By Jonathan Ullman, Santa Babara-Ventura Chapter Director
Someone asked me how we’re ‘gearing up’ for this year. My answer, what gears? It’s zero to 60.
Amid the chaos in the first weeks of the new Federal Administration, we have plenty of ongoing fights in our region.
Our biggest challenge has been Sable Offshore, the company that seeks to restart three mothballed Exxon platforms off the Gaviota Coast. The Houston-based startup has marched through every supposed protection, every barrier to restart we thought existed. It is fueled by speculative investments from around the world. Some say $65 billion of oil sits underneath Santa Barbara Channel. Are local, state and federal officials willing to risk it going through a highly-corroded pipeline that broke in 2015? Watch the move BROKE! online for free. https://tinyurl.com/GaviotaSpill
Last December, the California State Fire Marshal, at the direction of the Governor’s Office, surprisingly waived federally required anti-corrosion measures for the pipeline system. The decision was shocking and out of the public eye. Nevertheless, there’s still time for Governor Newsom and the agencies under his administration to hold the line.
Please call Governor Newsom and Secretary Wade Crowfoot, leader of the California Natural Resources Agency, which directly supervises CAL FIRE. Their phone numbers and complete instructions are at this link: https://tinyurl.com/stopsable
Many people are standing up. Leaders of our Chapter testified at the California Coastal Commission meetings many times last year, and we will keep going as long as long as the agency continues to protect the coast. Santa Barbara-Ventura Chapter Chair Maureen Ellenberg spoke at the Coastal Commission meeting in Long Beach on Feb. 5.
Our Sierra Club Santa Barbara-Ventura chapter is now legally represented by Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center. We happily join Santa Barbara Community Action Network and Get Oil Out! to round out the trio of clients.
Upcoming important events:
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On Tuesday, February 25, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors will hear an appeal of the county’s decision to grant Sable Offshore a “Change of Owner, Operator, and Guarantor.” We invite you to join us for a rally at 8 am in front of the Santa Barbara County Administration building, 105 E. Anapamu Street, Santa Barbara and then speak inside directly to your elected representatives to overturn this bad decision following. We need all of you. Click here for full details and talking points.
- On Wednesday, March 12, the California Natural Resources Agency will hold an important Public Forum on Sable Offshore. This meeting will be held in the late afternoon/early evening at a location to be determined. We need everyone from the public to attend!
Again, send me an email if you want to participate in either of these Sable public meetings:
Email: jonathan.ullman@sierraclub.org
If Sable wasn’t enough, farther up the coast, SpaceX is seeking to double the number of commercial rocket launchings at Vandenberg Space Force Base in Santa Barbara County. Before 2020, the average was 6. Now the company owned by Elon Musk wants to increase it from 50 last year to 100. On January 27, the national Sierra Club sent a letter with many concerns on behalf of the Santa Barbara-Ventura Chapter and the Santa Lucia Chapter in San Luis Obispo County to the Air Force. To read the letter, go to https://tinyurl.com/VAFBspacex
These “scoping” comments help guide the upcoming Environmental Impact Statement. We will stay engaged and will need your help in the coming months.
Lastly, we are planning for a Santa Barbara County oil phase out ordinance in response to deficiencies the Sierra Club identified in the County’s Climate Action Plan last year. Last summer, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors passed a Climate Action Plan (CAP) and directed staff to develop an ordinance in six months to phase out drilling. That six-month deadline is approaching, and we'll need you.
That’s just some of what’s going on. There are lots of ways to get involved with the Sierra Club in Ventura and Santa Barbara County. There are hikes, environmental campaigns and roles to be filled.
If you want to volunteer, just send an email to: jonathan.ullman@sierraclub.org and we’ll plug you in!