By John Hankins
The beginning of the end of at least eight California offshore oil platforms came on Friday, July 23 when a notice of intent was filed in the Federal Register.
The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) posted the notice to ‘decommission’ the platforms and their infrastructure. The eight platforms are in federal waters (outside the 3-mile limit) near Point Conception and in the Santa Barbara Channel and were built between the 1960s and ‘90s.
There are 15 other platforms off the California coast that are not part of the notice.
"We are celebrating the decommissioning of so many offshore oil platforms. Our beaches were the site of the first offshore oil wells in the world, some of which are still being cleaned up today, and site of some of the worst oil spills in the nation. So, it is appropriate that the Santa Barbara Channel is now leading the way toward the phase out of risky offshore oil," said Katie Davis, Chair of the Los Padres Chapter, Sierra Club.
None of the eight platforms are producing and their leases have expired. A Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement (PEIS) will be prepared with at least three options: completely removing platforms and facilities, a partial removal or no action.
The Sierra Club and many others have fought offshore oil for generations, so the news is a positive step at a time when renewable energy sources are coming to the fore, including a wind energy project on land around Lompoc, a newly opened large electric energy storage Oxnard and more to come along the South Coast, and an ordinance to allow large solar arrays in the Cuyama Valley. Also, wind energy off the Morro Bay coastal area is also being considered while Gov. Gavin Newsom’s executive order would phase out gasoline cars by 2035.
“This is the first step toward a robust and efficient review of anticipated applications for decommissioning oil and gas infrastructure off the California coast,’ said Mike Mitchell, acting director of BSEE’s Pacific region.
Our long history of opposing oil and gas was started in earnest after the notorious 1969 Platform ‘A’ blowout in the SB Channel, which spawned the Community Environmental Council, Environmental Defense Center and Get Oil Out! Given that background many are sure to want to comment. Here’s how. Comments may be submitted online through by searching Docket No. BOEM-2021-0043 and clicking on the ‘Comment Now’ link from: www.regulations.gov
Your remarks may also be delivered by hand or by mail, enclosed in an envelope labeled, “Pacific Decommissioning” and addressed to Richard Yarde, Regional Supervisor, Office of Environment, BOEM Pacific Region, 760 Paseo Camarillo, Suite 102, Camarillo, CA, 93010. He may also be reached at (805) 384-6379 or: richard.yarde@boem.gov
Supplemental information to assist the public in providing scoping comments is available at: www.boem.gov/Pacific-decomm-PEIS
This supplemental information includes maps of the relevant geographic area, a description of the environmental setting, and further details about existing oil and gas infrastructure.
All comments must be received by Sept. 7, 2021. The draft PEIS is tentatively scheduled for publication in Feb. 2022, followed by a 45-day public comment period.