By Jon Ullman, Chapter Director
There’s a fire brewing in the ocean.
The CA Fire Marshal could enable oil drilling on the Gaviota Coast that stopped a decade ago after the Plains Pipeline burst.
Santa Barbara Independent columnist Nick Welsh summarized it perfectly writing:
“In 35 minutes, about 142,000 gallons of crude burst out of a corroded section of the pipe. Before anyone knew what happened, thousands of gallons of oil oozed its way back into the ocean.
Hundreds of animals living in and out of the water were covered in oil and died. A Santa Barbara jury would find the pipeline company guilty of nine criminal charges — one felony and eight misdemeanors — or violating basic safety practices that operators knew or should have known would lead to this catastrophe. A 10-mile stretch of the pipeline located along our county’s coast was badly corroded, some spots by as much as 85 percent.
Back then, no one verified. Today, we are being asked to blindly trust Sable Oil and the state government agencies calling the shots that the pipeline can safely be restarted. In fact, it’s worse than that. Instead, we are being told to trust. And blindly.
As part of the deal, Sable Offshore — brand-new company created with money borrowed from ExxonMobil — bought the pipeline itself, which Exxon had previously bought from Plains All American. It is now seeking permits from the California Fire Marshal to reactivate the pipeline. It is not proposing to replace the existing pipeline, but instead to repair the old pipeline, which is reportedly corroded and badly pitted in at least 80 spots.
In addition, Sable is also seeking a special waiver to not include a protection system that is a basic safety feature used on pretty much all underground oil and gas pipelines. It prevents pipeline corrosion.
What do any of us, including the County of Santa Barbara, know about this proposal? Pretty much nothing.”
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What to do
CAL FIRE should protect us and not let Sable Offshore restart the Plains Pipeline with the flip of both a proverbial and actual switch. The stakes are too high for one California agency to waive requirements for a failed pipeline.
One thing Santa Barbara County can do is deny the transfer of ownership to Sable: On October 30, Santa Barbara County Planning Commission will vote whether to allow Sable Offshore to take over Plains Pipeline and Exxon's other oil processing facilities, thereby allowing Exxon to avoid liability for resulting spills and other disasters.
Sable is a speculative startup that would simply go bankrupt in the event of a spill and leave taxpayers on the hook for major liabilities. We need everyone to email comments in advance and show up at the hearing in downtown Santa Barbara.
Email Planning Commission board assistant, David Villalobos, with a comment opposing Sable taking over Exxon's facilities: