The Grandmothers urge you to sign this petition or email your County Supervisor (see addresses below) by 5:00pm, August 21, voicing your opposition to Exxon’s proposal to restart an old pipeline and pump oil from three offshore platforms that have been shut down since the 2015 oil spill. You could also make a public comment in person at the hearing in Santa Maria or via Zoom (see directions below.) Here is a sample letter:
Dear Supervisor [Last Name]
As a resident of Santa Barbara County, I strongly urge you to DENY Exxon’s appeal of the Planning Commission’s denial of the Plains Valve Upgrade Project at the hearing on August 22, 2023.
The pipeline in question is highly corroded, unable to comply with corrosion prevention standards, and poised to cause another major oil spill. The County must deny any project associated with restarting this dangerous pipeline. A restart of the pipeline would also mean a restart of the decaying 1980s offshore platforms which are far beyond their intended lifespan described in the leases. This hearing could be the County’s last opportunity to prevent disastrous and long-lasting consequences of another pipeline failure such as the 2015 Refugio spill.
As we watch this year’s horrific climate events assaulting the planet, we know that we must take immediate action to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis in the future. The science is clear that we must rapidly reduce production and use of fossil fuels. Allowing this project to move forward would only worsen the climate crisis, driving more mass extinction and human suffering.
Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed a resolution in December 2019 declaring a climate emergency. Our County must start treating the climate crisis like the emergency that it is.
For the sake of our children and grandchildren, we urge you to deny this project due to its massive and predictable potential to cause more oil spills, more wildlife loss, more economic loss and more deadly climate consequences.
Respectfully submitted,
[Name]
[Address]
[email address]
______
HEARING DATE: Tuesday, August 22, 2023 at 9:00 AM
LOCATION: Joseph Centeno Betteravia Government Administration Building, Board Hearing Room,
511 East Lakeside Parkway, Santa Maria, CA 93455.
CALL TO ACTION:
TELL the Supervisors to DENY Exxon’s appeal! Send an email to one or all!
- Appear in person at the hearing and tell them how important this is to you!
- If you cannot attend in person, you can participate in the hearing via Zoom.
- You can also write to the Clerk of the Board, sbcob@countyofsb.org or Directly to the Supervisors directly (DEADLINE: Monday, August 21st at 5pm PT). Please personalize the sample letter with your own comments or your organization’s position.
County of SB Supervisors’ emails:
- District 1 Das Williams SupervisorWilliams@countyofsb.org
- District 2 Laura Capps lcapps@countyofsb.org
- District 3 Joan Hartmann (recused from this vote) jhartmann@countyofsb.org
- District 4 Bob Nelson Nelson@bos.countyofsb.org
- District 5 Steve Lavagnino steve.lavagnino@countyofsb.org
BACKGROUND:
In 2015, the Plains pipeline that carried oil from ExxonMobil’s three offshore platforms to the Santa Barbara shoreline ruptured, causing horrific damage to the coast, and killing hundreds of marine mammals and birds. This disaster is one of many in Santa Barbara’s painful history of oil spills. Now, Exxon wants to restart that failed pipeline and its decaying 1980s offshore oil rigs, which would pose a renewed threat to the beautiful, biodiverse area from the Gaviota Coast to San Luis Obispo County.
Earlier this year, Santa Barbara County staff processed permits for the Plains Valve Upgrade Project, a crucial step toward reviving this heavily corroded pipeline. Without intervention, this action would have wasted the last chance County decision makers had to intervene in the restart of a corroded and dangerous oil pipeline. Fortunately, Gaviota Coast Conservancy and several landowners appealed the Permit approval, and the ExxonBeGone coalition showed up in force at the Planning Commission hearings, resulting in a denial of the valve upgrade project. Exxon is appealing this denial. The ExxonBeGone coalition is mobilizing again to demand that the County Supervisors uphold the decision of the Planning Commission and say no to this dangerous zombie-like pipeline once and for all!