The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors voted on Aug. 19 to back state Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson’s (D-Santa Barbara) bill to ban offshore drilling along the Tranquillon Ridge in the Santa Barbara Channel.
The vote was 3-2, with 5th District Supervisor Steve Lavagnino and 4th District Supervisor Peter Adam opposing the resolution. A letter of support for SB 1096 will be sent from the board to the California Legislature.
“I would like the letter to say it was a 3-2 vote. I would like it to say there was some opposition to this,” Lavagnino said after the vote.
The subject of Tranquillon Ridge is one with a history. The ridge is sought after for its millions of barrels of oil estimated to be one of the greatest reserves left in state waters. Since 2003, Sunset Oil and Gas and Exxon have been trying to tap into it via Vandenberg Air Force Base through slant drilling development proposals.
In 2008, lawmakers, environmental advocates, and the oil company PXP came to a sort of agreement regarding oil exploration on the ridge—one that 3rd District Supervisor Doreen Farr described as the best option and Environmental Defense Center Chief Counsel Linda Krop said was better than the alternative.
During the board’s meeting, Andy Caldwell—executive director of the Santa Barbara County Coalition of Labor, Agriculture, and Business—called out both Krop and Jackson for their support of that agreement and the present bill.
“Shame on Hannah-Beth Jackson and the Environmental Defense Center for flip-flopping,” Caldwell said during public comment.
Krop responded when it was her turn to speak during the public comment period.
“Where we are today is totally different than it was. Back then, it was either one or the other,” Krop said, adding that as part of the agreement PXP set an end-date for oil extraction from Tranquillon Ridge from Platform Irene, as well as the eventual shut down of four other platforms and two onshore processing plants.
Public speakers who voiced their opposition to the bill expressed concern over tax revenue losses and limiting the county’s ability to utilize its resources.
The bill was scheduled to be heard on the Assembly floor Aug. 19 and has until Aug. 31 to make it out of the Assembly and Senate.
This article appears in Aug 21-28, 2014.
