Public Weighs In On Venoco’s Oil Pipeline Project

The California State Lands Commission holds the first in a series of hearings on the project's environmental documents.

By Sonia Fernandez, Noozhawk Staff Writer | Published on 08.07.2008

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The California State Lands Commission held public hearings on Wednesday on the Draft Environmental Impact Report for Venoco’s lease expansion and pipeline project, as the oil company pushes for intensified drilling off the Ellwood coast.

The first in a series of hearings on the project’s environmental document, Wednesday’s hearings, at 3 p.m. and 6 p.m., brought out criticism and support for the project, which would include 40 new wells from existing oil slots on Platform Holly, as well as a pipeline from the oil company’s Ellwood Onshore Facility to the All-American Pipeline tie-in 10 miles northwest of Goleta that would do away with the oil company’s existing barge operation.

The environmentally preferred alternative, according to the document, would be to bypass the city of Goleta altogether and build a pipe directly from the rig to the All-American tie-in, skipping the processing plant and doing away with the barge operation in one swoop. It’s an alternative with which “Venoco does not necessarily agree,” said Steve Radis, vice president of Marine Research Specialists, the company that put together the DEIR.

Venoco‘s plan to install a pipe from its EOF to the All-American Pipeline tie-in would have eliminated the barge operation, the only one of its kind left in California, but critics say it’s too little, too late.

“This is no favor,” said former Assemblywoman Hannah-Beth Jackson, who attended the evening session. She was the author of a bill that passed in 2003, which requires companies such as Venoco to transport oil by pipe should they expand their lease or add more wells.

“This is not a benefit, or mitigation,” she said.

Meanwhile, residents vented concerns about air quality and increased risks of oil spills and gas leaks identified in the DEIR, given recent leaks and ongoing suspicious smells said to be coming from either the oil rig, the Ellwood Marine Terminal, which stores the crude, or the barge Jovalan.

“I would like to see Venoco be gone as soon as possible,” Goleta Mayor Michael Bennett said.

At least one supporter came forward to push for Venoco’s increased drilling and the pipe that would come along with it.

“You can get rid of the barge and rid of the stinking tanks by November of 2009,” Tom Beckert said. If the project were allowed to go through with little challenge, he said, the pipeline from the EOF to the All-American tie-in could come sooner than later. The lease on the EMT, which is on UCSB property, expires in 2016, after which the oil company would have to do away with its barge and construct a pipe.

“It doesn’t make sense for anyone to resist this project and be complaining about the barge and tanks,” he said.

Public comment on the DEIR will be taken until 4 p.m. Aug. 25. Comments can be sent to Eric Gillies, staff environmental scientist, via e-mail at gilliee@slc.gov or mailed to him at the Division of Environmental Planning and Management, State Lands Commission, 100 Howe Ave., Suite 100-South, Sacramento, CA 95825.

Noozhawk staff writer Sonia Fernandez can be reached at sfernandez@noozhawk.com.

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» why trust `em? wrote on 08.07.08 @ 08:26 AM

Venoco has been telling folks who complain about Marine Terminal odors that the odors were not due to their activity for years.

Now they say removing the terminal will remove the odors!

Which is it Venoco?  Are you stinking up the neighborhood or not?  If you are not, why do is it a benefit to eliminate the Marine Terminal?

If you are stinking up the neighborhood, why did you lie about it for years?

And why should anyone trust you now?

» Reality wrote on 08.07.08 @ 10:41 AM

I’ve lived in the area for years and find comments like this last one astonishing.  First, oil has been drilled off this coast for decades, much longer than nearby homes have existed.  Second, people decry the smells but it’s called Coal Oil Point for good reason.  But, regardless of history or the blame-game on odors, we should all get behind this opportunity to get rid of the unsafe barge; remove it and there’s no need for a marine terminal.  We can all sit around and complain about evil oil or we can work with the existing constraints and make the best of the situation:  support the building of a pipeline and the barge, marine terminal and, yes, the odors, go away!  And, get real about oil going away; Venoco owns the property and has the long term lease rights, so get over it.

» Stay the Course wrote on 08.07.08 @ 11:11 AM

this issue isn’t about getting rid of Venoco, it is about getting rid of the barging operations, which is a top priority for the people of Goleta. It is people like Mayor Bennett who are moving the conversation away from removing the barge to getting rid of Venoco and it is counterproductive. Cut it out Mr. Mayor and get a move on with allowing the company to operate and allowing the public to have a facility without barging...and do it fairly Mr. Mayor.

» why trust `em wrote on 08.09.08 @ 04:25 AM

The odors Venoco causes are *way, way* worse than the natural seeps.  If you’ve lived through the evasiveness and lies of Venoco concerning their belching of oil-related fumes into the environment, they you simply cannot believe the claims that they make about benefits of this project.

Now, if Venoco would voluntarily submit to a $1 million fine each time they belched emissions, perhaps this project could move forward.

» The real truth comes out wrote on 08.09.08 @ 07:48 AM

“Now, if Venoco would voluntarily submit to a $1 million fine each time they belched emissions, perhaps this project could move forward.”

It turns out that every idealistic environmentalist has their price. They’re just extortionists at heart.

» why trust `em wrote on 08.09.08 @ 10:03 PM

Nope, it would be great if Venoco never belched a single emission, and no fine was ever assessed.  Only if Venoco is guilty need they claim extortion.

» Full cost pricing wrote on 08.10.08 @ 04:26 PM

You may finally be getting the point.  Environmentalists are not about no dams, no oil, etc.  The Environmentalists collapse to that position mainly because there are no mechanisms in place to require companies to repay what they have taken...our clean air, our clean water, the world’s unreplenishable natural resources.

Paying a fine to mitigate or discourage an act that damages public goods in not extortion, it’s just asking them to pay for what they take.  It’s called natural consequences.  It’s called the free market system.  It’s called fair.

 

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