Sometimes, you just see things coming. At least, those of us who’ve reported on Santa Barbara County, its cities, towns, industries, and activists for any period of time can.
That’s why I wasn’t at all surprised to see the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission flooded by protesters from The Center for Biological Diversity, Citizens For Responsible Oil and Gas, and Food and Water Watch on July 11. Anytime there’s a decision to made regarding oil operations in the county, those familiar faces will be there, signs in hand and slogans ready to fly.
If you didn’t read page 5 of our News section, you might not know that ExxonMobil wants to fire up three of its offshore platforms near Gaviota again. Ever since Plains All American Pipeline leaked all kinds of crude across the picturesque coast in 2015, the oil industry giant has been unable to expedite its raw product out of the channel to refineries, including in Santa Maria.
Now, Exxon wants to start trucking the oil across Highway 101, Highway 166, and even Betteravia here in Santa Maria to get that sweet, sticky crude to its refinery. We’re talking 70 trucks a day! Damn!
Exxon asked to truck its offshore crude just after the pipeline popped but got denied by the Planning Commission at the time. I’m sure the idea of that much oil moving across our highways was too much with the stink of the spill still making eyes water in South County. But now it’s been a while, the beach is clean, and Exxon is testing the waters again to ship from a facility that has been in “preservation” mode for years now.
To be honest though, there’s always tens of thousands of gallons of oil moving through the county via truck or pipeline during the day and as we sleep. It’s literally all around us.
That’s why you can always predict the oil industry (and its friends like COLAB lobbyist Andy Caldwell) argument: jobs! Oh, and don’t forget revenue. They have a point–the county could definitely use both. Unemployment is high in areas like Santa Maria, and the county’s deficit is only getting worse with the ongoing pension crisis. But they also can’t deny that oil comes at an environmental cost, and when they try to say climate change isn’t even a thing (I’m looking at you Peter Adam), the environmentalists dig their heels in deeper, and resist even the most benign projects.
You don’t need to be Sherlock Holmes to deduce how the argument will move forward regarding one of the county’s most entrenched industries. But what about its newest one–legal cannabis?
Well, you know who foresaw that the Lompoc City Council‘s decision to exclude dance studios from the youth center buffer zones for cannabis businesses was a bad idea? The council’s own Janelle Osborne, who said it would open the city to litigation in early April.
Now, the city is going to make an exception for one dance studio that threatened to sue the city. Do I think Osborne is clairvoyant? No, but it is nice to see a politician open their eyes and look around before making a decision.
Imagine that!
The Canary can see your letters coming too, send them to canary@santamariasun.com.
This article appears in Jul 19-26, 2018.
