Local and federal agencies will cooperate on the environmental review process for Plains All-American Pipeline’s proposal to replace 120-plus miles of pipeline in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Kern counties, including the pipe that ruptured and caused the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill.
Plains submitted an application to Santa Barbara County in mid-August to build a new, smaller-diameter pipeline along mostly the same route as the existing Line 901 and Line 903.
Both local lines, which run from the Gaviota Coast to Pentland in Kern County, have been shut down and purged of oil since the May 19, 2015, spill that dumped 123,228 gallons of crude oil onto the coastline and into the ocean near Refugio State Beach.
Plains decided to pursue building replacement pipelines instead of repairing and restarting the existing lines.
The replacement pipeline application was looked over by staff in the Energy and Materials Division of the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department, and in late September it was deemed incomplete, said energy specialist Errin Briggs.
“They have quite a bit of work to do,” he said.
The environmental review process starts after the application is complete.
The proposed pipeline and current pipeline run through three counties and federal lands, and the agencies want to have a coordinated environmental review process.
On Tuesday, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors OK’d planners entering an agreement to form a joint review panel for California Environmental Quality Act and National Environmental Policy Act review.
Having agencies cooperate for environmental review can avoid duplication and facilitate record-sharing, according to the county.
Santa Barbara County will be the lead agency on the joint review panel and for CEQA. Either the Bureau of Land Management or the U.S. Forest Service will be the lead NEPA agency, according to the county.
Santa Barbara County’s Board of Supervisors has the final say in awarding a contract for producing an environmental impact report, and has discretionary permit authority.
Plains will reimburse participating agencies for all project costs, according to the county.
— Noozhawk managing editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
