The U.S. District Court on Sept. 27 upheld Santa Barbara County’s denial of ExxonMobil’s proposal to transport oil by tanker trucks to Maricopa along hazardous California highways, from Hwy 101 along the rural Route 166.
The plan would have helped the company restart three 1980s drilling platforms off the Santa Barbara coast, and its Las Flores Canyon processing facility, shut down since the disastrous Refugio oil spill eight years ago.
When it was operating, the processing facility was the largest emitter of greenhouse gases in the County.
Ironically, the 95 MW Strauss Wind Energy Project is due to be turned on soon, likely before the end of the year. It is located about 3.5 miles southwest of the city of Lompoc, abutting Vandenberg AFB. They will provide clean energy and a robust tax base for the county, replacing oil energy to a great extent.
“ExxonMobil’s plan is reckless, dangerous, and totally unwelcome by this community,” said Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, which represents Get Oil Out!, Santa Barbara County Action Network, Surfrider Foundation, and Sierra Club.
“Recent oil tanker truck accidents and offshore oil spills show just how dangerous this plan is. Our research revealed that there have been eight serious accidents involving tanker trucks along the proposed route in the last several years, resulting in deaths, oil spills, injuries, fires, and road closures. Today’s decision puts the safety of our communities, climate, and coastlines first,” she added.
“Santa Barbara County courageously rejected Exxon’s trucking plan and we’re thrilled the judge concurred,” said Sierra Club Santa Barbara-Ventura Chapter Director Jonathan Ullman. “Today, Justice prevailed.”
California suffers hundreds of oil-truck incidents a year, and many result in oil spills. There were 258 trucking accidents along the planned route from 2015 to 2021; since 2007 eight oil tanker truck accidents have occurred that resulted in six deaths, multiple injuries, fires, road closures, and oil spills. In 2020, County planning staff recommended a prohibition on oil tanker trucks on Route 166 after a major accident spilled more than 4,500 gallons into the Cuyama River.
“It’s incredible that this project would even be considered. Each tanker truck and its full load of oil is essentially a ticking time bomb that threatens the lives of those on the highways and our environment. An oil spill catastrophe has been prevented,” said Michael Lyons, Board President of Get Oil Out!
The next accident is a matter of ‘when,’ not ‘if,’ based on oil companies’ terrible track record in Santa Barbara County.
Judge Dolly M. Gee’s decision comes on the heels of a disturbing new report from international scientists on climate change’s intense and mounting damages. It follows the disastrous oil spill off Huntington Beach in 2021, another offshore oil leak from DCOR Pipeline 0919, an oil tanker truck accident and fire in Santa Maria, and the Alisal Fire that threatened the ExxonMobil’s Las Flores Canyon oil-processing facility, where tanker trucks would load crude.
Watch the video produced by @vacationland for @environmentaldefensecenter. Directed by @offline.media.account and @nicholas_weissman.