Oil has stopped seeping into Toro Canyon Creek, and it should stay that way. 

Santa Barbara County has finished building a new oil-water-separator system in the Carpinteria-Summerland area to address decades of leaks from the previous facility. 

The issue goes back to the 1880s, when Occidental Mining and Petroleum Co. built a natural seepage well to collect and sell oil. The company “inadvertently opened a large water seep,” switched its focus to selling water and installed an oil-water-separator system, according to the county. 

That system deteriorated over time and was retrofitted in the 1990s after a spill. The county assumed oversight of the facility from the Environmental Protection Agency in 2009. 

The Thomas Fire and Montecito debris flows damaged the facility, and a study determined that the whole system needed to be replaced, county staff said in a report to the Board of Supervisors this week.

That project was designed to control the crude oil seep and prevent the oil from entering Toro Canyon Creek, and construction was finished in March. 

“The project includes a new concrete oil-water separator, a concrete diversion weir, a new double-walled oil pipeline, and a 5,000-gallon, double-wall, above-ground storage tank,” Public Works’ Water Resources Division staff said. 

The construction contract was $2.51 million, according to this week’s staff report, and the county also paid for construction management and other services. 

The District Attorney’s Office sued the Water Resources Division over its response to a nearly yearlong leak that started in 2020, and later filed criminal charges. 

In 2023, the county reached a settlement in the cases, which accused the Water Resources Division of failing to properly maintain the system, failing to detect a 2020-21 leak, and knowingly discharging oil into a creek. The Water Resources Division pleaded guilty to misdemeanor criminal charges and agreed to pay $750,000 in civil penalties. 

At that time, county spokeswoman Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta said the legal resolution would allow the county to focus on the replacement system, which was already underway. The total project was estimated to cost $3.72 million.