Seth Steiner - Los Alamos

After reading the final environmental impact report and the staff recommendation regarding the ERG application for expanded oil development in Cat Canyon, I spoke with Mr. Errin Briggs, the energy specialist in the Santa Barbara County Planning and Development Department. Our conversation was enlightening and troubling. First of all, the consultant that provided the analysis […]

Recently a publication chose to print an opinion piece that was critical of me personally. My name was used several times in a disparaging manner. I fully support the First Amendment. In this instance, there may have been an assumption that such an ad hominem attack might dissuade others from speaking openly and forthrightly about […]

A UCSB-affiliated study purportedly estimates the economic impact on our county of Aera’s proposed oil project in Cat Canyon, between Santa Maria and Los Alamos. The study was paid for by the oil company’s public realtions firm. The report admits that it relied primarily on information provided by Aera itself. In the report, by UCSB’s […]

Clean water for drinking and ag use is surely a good thing. Three oil companies want to vastly increase drilling between Santa Maria and Los Alamos. If they have their way, hundreds of new wells would be drilled right through the groundwater basin that provides water for tens of thousands of people. If our water […]

Water is necessary for life. We all drink it. In addition, it makes this agricultural economy strong, providing more than 25,000 jobs in Santa Barbara County. And the quality of our water is as important as its quantity.  Water that is contaminated with toxic and cancer-causing chemicals causes illness and makes land unproductive. Our health […]

If we want to continue to have clean water for drinking and ag use, we need to step up. A company called ERG is planning a huge increase in oil production between Los Alamos and Santa Maria. These hundreds of oil wells would require a large amount of natural gas to power the steam generator […]

Oil brings in revenue for Santa Barbara County. This has been a selling point when new drilling permits are sought. But oil operations cost us more than they generate. Some direct costs include fire department enforcement of violations, unreimbursed disaster response, staff time for the treasurer-tax collector to get oil companies to pay millions of […]

My graduate studies were in water and air pollution. I’m on the advisory committee of a nearby Groundwater Sustainability Agency, but I am writing this on my own today and am not speaking for the agency. More than 100,000 people totally depend on this water. It sustains many thousands of jobs in agriculture. The entire […]

Just since 2016, county Supervisor Steve Lavagnino has taken well over $10,000 in campaign contributions from companies with business before the county. Specifically, three companies are seeking permits to drill more than 750 new oil wells in Cat Canyon. There are legitimate concerns about the inevitable problems with drilling, and spilling, and the insertion under […]

In the race for 3rd District supervisor, who would best represent us in this large swath of Santa Barbara County? We’ve all read comments and exhortations in this space by informed and loyal supporters of both Joan Hartmann and Bruce Porter. We’ve seen pro and con campaign literature, TV ads, lawn signs and over-sized roadside […]