CALIFORNIA
Environmentalists hail another county move to tighten control over oil drillingCheri Carlson and Kathleen Wilson,
Ventura County Star
Fri, March 4, 2022
Environmental groups are hailing a recent decision to shorten a permit for oil drilling near the Sespe Wilderness as a precedent-setting shift toward drawing down oil and gas production.
The Ventura County Planning Commission voted to halve the duration of Carbon California’s permit renewal from 20 to 10 years and set limits on re-drilling wells. The company has one active well and two idle ones on the site.
The Feb. 17 hearing came after three groups – Los Padres ForestWatch, Keep Sespe Wild, and Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas – appealed the county planning director's renewal of the permit last year. The groups cited problems with the environmental review, inadequate surety bonds and other issues.
Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch, called the decision precedent-setting and “a good first step” toward winding down oil production.
“We were pleased to see the planning commission recommend several changes to the project that really signal a shift from business as usual,” he said.
A county planning manager, though, did not consider the decision a milestone.
“We were absolutely fine with the outcome,” said Mindy Fogg, who handles oil and gas permits at the county Planning Division. “It is not a blanket change in our minds.”
Carbon originally asked for a 30-year extension, she said, but planners recommended 20 because it is considered the norm.
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Company calls decision 'win-win'
Jane Farkas, Carbon's vice president of land and regulatory affairs, called the commission’s vote a “win-win,” with the company getting the permit extended and the time period cut to 10 years as the environmental groups wanted.
The Sespe oilfield, which dates back to the late 1800s, is a checkerboard of federal and private land in the steep mountains above Fillmore.
The county, which regulates leases on private land, has authorized 21 conditional-use permits covering around 200 wells, Kuyper said. More than half of them are decades old and generally have no expiration dates or caps on the number of wells that can be drilled.
Known as "antiquated" permits, the county granted them in oil-rich unincorporated areas from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. That made the Carbon California permit renewal relatively rare – the first in the Sespe oilfield to get updated in 25 years, Kuyper said.
“These opportunities don’t come around that often,” he said.
ICYMI: David vs Goliath battle forming over Ventura County oil and gas development
Site of Carbon California's lease in the Sespe oilfield.
Fri, March 4, 2022
Environmental groups are hailing a recent decision to shorten a permit for oil drilling near the Sespe Wilderness as a precedent-setting shift toward drawing down oil and gas production.
The Ventura County Planning Commission voted to halve the duration of Carbon California’s permit renewal from 20 to 10 years and set limits on re-drilling wells. The company has one active well and two idle ones on the site.
The Feb. 17 hearing came after three groups – Los Padres ForestWatch, Keep Sespe Wild, and Climate First: Replacing Oil & Gas – appealed the county planning director's renewal of the permit last year. The groups cited problems with the environmental review, inadequate surety bonds and other issues.
Jeff Kuyper, executive director of Los Padres ForestWatch, called the decision precedent-setting and “a good first step” toward winding down oil production.
“We were pleased to see the planning commission recommend several changes to the project that really signal a shift from business as usual,” he said.
A county planning manager, though, did not consider the decision a milestone.
“We were absolutely fine with the outcome,” said Mindy Fogg, who handles oil and gas permits at the county Planning Division. “It is not a blanket change in our minds.”
Carbon originally asked for a 30-year extension, she said, but planners recommended 20 because it is considered the norm.
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Company calls decision 'win-win'
Jane Farkas, Carbon's vice president of land and regulatory affairs, called the commission’s vote a “win-win,” with the company getting the permit extended and the time period cut to 10 years as the environmental groups wanted.
The Sespe oilfield, which dates back to the late 1800s, is a checkerboard of federal and private land in the steep mountains above Fillmore.
The county, which regulates leases on private land, has authorized 21 conditional-use permits covering around 200 wells, Kuyper said. More than half of them are decades old and generally have no expiration dates or caps on the number of wells that can be drilled.
Known as "antiquated" permits, the county granted them in oil-rich unincorporated areas from the late 1940s to the mid-1960s. That made the Carbon California permit renewal relatively rare – the first in the Sespe oilfield to get updated in 25 years, Kuyper said.
“These opportunities don’t come around that often,” he said.
ICYMI: David vs Goliath battle forming over Ventura County oil and gas development
Site of Carbon California's lease in the Sespe oilfield.
Commissioners urged to hit pause
The county first approved a permit for Carbon's wells on the site in 1968 and the latest extension expired in 2018.
The environmental groups urged the commission to require a more extensive environmental review before considering another extension and, if the renewal is granted, to limit the permit to 10 years.
During the hearing, commissioners said the 10-year timeframe made sense.
"Some of the points that were made during this hearing and in the documents that we've read are very compelling,” Commissioner Nora Aidukas said.
The 4-0 vote also limited re-drilling, added restoration requirements for an unused portion of the site and refunded a $1,000 appeal fee to the environmental groups. Commissioner Jim King was absent.
Though the groups had hoped for "a more robust environmental study,” Kuyper said the commission's decision “certainly signaled a willingness to look more carefully at these issues and scrutinize the future of oil drilling in the county.”
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The county first approved a permit for Carbon's wells on the site in 1968 and the latest extension expired in 2018.
The environmental groups urged the commission to require a more extensive environmental review before considering another extension and, if the renewal is granted, to limit the permit to 10 years.
During the hearing, commissioners said the 10-year timeframe made sense.
"Some of the points that were made during this hearing and in the documents that we've read are very compelling,” Commissioner Nora Aidukas said.
The 4-0 vote also limited re-drilling, added restoration requirements for an unused portion of the site and refunded a $1,000 appeal fee to the environmental groups. Commissioner Jim King was absent.
Though the groups had hoped for "a more robust environmental study,” Kuyper said the commission's decision “certainly signaled a willingness to look more carefully at these issues and scrutinize the future of oil drilling in the county.”
Check out: Pandemic delays work to seal oil wells off Santa Barbara shore for at least another year
Decisions spark lawsuits
The commission’s vote aligns with other recent county steps to toughen oversight of the oil industry, moves that have sparked a volley of lawsuits and a voter referendum.
The county Board of Supervisors narrowly adopted a new general plan in September 2020 with buffer zones between new wells and homes tripling from 500 to 1,500 feet.
Two months later, the board updated standards for reviewing project requests under the antiquated permits. But that change has yet to take effect. Opponents mounted a successful petition drive to put the issue on the June 7 primary ballot.
The board has also directed planners to draft land-use changes that would require more frequent review of permits and higher financial assurances from permit holders.
The proposed changes, originally due last November, are not expected to arrive until this fall. Resource Management Director Kim Prillhart attributed the delay to the complexity of the work and pandemic-related staff shortages.
Cheri Carlson covers the environment for the Ventura County Star. Reach her at cheri.carlson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0260.
Kathleen Wilson covers the Ventura County government, including the county health system, politics and social services. Reach her at kathleen.wilson@vcstar.com or 805-437-0271.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Ventura County oilfield permit shortened by panel after activists' appeal
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