The State Lands Commission will consider the Venoco 421 Recommissioning Project on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at the City of Newport Beach’s City Council Chambers at 100 Civic Center Drive.

The item is expected to be heard at approximately 12:30 p.m. You can read the agenda by clicking here.

The project is located on Haskell’s Beach, generally in the city of Goleta, and proposes to recommission an old shoreline well at the end of one of the piers that has been shut-in due to a leak since 1994. These surfzone piers and wells are the last surviving active facilities on Ellwood Mesa. They were originally constructed in the 1920s.

The well and the state lease 421 oil are located below the mean high tide line beyond the city’s jurisdiction in state waters. The landward portion of the piers and site access are within the city’s jurisdictional limits. Venoco proposes to process the 421 oil and gas product at the Ellwood Onshore Oil and Gas Processing Facility, located in the city. Processing the product at the Ellwood Facility would necessitate a number of improvements in in the facility, at the piers, along the access road, and pipelines/cables to connect the well to the facility.

The city has opposed this project since it was originally proposed in 2002 for a variety of reasons, the most significant being the incompatibility between the Project and the surrounding sensitive intertidal habitat and land uses. Additionally, the EOF is and has been for nearly 25 years zoned for recreation uses. Oil and gas processing is intended to occur at the consolidated facility at Las Flores Canyon north of the city. The Ellwood Facility is the last of the south coast oil facilities to relocate under the county-adopted policies.

Rather than seeing a fixed end to the 25-year non-conforming use at the Ellwood Facility, the state’s upcoming decision could force the city to consider possible expansion and extension of the life of the facility.

The public is encouraged to participate in the State Lands Commission meeting in Newport Beach as this visible project will have a long-lasting impact on our community and environment. Letters should be delivered/emailed to the state by Friday, Dec. 12. The EIR and contact information can be found by clicking here.

The city is actively engaged in this issue and will be sending an extensive comment letter on the project and EIR to the commission. It will urge consideration of a safer, more environmentally friendly ways to explore oil along our coastline.

This information is provided by the City of Goleta as a courtesy. The Goleta City Council does not have a decision-making role at this juncture.