Scoping hearings for oil pipeline project begin

The lengthy process of determining whether a pipeline company responsible for a 2015 oil spill will be allowed to replace more than 100 miles of pipeline through SLO, Santa Barbara, and Kern counties kicked off with hearings and protests in two Central Coast cities.

Hearings to determine the scope of an environmental review for Plains All American Pipeline's proposed project to replace 123 miles of existing pipeline through the three counties were held Feb. 27 in Santa Barbara and Feb. 28 in Arroyo Grande. Officials from Santa Barbara County, the lead agency in processing the project application, said the hearings were a chance for residents to chime in on what impacts they want to be considered in a draft environmental impact report (EIR) of the project.

click to enlarge Scoping hearings for oil pipeline project begin
PHOTO BY CHRIS MCGUINNESS
TAKING SIDES: Supporters and opponents of a proposed 123-mile oil pipeline replacement project gathered at two hearings in SLO and Santa Barbara counties.

"We are still in the very initial stages of preparing that document," Kathryn Lehr, a project planner with the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department, said at the Feb. 28 meeting in the South County Government Center in Arroyo Grande.

If approved, the pipeline could again be able to transport crude oil from currently shuttered offshore drilling platforms. The pipelines and the platforms have been shut down since May 2015, when a pipeline rupture released 142,800 gallons of crude oil along the coast near Gaviota. While Plains All American has said it's built a number of additional safety measures into the design of the new pipeline, environmental groups continue to oppose the project and showed up to protest and speak against it at both meetings. 

One of environmental groups' concerns is about the baseline the county and its consultants will use in the environmental review. Thus far, the county has proposed to base the assessment off an average of the last three years the pipeline was in operation prior to the 2015 spill. Opponents such as Andrew Christie, director of the Santa Lucia Chapter of the Sierra Club, said the baseline should be taken after the spill, when the pipeline was no longer functioning.

"They need to go with the obvious non-operational pipeline and non-operational offshore drilling rigs," he said.

Plains All American Director of Governmental Affairs Steve Greig said the company sided with current baseline parameters.

"We support the county staff's decision," he said.

While support and opposition for the project continue to solidify, the county does not expect to complete its draft EIR until fall 2019. Even if the project is eventually defeated, Lehr noted that Plains All American could still turn the current pipeline back on after it satisfies a number of corrective actions placed on it by the federal Pipeline Hazardous Materials Safety Administration after the 2015 spill.

"We have the option to restart the existing pipeline, but we believe the best option for the region and our company is to replace the line with a new line that will be designed and built with additional safety features to meet today's more stringent regulatory requirements for newly constructed pipelines," Greig said in a written statement issued prior to the meetings. 

Santa Barbara County will continue to accept comments on the scoping for the project's EIR through the middle of March. 

Comments (0)
Add a Comment