On Jan. 29, one day after the 40th anniversary of the 1969 oil spill that tainted waters off the coast of Santa Barbara, the California State Lands Commission voted 2-1 to reject an agreement between a Texas-based oil company and three local environmental groups.
The agreement between PXP and the Environmental Defense Center, Get Oil Out!, and the Citizens Planning Association of Santa Barbara would have shut down oil and gas extraction in the Tranquillon Ridge, as well as in Point Pedernales Fields in Lompoc, by 2022. The agreement would also have required PXP to reduce or offset all greenhouse gas emissions and protect threatened county lands.
In return, the agreement would have allowed PXP to tap into the ridge from the PXP-owned Platform Irene, giving the company sole access to an estimated 200 million barrels of oil.
During a five-hour discussion, Commission member Lt. Gov. John Garamendi said allowing any new drilling in state waters would send a pro-drilling message to other oil companies.
Many local officials and environmentalists, however, felt the agreement was a “historic milestone” that would have positively impacted the future of oil drilling.
“We thought we found something the environmental community could say yes to,” Environmental Defense Center’s executive director David Landecker told the Sun after the hearing. “It’s hard to say where to go from here.
“I think what we’ve learned here is that we need the federal government as a partner,” Landecker said, adding that he thinks the appointment of a new administration will help the cause.
“Hopefully, they’ll look at this kind of innovative, win-win agreement and say, ‘You know, this is the kind of thing we need,’” he said.
In a release to the media, U.S. Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) said she was disappointed by the State Lands Commission’s decision.
“I am concerned that by rejecting this innovative proposal in favor of maintaining the status quo, our coastal community is left vulnerable to endless offshore oil and gas development,” Capps said in the release.
This article appears in Feb 5-12, 2009.
