By Jim Taylor
The Carpinteria Oil and Gas Facility at one time processed up to 20,000 barrels of oil and 20 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, all harvested from platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel. Now it has to be cleaned up.
Long before the oil operations began in 1959, it was a Chumash midden, hunting camp and cemetery.
Under the terms of the sale of the from Chevron to Venoco in 1998, Chevron regained ownership and responsibility for the facility in case Venoco failed, which indeed occurred.
Chevron prefers to shut down the facility rather than re-start operations, no doubt due to the declining production of the existing platforms and the strong headwinds the company would face trying to restart the harvesting of oil in the Santa Barbara Channel.
Thankfully, the days of Big Oil in Santa Barbara are rapidly drawing to a close.
Ultimately Chevron likely intends to sell the 64- acre property, which occupies a prized location on the bluffs between City Hall and 35 to 50 feet above a stretch of idyllic Pacific beach, featuring a beloved harbor seal rookery.
Permitting under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) is required for the decommissioning/cleanup project, and the City, as Lead Agency, has recently completed an Initial Study under the act, and concluded that a full Environmental Impact Report is required before work can begin.
This is going to take some time, but a careful study is called for – this is a large project that could have a significant effects on the environment. Areas of concern identified in the Initial Study include the release of hazardous materials, adverse effects on habitats of plants and animals (seals), and cultural/archaeological impacts (artifacts & human remains).
And who knows what they will find under all that equipment, and the giant oil tank that dominates the property?
Additionally, several old, abandoned oil wells on the property are not addressed by this project, and may involve CalGEM directed remediation.
All of the oil and gas processing equipment including underwater pipelines will be removed and the soil will be cleaned to residential standards, the highest level of clean-up available. Chevron estimates a three-year project, once the EIR process results in a green light.
A re-zoning of the property is also underway as part of the City’s General Plan Update. Most of the Carpinteria Bluffs are zoned to allow residential, commercial and other uses, but the future zoning designation of the Chevron property will be determined over the course of many public hearings in the coming years.
