In an earlier commentary I wrote: “Santa Barbara County failed to properly operate and maintain its only oil well.
And Noozhawk reported that “Former District Attorney Joyce Dudley sued the county over its response to a nearly year-long leak that started in 2020, alleging there was ‘very little effort from the county to contain it or to stop oil from flowing into Toro Canyon Creek.’ ”
At the time Noozhawk reported that “County Fire tried to call the division’s emergency contact, but the line was disconnected, and by the time they did get in touch, hundreds of gallons of oil had flowed into the creek and downstream.”
Last week Noozhawk reported: “Santa Barbara County’s Water Resources Division pleaded guilty to criminal charges and agreed to pay $750,000 in civil penalties Wednesday related to oil spills from the troubled Toro Canyon oil-water-separator system.”
“From the beginning, Public Works WRD [Water Resources Division] failed to properly maintain the OWS [Oil/Water Separation] or to obtain any of the required permits to operate it, even though email communications show agency employees were aware of the legal requirements,” District Attorney John Savrnoch’s Office said in a statement last Wednesday.
“The Water Resources Division of Public Works pleaded guilty to knowingly engaging in or causing a discharge of oil into California waters between Jan. 22, 2021 and July 6, 2021 for a multi-month leak; and discharging oil into United States Waters on Jan. 1, 2023.
“It also agreed to pay a $15,000 fine and will be on probation for one year, requiring the Water Resources Division to obey all laws and not discharge oil into waterways.”
Santa Barbara County has had a decades-long feud with the oil and gas industry in this county. They have shut down most of those operations; their goal — rid the county of those evil polluters and placate naive environmental activists who oppose the use of fossil fuels.
They have established an elaborate permitting system designed to delay, obstruct, and otherwise halt oil/gas extraction operations.
But when it comes to the only oil facility totally within the control of the county, they didn’t follow any of those rules. Nope, and they didn’t even bother to check and see if the ancient facility was functioning properly.
When you read that the county “agreed to pay $750,000 in civil penalties” and a $15,000 fine, you think “Well, good county government is being held accountable.” You would be wrong.
The only person paying for this failure of the county government to properly exercise their responsibilities is the taxpayer.
There is no mention of any Public Works employee being held accountable (placed on leave without pay or fired) for this costly mistake.
In this case it wasn’t one of those evil oil companies that spilled oil; it was county employees who allowed it to happen.
The Board of Supervisors is supposed to oversee the operation of county government. The BOS should hold a public hearing to establish all the facts surrounding this event.
Who in the county government failed to obtain the proper permits? Who failed to conduct routine inspections to ensure the system was functioning properly and avoid a multi-month leak?
Who changed the phone number for reporting spills and failed to inform the Emergency Communication Center (fire dispatchers) of the new number?
This appears to be an open-and-shut case of negligence by one or more public employees, and when the hearing is completed, the BOS should direct the county administrator to start disciplinary hearings, and hold each individual responsible for the series of events leading up to this event personally accountable.
References:
https://www.noozhawk.com/santa-barbara-county-water-resources-district-attorney-settle-toro-canyon-oil-spill-case/
County Funds Replacement System for Leaky Toro Canyon Oil Well | Local News | Noozhawk https://www.noozhawk.com/ron-fink-county-failed-to-properly-run-and-maintain-its-own-oil-well/
2021 seep: Natural Seepage Draws Cleanup Crew, Wildlife Rescuers to Toro Canyon Creek | Local News | Noozhawk
January 2023 seep: Oil in Toro Creek Traced to Natural-Seepage Well Built in 1882 | Local News | Noozhawk
