final decision this week

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif. – A final decision is expected this week on ExxonMobil's Oil Trucking Proposal, and there will likely be a strong public turnout.

Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will hear arguments from both sides of the controversial project on Tuesday at the Joseph Centeno Betteravia Government Administration Building in Santa Maria.

The oil giant is seeking permission to restart three offshore platforms: Harmony, Heritage and Hondo.

All three shut down in 2015 following the devastating Plains Pipeline oil spill off the Gaviota Coast.

Local environmentalists say the timing is critical. Restarting those platforms would "exacerbate the current climate crisis" and put the coastline and marine wildlife at risk.

They say trucking is the most dangerous form of transporting crude oil.

"If this project is approved, ExxonMobil would be able to truck up to 70 trucks per day carrying 460,000 gallons of oil along our Coastline and along incredibly dangerous inland highways," said Maggie Hall, Senior Attorney with Environmental Defense Center (EDC). "And this could last for up to seven years."

Hall said there is no benefit at this point to getting the last bits of oil out of those three aging platforms.

She also said that over the past two decades, California has logged 87 tanker truck accidents involving transporting crude; 14 of those accidents happened in Santa Barbara County.

Hall also said that the Russia and Ukraine crisis does not impact the local oil project as “it amounts to such a small fraction of California's oil production.”

ExxonMobil Operations Media Manager Julie L. King responded to News Channel 3-12 with the following statement:

ExxonMobil is committed to trucking safely and will operate in a manner that is protective of the environment.  Our trucking routes must be approved by the county, and we must follow more than 100 laws, rules, regulations and policies at county, state and federal levels governing our operation, which are among the strictest in the world.

Approval of our temporary trucking permit will allow us to resume safe, environmentally responsible operations that will bring a number of benefits to Santa Barbara, including local jobs and millions in vital tax revenues for county schools, public safety and healthcare services.

Tuesday's March 8 Board of Supervisors meeting starts at 9 a.m.

Click here for more information on this meeting.

For the full agenda, click here.