After exploring a moratorium on fracking, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors instead voted unanimously on Sept. 20 to amend the county’s land-use plan to require a special permit for oil drilling operations employing the technique.
For all future fracking at new or existing wells, oil companies will now have to submit a detailed plan to the county’s Planning and Development Department, to determine any significant environmental impacts.
“We have notified [the oil companies], and the ones that we know of who have had interest in [fracking] have told us they won’t go forward without seeking the appropriate permits from the county,” said Doug Anthony, deputy director of the energy division of Planning and Development. “As a customer service, we would like to make it abundantly clear to all producers out there what the permit path is so there’s no longer any
confusion.”
The business plan includes requiring oil companies to disclose chemicals stored on site. County officials have also requested that any permits have the signature of property owners.
Anthony said one company has expressed interest in using the technique in the Cuyama Valley.
Fracking, also known as hydraulic fracturing, allows oil companies to mine oil and gas reserves previously unreachable by traditional methods. Highly pressurized liquid is injected thousands of feet below the Earth’s surface, causing mini-fissures in the rock bed and forcing deep deposits of oil and gas to escape so they can be collected.
Tupper Hull, a spokesman for the Western States Petroleum Association, said the organization was “relieved” the county chose not to pursue a moratorium. He said there’s no evidence fracking harms water or the environment.
“It would have been very difficult to justify a moratorium that would have likely resulted in job losses and economic hardships for workers,” Hull wrote in an e-mail to the Sun. “We can live with the new permitting system. But residents of Santa Barbara County should understand the new permitting requirements will make it more difficult to produce energy domestically for California consumers.”
In May, after complaints from local ranchers, county officials discovered Denver-based oil company Venoco had fracked on two oil wells in the Careaga Canyon oil field, located along Highway 135 west of Los Alamos, without their knowledge. The discovery led the board to look into the possibility of a moratorium on fracking in August, as well as requiring a more detailed drilling application.
The county has since rescinded notifications of two violations issued to Venoco, accusing the company of fracking without appropriate permits.
Venoco spokeswoman Lisa Rivas did not wish to comment, however in recent presentations to investors, company executives expressed disappointment at the results of their previous fracking operations in the county.
The Planning Commission is scheduled to discuss the new business plan on Nov. 9, and county staff will present a draft amendment to the supervisors on Dec. 6.
This article appears in Sep 29 – Oct 6, 2011.