Well, score another victory for our environmentalist friends.
And, while you’re at it, go ahead and show it as another major defeat for good old fashioned commonsense. So, what else is new these days you ask. The Tranquillon Ridge Project, a proposal to allow extraction of oil leaking from state waters off the coast of Santa Barbara, now appears officially dead. Too bad.
According to a State Lands Commission report, it was estimated the ongoing leakage is reducing the ultimate amount of oil reserves the state could recover by as much as 260,000 barrels a month. That’s $4 million per month in lost revenue to the state. But, then again, it’s not like we really need the money now do we?
Approval of the Tranquillon Ridge Project was largely contingent upon passage of Governor Schwarzenegger-backed Assembly Bill 23. But, inevitably, that was not to be. The measure was soundly defeated recently in the Assembly along party lines, going down in flames 28 for and 48 against. All but 8 democrats voted against the measure, along with a single republican. The same measure had earlier barely squeaked through the Senate with the minimum 21 votes required.
Apparently ashamed and perhaps even a bit embarrassed by the outcome, if that’s possible, legislators moved swiftly to cover their tracks by expunging the official record of any evidence how individual members had voted. Mmmmm….I wonder why?
Chief sponsor of the Tranquillon Ridge Project, Texasbased Plains Exploration and Production (PXP), had high hopes of bringing the Project on-line. Although current California law forbids new oil drilling in state waters within 3 miles of shore, PXP hoped to take advantage of a little-known loophole that allowed tapping an oil field in state waters if some of the oil seeps into a federally controlled field beyond the 3- mile line.
Using what’s known as slantdrilling, PXP had planned to start in the federally controlled portion of the seabed, then travel underground into the state area where it could then recover the seeping oil. If approved, the Tranquillon Project would not have required any new oil platforms and could have been pumping as early as late 2010.
Knowing full well project approval was contingent upon appeasing the demands of various environmental groups and local area concerns, PXP worked hard to forge an unprecedented agreement with a coalition of 25 environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Center, Get Oil Out! and the Citizens Planning Association of Santa Barbara.
But, PXP had to agree to some pretty demanding and, I would suggest, unreasonable terms not necessarily in the best interests of California’s long-term energy needs.
As part of the deal, PXP agreed to pay the state an immediate $100 million royalty advance and about $1.6 billion over the next 14 years. They would also shut down 3 existing oil platforms in 9 years and another platform in 13 years.. Current law pretty much allows existing platforms to operate indefinitely, in this case for possibly another 30-40 years.
Upon completion of the project, PXP also agreed to remove oil processing facilities in the cities of Lompoc and Gaviota and to turn over some 3,900 acres of Central Coast property for permanent conservation and public use.
Originally, most environmental groups were on-board with the deal, thrilled that existing oil platforms and infrastructure would be removed at the end of the project..
Even Linda Krop, Chief Counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, couldn’t contain her excitement. “This is a once in a lifetime opportunity to put an end to oil drilling off the coast of California.” And that’s a good thing? Personally, I don’t think so.
Others, though, considered the agreement bad for California, setting an awful precedent and potentially paving the way for the first offshore oil drilling project in state waters in 40 years.
Lieutenant Governor John Garamendi, Chairman of the State Land Commission, which ultimately voted down the project when it was brought before them, was certainly no advocate. He proclaimed, “This proposal is not in the best interests of California. Approval of this lease would be the first time new offshore oil drilling leases were issued in California waters in more than 40 years…since the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill.”
And I say, perhaps it’s time to reconsider the ban given our ever-increasing demand for energy.
Another ardent detractor, Assemblyman Pedro Nava, DSanta Barbara, certainly didn’t like the idea of pumping more oil in his district. But, I find his rationale seriously disconcerting when he says, “The symbolism of drilling in the Santa Barbara Channel is like the symbolism of drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuse. It means you can drill anywhere.”
Seems a real stretch to assume approval of the PXP Project implies permission to drill anywhere. Further, making such important decisions based on possible symbolic meaning is intellectually immature at best and downright reckless at worst. How about just considering all the relevant facts and then making a thoughtful, unemotional, common sense decision that serves the public interest. Now, wouldn’t that be a novel idea.
Anyway, after the State Land Commission killed the project back in January 2009, Schwarzenegger inserted it in his May budget revise, obviously attempting some sort of endrun around the commission. Politically speaking, that was probably a death nail to the Project. Hard political and environmental lines were drawn as a consequence. Reason, commonsense, and interest in the common good quickly became inconvenient, unimportant, meaningless stumbling blocks to be discarded in pursuit of personal and political agendas.
In the end, the Tranquillon Ridge Project died a slow, agonizing death. There was neither outpouring of grief nor expressions of condolence. No public hand-wringing. Not even an apology. Just a secret little vote intended never to make the light of day. A vote that clearly catered to the special few whose motives and interests do not necessarily jive with those of most Californians.
The Tranquillon Ridge Project was about as win/win as you can get. The facts show, unquestionably, that PXP was willing to go the extra mile to address the concerns of interested parties. And, early on, an agreement was reached. At least until the harsh political winds began to blow. PXP did what they thought they had to do. In the end, though, it wasn’t enough. It never is.
In the long run, politics and personal agendas prevented the deal. Too bad for PXP. Too bad for those who truly care about the environment. Too bad for the citizens of California. For they, in the end, are the ones who must pay the ultimate price.
Guess that’s just the way it is.
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