Droves of local residents are speaking up in fear of the past repeating itself, in opposition to a present danger, and in defense of the future. They’re speaking out at local government meetings, making demands and expressing concerns.
Their public comments and protests are not falling on deaf ears, but local leaders’ hands are tied.
On Feb. 18, hundreds of students from Santa Maria and Orcutt junior high and high schools and Allan Hancock College walked out of class, exercising their rights to participate in civic or political events. Their quest: get the city to create a 2-mile buffer around schools, churches, parks, and hospitals where Immigration and Customs Enforcement officers can’t make arrests—an idea that the walkout organizer, 17-year-old Cesar Vasquez, got from proposed state legislation.
After more than 300 students marched to City Hall, about 30 stayed for the Santa Maria City Council meeting, where Mayor Alice Patino addressed their request.
“We want people to feel safe interacting with all city employees, especially police officers without fear,” Patino read from a statement. But, she continued, the protesters’ requests were outside the city’s powers, as the council lacks the “legal authority to prohibit the federal government from conducting law enforcement actions.”
Even so, participants in the well-organized walkout deserve props for marching to “defend their future,” as Vasquez said. Perhaps it will indeed inspire the City Council to draft a letter supporting the state legislation, as Councilmember Gloria Soto proposed.
Meanwhile, the county is hampered in its efforts to prevent a repeat of not-so-distant history. But that didn’t stop 122 members of the public from taking their three minutes each to comment on Sable Offshore Corporation’s steps toward restarting its pipeline. During the Feb. 25 Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors meeting, the supervisors and other county officials used their one tool to scrutinize Sable’s ability to make good on its safety promises.
Ordinance 25B in the local petroleum code enables the county to take part in the permit-transfer process—which is happening now as Sable seeks to take over from Exxon-Mobil, which took over pipeline assets from Plains All-American in 2023.
“This is really the county’s kind of one and only opportunity to hold a public hearing and take public comment,” county Energy, Minerals, and Compliance Division Director Errin Briggs said.
So the county dove into the oil company’s financial condition and found “a sizeable cash balance,” Briggs said.
Not surprising. And neither was it reassuring to public commenters and environmental groups, who are determined to avoid another oil spill from that pipeline. The spill 10 years ago cost the operator $870 million to clean up.
Even so, Sable says it has the cash to clean up after itself. And the county can’t do jack to prevent the company’s plans from going forward. The state and the feds have final regulatory powers here, especially since the pipeline runs through two other counties, and especially since the pipeline’s been permitted since the ’80s.
Nipomo’s in a similar boat with its newly approved battery energy storage system facility. The January Moss Landing battery plant fire has communities and lawmakers scared yet stuck between a rock and a hard place. The state is the agency that makes the rules for such facilities, and the state has clean-energy goals to meet.
What’s a local to do? At the very least, don’t stop speaking up.
The Canary is walking out. Send posters to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Feb 27 – Mar 9, 2025.