A proposal to replace an oil pipeline that caused one of California's worst coastal spills in recent years is expected to enter a key phase of government review next year. The project could allow ExxonMobil to resume production at three offshore platforms.
from the Texas Independent Producers and Royalty Owners Association, a trade group. California ranked second in direct industry employment, with about 75,000 jobs, though it was far behind Texas, the nation’s leading producer with nearly 350,000 jobs.
Democratic Gov. Gavin Newsom has spoken about the economic challenges of retiring the industry even as he promotes a greener future for the state. His office declined to comment on the Plains project, noting it was under review by government agencies. Environmentalists have pointed to the risk of spills — as well as earthquake threats — in arguing against a new line. California is known as a birthplace of the modern environmental movement, and a watershed event was a massive 1969 spill off the coast of Santa Barbara. Despite that history and the move toward green energies, the Newsom administration has resisted taking a strong stance against new fossil-fuel projects, said Julie Teel Simmonds, a senior attorney with the Center for Biological Diversity, an environmental group that opposes the Plains pipeline. The state’s decision on the project “is an opportunity for California to walk the talk” on weaning itself from oil, she said. The Plains pipeline was last in service on May 19, 2015, when a corroded section above ground and running west of Santa Barbara ruptured, sending 140,000 gallons of oil onto a state beach and into the ocean.Plains operators working from a Texas control room more than 1,000 miles away had turned off an alarm that would have signaled a leak and, unaware a spill occurred, restarted the hemorrhaging line after it shut down. Plains apologized for the spill and paid for the cleanup. Plains later was fined over $3 million. The cleanup cost $100 million, and aA key step in the review of the proposed pipeline — a complex environmental study conducted by Santa Barbara County — is expected by spring. Roughly a dozen federal, state and local agenciesIt largely would snake along the existing route. The new line — technically two connected pipelines, like its predecessor — crosses environmentally sensitive areas, including slices of the Carrizo Plains National Monument and Los Padres National Forest. Three ExxonMobil platforms that relied on the line have been closed since the spill. ExxonMobil proposed establishing interim trucking routes to transport oil, which would allow the dormant offshore platforms to resume production. In a divided vote in early November, the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission urged county supervisors to deny the company’s proposal. “Trucking remains the only option to transport crude to markets until a pipeline is available,” ExxonMobil spokeswoman Julie L. King said in a statement. Environmental groups warn the decades-old platforms pose a separate risk from aging equipment; ExxonMobil says the platforms, while shut down, have been maintained in a “safe, preserved state.” Also at issue: The existing line and its replacement would run through numerous areas with earthquake risks. According to a consultant’s study conducted for Plains, the pipeline would cross 10 potentially active faults, as well as a dozen fingers of the active San Andreas Fault Zone. “Portions of the pipeline could be subject to intense seismic shaking, and some areas could experience ground rupture in the event of a significant earthquake,” the study found, recommending safety steps that include covering the line with protective foam. Bob Nelson, who chairs the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors, said he would wait for detailed environmental reports next year before making a decision but was encouraged by what he has seen so far. He noted Plains could have sought to repair the existing pipeline but instead wants a new line built to modern safety standards. “What it means is jobs,” Nelson said. With a continuing demand for oil, even as the state transitions away from fossil fuels, “I think that we should find a way to safely deliver it in an environmentally friendly ... fashion.”
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