In the Santa Maria Times and Lompoc Record on Dec. 16 ("Aera Energy taps Cat Canyon project's environmental stewardship"), Aera's PR representative claims that development of oil wells in our county will bring major economic benefits, including millions to support schools and other vital services.
His figures come from UCSB's Economic Forecast Project, whose research team was hired by Aera Energy (owned by ExxonMobil and Shell). Aera is an acknowledged sponsor of the Economic Forecast Project, and the report admits that it relied primarily on information provided by Aera. Really? "I'm shocked, shocked, to find that gambling is going on here!" as the bribed police prefect said to Rick in Casablanca.
Even if we assume the forecast to be correct, it states that the total economic impact of the Aera project would be under $36 million a year. When put in perspective, agriculture generates $2.8 billion annually and employs more than 25,000 locals; tourism has a $1.9 billion impact. Revenue from oil property taxes makes up less than 1 percent of our county budget.
An added 296 wells will no doubt result in spills, as acknowledged in the county's draft environmental impact report, along with increased air pollution due to truck traffic and drilling. How many jobs will be lost in our much larger leisure and service industry when news of spills, contamination, and worsening air pollution make headlines? How much will it cost to repair and maintain our roads due to increased truck traffic back and forth to Kern County? What happens to agriculture when toxic chemicals seep into the groundwater? Who will pay to clean up the mess?
Unfortunately, the Aera-sponsored report neglected to include those costs, making the cost analysis incomplete and unreliable as a predictor of the true profit and loss of oil expansion in Santa Barbara County.
