Excerpt: The Bureau of Land Management (BLM) announced a new study on Jan. 13 that could open 850,000 acres of land across the state to a new oil and gas leasing program. The program will allow drilling and fracking on previously protected land, including in Santa Barbara and surrounding counties.
If the plan is approved later this year, around 400,000 acres in Santa Barbara County could be eligible for drilling, including up to 100,000 acres of land around Vandenberg Village.
Surrounding areas like Lake Cachuma, Nojoqui Falls County Park and waterways such as the Sisquoc River could also be affected, according to Los Padras Forest Watch , a group that works to protect land within the Los Padres National Forest.
................. “Of course, one of our chief concerns is the threat of another catastrophic oil spill,” Hall said. “Which (could cause) immediate and long-lasting harm to wildlife, coastlines, fisheries, and could result in extensive economic damage.”
If the leases are approved, they would be the first ones issued since 1984, according to Hall.
The first oil platforms in the Pacific Ocean were installed between 1967 and 1989 in federal waters, 4 to 10 miles offshore.
“The first major disaster occurred in 1969,” Hall said. “The well blowout at Platform A in Santa Barbara sent an estimated 3 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, devastating wildlife, marine ecosystems and tourism.”
Another oil spill occurred in 2015 near Refugio State Beach, dumping crude oil into the shoreline and ocean. Hall said recent estimates put the cleanup cost at $800 million.
If the leases are approved, they would be the first ones issued since 1984, according to Hall.
The first oil platforms in the Pacific Ocean were installed between 1967 and 1989 in federal waters, 4 to 10 miles offshore.
“The first major disaster occurred in 1969,” Hall said. “The well blowout at Platform A in Santa Barbara sent an estimated 3 million gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean, devastating wildlife, marine ecosystems and tourism.”
Another oil spill occurred in 2015 near Refugio State Beach, dumping crude oil into the shoreline and ocean. Hall said recent estimates put the cleanup cost at $800 million.
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