Agenda Packet 2008-09-15 SPCity Council
Tony Ferrara Mayor
Chuck Fellows Mayor Pro Tem
Joe Costello Council Member
Jim Guthrie Council Member
Ed Arnold Council Member
CITY OF
NOTICE OF SPECIAL MEETING
ARROYO GRANDE CITY COUNCIL
MONDAY, SEPTEMBER 75, 2008
6:00 P.M.
South County Regional Center
800 W. Branch Street, Arroyo Grande
Agenda
Steven Adams City Manager
Timothy J. Carmel City Attorney
Kelly Wetmore City Clerk
1. CALL To ORDER: P.M.
2. ROLL CALL
3. FLAG SALUTE: MAYOR FER AF A
4. REVIEW POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF THE PROPOSED EXCELAF ON MAMA VALLEY
OIL PROJECT
a) Consideration of staff report, background summary, and analysis (Fob Strong, City of
Arroyo Grande Community Development Director)
b) Update on status of County review process (John McKenzie, Environmental Specialist,
County of San Luis Obispo Planning Department)
c) Public comment from representatives of the Huasna Valley Association (Ron Skinner)
d) Public comment Members of the public wishing to address the City Council on this
item may do so when recognized by the Mayor.
e) Recommended Action: Direct staff to prepare a letter to the SLO County Board of
Supervisors regarding the Excelaron project, consistent with Council direction, and
authorize the Mayor to execute the Letter on behalf of the City.
6. ADJOURNMENT to the next Regular City Council Meeting at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday,
September 23, 200 8, in the City Council Chambers, 215 E. Branch Street.
All staff reports or other written documentation relating to each item of business on the agenda are available for public
inspection and reproduction at cost during regular business hours in the City Clerk's office, 214 E. Branch Street, Arroyo
Grande. If requested, the agenda shall be made available in appropriate alterative formats to persons with a disability, as
required by the Americans with Disabilities Act. To make a request for disability-related modification or accommodation,
contact the Administrative Services Department at 805-473-5414.
This agenda was prepared and posted pursuant to Government Code Section 54954.2. Agenda reports can be accessed
and downloaded from the City's web site at ww arroyogrande. r'
THIS PAGE INTENTIONALLY LEFT BLANK
DATE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
MEMORANDUM
TO: CITY COUNCIL
FROM: ROB STRONG, COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT DIRECTOR
SUBJECT: COUNTY REFERRAL OF REVISED REQUEST BY E CELAR N, LLC
FOR A CONDITIONAL USE PERMIT (DRC2006-00222) FOR
EXPLORATION AND PRODUCTION OF CRUDE OIL AND TRANSPORT
FROM HUASNA VALLEY TO XNARD VIA HUASNA TOWNSITE NSITE ROAD,
PORTER RANCH ROAD, ALAMO CREEK ROAD, HIGHWAY 166
HIGHWAY 101. (TANKER TRUCKS NO LONGER TRAVERSE ARROYO
GRANDE NOR UTILIZE PROCESSING FACILITY ON NIPOMO MESA)
RECOMMENDATION:
It is recommended the City Council request by letter 1) Additional information, from the
applicant and the County prior to an environmental determination for the project; 2) that
previously identified potentially significant fire, emergency response and traffic impacts
from the project on the City of Arroyo Grande be fully mitigated; 3) the County Air Pollution
Control District also evaluate and mitigate project specific and cumulative regional air
quality impacts from proposed oil production and transport from this project.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
No direct revenue or economic benefits to the City, but potential City costs for
uncompensated emergency services and possible significant loss of sales taxes if adverse
service traffic impacts reduce business within the Village.
BACKGROUND:
On September 2, 2008 the County Planning and Building Department notified the City that
the above project application has been revised and has asked for referral comments within
14 days. The revised referral project description is different from the original request made
more than a year ago in that the "tanker truck haul route no longer proposes use of
Huasna Road and Branch Street through the Village of Arroyo Grande; involves only one
rather than three "existing orphaned wells" used for production; proposes three new
production wells rather than only one; adds an "injection well and back -up injection well
and proposes to transport crude oil to nard rather than the Nipomo Mesa, via back
roads, Highway 166 and Highway 101 rather than through the City. The project site is n
the west side of Huasna Townsite Road approximately one mile south of Huasna Road,
approximately 12 riles east of the City of Arroyo Grande, on a hillside ranch owned by
COUNTY EFER AL OF REVISED 1ISED REQUEST BY EXCELARON, LLC
SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
PAGE 2
Howard Mankins. The total number of production wells has not changed. (Refer to
Attachment 1, Second Project Referral.)
The prior project description of June 2007, estimated that drilling would involve 10
employees working two 12 -hour shifts for two weeks and that operations would include
one employee working three eight -hour shifts. The operating permit would be f unlimited
duration (unless conditioned by the County) and was estimated to require 16 one -way
daily tanker truck trips, now re-routed to back roads rather than utilizing Huasna Road and
Branch Street through the Village and City of Arroyo Grande. The staff had submitted
three letters to the County staff regarding proposed MND dated October 12, 2007; May 7,
2008 and July 24, 2008 (refer to Attachment 2, prior staff letters). Staff has attended a
County sponsored Informational meeting held in the So. County Regional Center on July
31, 2008 prior to the City Council receiving revised referral and deciding to schedule a City
sponsored informational meeting in the Regional Center at 6 :00 p.m. on Monday,
September 15, 2008.
ANALYSIS OF ISSUES:
The June 2007 project description provided more details regarding the exploration and
production proposed by Excelaron, LLC which would use propane heated water injection
to enhance oil production from four wells. The revised project would apparently involve
electric powered hydraulic pumping units and a propane fueled generator or extension of
PG &E power to the site. Above ground on-site pipelines from the four wells would gravity
flow to a wash tank and a second pipeline system would carry heated water back to the
well casings, aided by in -line electric pumps. A propane- fueled heater would be
connected to the insulated wash tanks, stock tanks, pipelines and loading rack which
would require a regularly serviced 10,000 gallon propane tank installed on-site. All non -oil
produced fluids and gasses were proposed to be reused on -site within the system without
off -site disposal. Total gross plant throughput of oil /water was estimated at 1200 Barrels
Per Day (BPD). According to the prior description "No flare (of natural gas) will be
necessary to dispose of gas and a vapor recovery system will be put in place to reduce
emissions from equipment, using Best Available Control Technology.
The prior project description stated that "fire fighting equipment will be placed throughout
the site in strategic locations for the prevention of both on -site fires as well as wildfires that
encroach upon the site. Approximately 8,400 gallons of water will be on -site for fire fighting
purposes. Berms will be placed around production equipment and well pads for
containment purposes It should be noted, however, that the fire services in this remote
part of unincorporated area were described as CDF San Luis Obispo County Fire
Department, but the nearest fire station was identified as the City's at 140 Traffic Way in
Arroyo Grande. The well pads and access road are within High Fire Hazard area, more
than 20 minutes from the nearest CDF fire stations at the County Airport in San Luis
Obispo and in Nipomo. Even the City's fire station would be more than 15 minutes away,
well outside the five minute response time and no Fire Protection Plan has been prepared
to address inadequate emergency response or limited fire suppression capabilities,
COUNTY REFERRAL AL F REVISED REQUEST BY EXCELARON, LLC
SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
PAGE 3
particularly considering on-site propane storage and heaters, and the operation by a single
employee. The project description acknowledges "there is some risk of explosion or oil
release but states: "The proposed project site is remote and located away from any
populated ara...rulting in a relatively small impact to human health or the environment
in the event of an explosion or release of oil.'
The City's principal concerns regarding the prior project were the unmitigated traffic
impacts, particularly the estimated 16 tanker truck trips through the Village and other parts
of the City of Arroyo Grande. Although the revised project description apparently provides
a "truck haul route" via back roads to Highways 166 and 101 that avoids the heavy tanker
trucks traversing the City and bisecting the Village business district, it does not address all
other potential project related traffic. Specifically the description does not state where
employees would drive from or what routes they would use, nor how often or what route
propane trucks would use. No information has been provided regarding how drill rigs and
equipment will access the site including frequency and times of day. There is no
description of if or how the "truck haul route' will be improved and what will happen during
adverse weather or seasonal closure of the private back roads. Will transport be stopped
and product stored on-site or will production continue and return to the original proposed
route through the City?
In summary, the City has not received sufficient information regarding either fire protection
or project related traffic to request or recommend appropriate mitigation and monitoring of
these potential impacts. Unless or until the City receives assurances that these impacts
can be mitigated to less than significant, the project should not be approved.
ALTERNATIVES:
The following alternatives are provided for the Council's consideration:
Request additional information from the applicant and the County prior to
environmental determination for the project.
Request the County to require an EIR due to the potential for significant fire, traffic
and air quality impacts that have not been mitigated to less than significant.
Request that the project be denied due to unavoidable fire service deficiencies and
inadequate emergency access (denial does not require either MND or EIR).
Provide other direction to staff for comment to the County.
Attachments:
1. Revised referral Second project referral.
2. Prior city staff letters dated 10/12/07, 5/7/08 7/24/08.
DATE: September 2, 2008
DEPARTMENT OF PLANNING AND BUILDING
TO: Rob Strong, City of Arroyo Grande
THIS 15 A SECOND PROJECT REFERRAL RE'
FROM: John McKenzie ManagerA805 /781- 54521
PROJECT DESCRIPTION: Request by Excelaron LLC for a conditional Use Permit D C 60
00222), on property owned by Howard Mankins and Joan Wineman, to establish four production oil
wells and transportation of crude oil to processing facilities outside of the county. The protect
includes an ex for for and •roduction .base. Pro com .onents include: 1 testin• for inte.rit o
one e i tin
or•hned well for oil
roduction 2 if well testin
ATTACHMENT 1
SAN LUIS OBISPO COUNTY
VICTOR HOLANDA, AICP
ti
SEP 0 ,7/
t
DIRECTOR
unfavorable for •roducticn use as
back-up injection well, and drill replacement production well, 3) drilling of up to three additional wells;
4) reactivation of one additional well at the shipping site for the sole purpose of a back -up water
reinjection well; should oil formation's quantity and quality be determined favorable, exploratory
hae ends and •roduction •hse ins for u• to four •roduction wells 6 installation of other
project elements as follows: shipping /staging area for storage and operation of facility (office,
processing /storage tanks, heater); above ground piping from wells to shipping storage area, and
minor grading to level/widen access roads to shipping and well sites; and grading that would result
in approximately 1. 5 acres of disturbance and movement of approximately 6,600 cubic yards of
material. Truck haul route would exit site south on Huasna Townsite Road to the end of the county
maintained ortion then use eitin• ranch roads Porter Ranch south to Alamo Creek Road to
Higliway 166, then west and south to processing facilities in Oxnard via Highway 101.
The above description is different from the original request made over a year ago for the following
components: tanker truck haul route was along Huasna Road to village of Arroyo Gande (no longer
ro•osed three existin. r•h ned wells were to be used for .roduction now onl one one new
p roduction well now three); an addition of an injection well and a back -up injection well, processing
facilit was to be Ni •omo Mesa facilit now Oxnard. The total number of roduction oil wells has not
changed.
Location: The project is located on the Dinkins Ranch, which is on the west side of Huasna
Townsite Road, approximately one mile south of Huasna Road, approximately 1_2 miles east of the
Cit of Arro o Grande Hi•h ra 101 in the South Count' and Huasna-Lo e •l nnin• areas.
Applicant: Excelaron LLC
Return this letter with our comments attached no later than: 14 da s from recei.t of this referral.
PART 1 IS THE ATTACHED INFORMATION ADEQUATE TO COMPLETE YOUR REVIEW?
YES (Please go on to PART 11.)
COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER SAN LUIS OBISPO CALIFORNIA 93408 (805)781-5600
EMAIL: planning P o. lo. .0 FAX: (805) 781-1242. wEESITE: http: w w_sl pl nnin .or
PART 11 ARE THERE SIGNIFICANT CONCERNS, PROBLEMS OR IMPACTS IN YOUR AREA OF
REVIEW?
Date
LIJ NO (CaU me ASAP to discuss what else you need. We have orily 1 0 days in which
we must obtain comments from outside agencies.)
0 YES
n NO
(Please describe i along with recommended mitigation measures to
reduce the impacts to less-than-significant |eve|s, and attach to this letter)
(Please go on to PART 111)
PART U| INDICATE YOUR RECOMMENDATION FOR FINAL ACTION.
Please attach any conditions of approval you recommend to be i rito the pro
approval, or state reasons for recommending denial.
IF YOU HAVE 'NO COMMENT PLEASE SO INDICATE, OR CALL.
Name Phone
COUNTY GOVERNMENT CENTER SAN LUIS OBISPO CALIFORNIA 934O8 (805)781 -5 600
EMAIL: planning 0»co.s\o.ca.us e FAX: (805) 781 Wsosns: hup://n«vvw/.$)op\anning.org
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_O M N Y DENT ELOPMENT
May 7, 2008
Mr. John McKenzie, Pr j t Planner
Department of Planning Plannipg and Building i
uiiing
County of San Luis Obispo
Government Center
San Luis Obispo, CA 93408
SUBJECT: DRC (Ex LLB, 1 site
rnit Road, APN off Huasna
T
and -004
Dear John:
n t h r 2 2007,1 rt you letter regarding
this pr�� r�rr�! i
rout EIF I� the proposal which 1
sal continued to pursued.
met lth Excel r n representatives, �t��, r
Caro Florence, Kit i i
iNewman, rid City l atli� and �r�n
Arroyo Grande Attorney Tim Carmel, environmental nd rni, discuss the
Concerns. previously stated, traffic
ir�npa� r tl� t considered and arr quality
topics �d r d cumulatively significant. f
Our meeting with the 'applic'ant's pr nt tiv clarified the limit
prat to reactivate 'arid test scope of
st three existing oil r r li and
production' well i� injection develop fourth hot water to enhance
clarified oil recovery. on the r
project description and, proposed miti ati being-
by ur�� n rneur� �cing considered
the
u i�c 1l1 r D parrtment and the Air
the fit Pll�t�er� Control ratrit it is
y and rst nd�ng that- the project's traffic
mitigated, Specifically, and ��r impacts can be
reque similar miti rr�ar�r to address
tra�fi �rt�tir�g arid rertd it
capacity, safety,- and maintenn i
concern, to the City, rr�pat of direct
for the cl truck traffic
rn� the r�� yin either
H u r�' Road ,and Branch �trc
ter ranch Mill Road and East City Itr�r�iit d
Cherry
p rt APC recommended mite at
regarding regional air alit impacts. ion mare
Finally, it is our �r�irta�ridin
that any additional it�nar: project r deaf
production, in rural r or expanded
would be subject: to subs cent en
determination after the resolves environmental
the, ma this area f tential
from this r�ro: ���I��th,th .o
production
s understandings, i is my Opinion that
the City
ATTACHMENT 2
214 East Branch Street
Arroyo Grande, CA 93421
Phone: (805) 473 -5420
FAX: (805) 473-0386
E-Mail: agcity@arroyogrande.org
Council would pot request that the County require focused limited
project, but instead Mitigated sad for this
d consider a Mitigated Negative Declaration.
If
you questions,
q e r want City assistance in resolving i
r�oa�s; ioo a[l n� at 473-5420 appropriate l��tir�
5420 after County !public Works i
traffic related romi p u rats prad1r
Sincerely,
Rob Strong
Community Deve o
Director
cc: Howard Mankins
K t ho Archadjian
Steve Ads, City Manager
Tim Carmel, City Attorney
Carol Florence, Oasis Associates
of
Dear John,
commuNrry DEVELOPMENT
October 12, 2001
Mr. John McKenzie, Project Planner
Department of Planning and Building
County Government Center
San Luis Obispo, CA 93408
Thanks for bringing this June 2007, New Project Referral to our attention. 1 read about t
r�oihbor' concerns in the Tribune and while i he
out�de of the pity's Planning Area, the
environmental impacts f the potential use are
of concern to us. i a�: called Howard l
to advise hires the cifi would request oast a focused a�iil'�
ed ill if this project be pursued.
As we discussed, the City f Arroyo Grande is bisected by State Highway Rout
the only route through the 1�I�a to connect to 2 which is
dun �ree�nry 1, All traffic from r'
Roads from Huasna Valley traverses our City, creating Lopez Drive and
service deficir� r t, reatfn congestion and traffic level of
es already considered unacceptable. Additional
vehicle from this initial project tank trucks and service
P t and the cumulative potential if this drilling
significant concern. is successful
Additionally, considering the Price Canyon e and the traffic and air quality i t
Pismo Beach, 1 suggest that Air Quality issues o
ill There ma be other topics e also be addressed in focused
such as water resources required an
erosion issues that should also be and land disturbance and
e addressed, but these are more localized iron
Tess important than the regional concerns of the impacts that are
City.
Please keep us informed in writing if the County r i requested
y determines that the re
not required for this project to receive any q ed focused EIR is
public hearing. We look forward to being invited
Notice of Preparation scoping meeting if the project to a
sect cons�derat�on is riot withdrawn.
Sincere
Rob Strong,
Community Development Director
cc: Steve Adams
Tim Carmel
P Box 550
214 East Branch Street
Arroyo Grande, CA 93421
Phone: (805) 473 -5420
FAX: (805) 473-0386
E-Mail: a lly @arroyogrand .or
Dear John,
July 2 2008
COMM NI Y DEVELOPMENT
Mr. John Mckenzie, Project Planner
Department of Planning and Building
County of San Luis Obispo, GovernM nt center
San Luis Obispo, California 93408
SUBJECT: DRC Zoo 222 I nh ins (Excelaron LLC)
160 ac. site off Huasna Townsite Road (APN 085-271-001
F.O. Box 550
214 East Branch Street
Arroyo Grande, CA 93421
Phone: (805) 73.5420
FAX: (805) 473 -035
E-Mail: awity@arroyogrande.org
Thank you for meeting briefly with me yesterday regarding the above project referral
and the apparent need for additional clarifications and proposed mitigations.
initially r�nitia�t�ons. The City of
Arroyo Grande initially requested a focused DR n October 12, 2007 to address
cumu!atively significant traffic and air quality impacts including g trucl trips through the
City and emissions from injection, pumping and transportation.
n Additional issue of
water resources, land disturbance and erosion were also topics of local concern.
A subsequent letter dated May 2008
7, was submitted after l e t ro
with project
ct
applicants, but the route of travel, number
mber and type of trips, undefined as
well tore -term air quality impacts and of n
t p her elements of the project description
proposed mitigations p cnptaon and
r
p s are NOT in accord with their meeting clarifications.
one. The
requested alternatives and mitigation measures to address
traffic routing being
considered by the County Public Works Department and expects
t,s that APED will define
mitigation measures regarding regional air quality impacts, but neither t r�e� leas been
confirmed by the applicant or the County. To the contrary, you
ry� reported that the bounty
has provided nothing to mitigate truck trips through the City and
y asking only $90.00 per
trip for estimated maintenance impacts to count roads. The City does not agree with
directing the proposed project truck traffic through the Village
on Hunan Road and
Branch Streets, nor have we received any evidence of any consideration of Branch Mill
and East Cherry as one possible alternative, The County has not evaluated the
probable destination of the Nipomo Mesa refinery which would involve additional nvolve add�tinal route
of traffic concern rather than utilization of Freeway 1 o includi
City.
y n traverse of more of the
If the Conditional Use Permit for reactivation and test of three existing e eit�ng cells and
development of a fourth well is further considered with an Mitigated Negative
X11 �ti aced ea�t�
Declaration D that does not contain mitigation and/or alternatives �es preruE
agreed to in concept by the applicant, the City staff returns to its
initial request for
focused EIR to disclose answers to these significant umulativ i
rpacts, At minimum
the county should also limit the scope and duration of this exploratory
project. Without
John McKenzie, Project Planner,
County Planning and Building
July 24, 2008
Page 2
assurance of appropriate mitigation measures and consideration of alternatives of
concern to the City of Arroyo Grande, integrated in an MND or as part of a focused EIR,
staff will recommend that the City Council oppose the project.
In conclusion, the City Council may consider an official position if the applicant and/or
the County defer decision to enable local presentation of the project proposals and
proposed mitigations prior to the Planning Commission public hearing.
Rob Strong
Community Developt)lent Director
cc: Excelaron (via Oasis Assoc.)
Howard Mankins
Steve Adams, City Manager
City Council
MEMORANDUM
TO: CITY COUNCIL
FROM: CHUCK FELLOWS, MAYOR PRO TEM
SUBJECT: SPECIAL CITY COUNCIL MEETING AGENDA ITEM NO. 4
PROPOSED EXCELARON HUASNA VALLEY OIL PROJECT
DATE: SEPTEMBER 15, 2008
The attached information regarding Greka Oil could be relevant to the Excelaron
request, especially since Greka has been buying old oil facilities. This information was
on display Saturday at the Huasna Valley Association's meeting /barbecue at the
Portuguese Hall.
Attachment
S.B. County Fire Department
Taking a substantial toll on plant and wildlife, not to mention water -table supplies, leaked oil makes
its way down a seasonal creek on Greka's Zaca lease, also owned by the Firestone family, in early
January.
Greka's Monkey Business
Who's to Blame for Letting California's Top Polluter Destroy Santa Barbara's Backyard?
Thursday, April 17, 2008
By Ethan Stewart (Contact)
This weekend, with solar powered pomp and eco-minded circumstance, Santa Barbarians of all ages will once again celebrate
Earth Day, a holiday as ingrained in our city's DNA as red -tiled roofs, Fiesta, and mountain flanked views of the Pacific. It's
been 39 years since Union Oil's Platform A spewed more than one million gallons of crude oil into the Santa Barbara Channel,
the historical hemorrhage that prompted a powerful grassroots upwelling of save- the -Earth consciousness, inspired the
creation of Earth Day, and is widely credited for kick starting the modern environmental movement. In the decades since, our
community has worn this catastrophe like a red badge of courage, famously fighting against development, relentlessly mil keep
open space, taking on Earth damning agendas no matter how slim the odds of success, and struggling Y
our creeks, rivers, oceans, and forests pollution -free.
L1
Paul Wellman
A Federal Environmental Protection Agency -run dean -up effort tackles an oil- choked storage pool caused by a busted
pipe just off Palmer Road, a few miles north of Los Alamos.
But hiding among the decades of victories and vigilance, a small energy company which bought its way into the county in
1999 by snatching up half -dead, run -down oil and gas leases has been quietly earning a reputation as Califomia's
number -one inland oil polluter with little to no fanfare from the media, environmentalists, or county officials. Despite racking up
more than 200 documented spills that leaked at least 500,000 gallons of oil, violating county air quality standards more than
300 times with releases of potentially deadly natural gases, and provoking a visit from the county's hazmat teams 400 times in
fewer than nine years not to mention being successfully prosecuted by the federal govemment for violating the Safe
Drinking Water Act it wasn't until four months ago, after a publicly visible spill just south of Santa Maria, that anybody in
Santa Barbara County wanted to give Greka Oil and Gas Corporation the attention its track record demanded.
Now, with its checkered past and financially lucrative connections to former and current county supervisors laid bare, all eyes
including the national media are on Greka. But even as everyone works to make sure this type of chronic polluting
doesn't happen again, one can't help but wonder, in a community that so rightly and righteously hangs its hat on a celebrated
environmental legacy, what took us so long to wake up?
S.B. County Fire Department
Several hundred gallons of crude oil and highly toxic produced water seep from an aged
Greka storage tank earlier this year on property owned by Santa Barbara County
Supervisor Brooks Firestone's family.
The Eyes Begin to Open
It was a 911 call from an early- moming commuter on December 7 that alerted everyone to the massive oil spill at the Palmer
Road processing facility just north of Los Alamos. Four hours later, the flow was finally turned off, but not before 86,000
gallons of crude escaped into the wild, according to the state's Fish and Game estimates, thereby choking a seasonal tributary
to the Sisquoc River and prompting a stop -work order from the county's fire department.
Alarmed by the size of the spill and already chewing on Greka's less -than- stellar track record due to her role on the Air
Pollution Control District (APCD) board 2nd District County Supervisor Janet Wolf considered the incident both an
"environmental emergency and a "very, very serious health and safety issue: Four days later at the next Board of
Supervisors' meeting, Wolf, with the support of 1st District Supervisor Satud Carbajal, did the bureaucratic equivalent of a 911
call by requesting an impromptu discussion of the accident.
However, despite the magnitude of the spill, which rivaled the San Francisco Bay oil barge mishap that gamered intemational
attention late last year, the board's North County majority killed the discussion before it started, a move that "shocked and
awed" Wolf. The stonewalling happened after an impassioned speech from 3rd District Supervisor Brooks Firestone, who
chastised the media for "overreacting" to the Greka spill. Instead, a hearing was scheduled for mid January to be both more
comprehensive and fairer to Greka.
In a bizarre, some might say poetic, coincidence, Greka spilled another 200,000 gallons of oil and produced water before that
meeting could happen, this time near Zaca Station Road on land leased to Greka by Supervisor Firestone's family, which led
to some fairly obvious conspiracy theories. Shortly thereafter, Firestone recused himself from all future Greka decisions and
declined to be interviewed for this story. At the time, however, when asked if this was the first spill on the property, Firestone
responded, 'Oh, no. There have been quite a few over the years."
Paul Wellman
EPA clean-up coordinator Robert Wise is no stranger to Greka or Santa Barbara. After spending a fair bit of time in town
overseeing the clean up of Greka spills in 2004 and 2005, Wise has been onsite since late last year, overseeing the clean-up
activities at several Greka mishaps.
The conspiracy flames were fanned even higher when it was revealed in the wake of Firestone's recusal that former 3rd
District supervisor Willy Chamberlain and his family also lease land to Greka. In a typical mineral -rights leasing arrangement,
the oil company pays the landowners on a per barrel basis. In fairness to Chamberlain, who also declined to comment for the
story, conflict-of- interest accusations are weak when considering he left office before Greka ever came to town. On the other
hand, he does continue to serve in land -use advisory roles. While not commenting specifically on Firestone or Chamberlain's
pay -outs, Keith Taylor the county's top number- cruncher for taxing mineral leases said, with a laugh, "Oh, ifs safe to
say [mineral -rights owners] are making out pretty good."
Wolf and Carbajal weren't the only ones who raised an eyebrow on the Palmer Road spill. State Assemblymember Pedro
Nava, upon reading about the accident and leaming about Greka's laundry list of violations, called for his own multi-agency,
fact- finding hearing. Held in Santa Barbara on January 4 less than 24 hours before the Firestone spill Nava gathered
folks from County Fire, the APCD, the California Department of Fish Game, and the federal Environmental Protection
Agency to compare notes on Greka and get to the bottom of why the company's been able to misbehave for so long. When
the smoke cleared at the end of Nava's standing room -only hearing, it was obvious that Greka had been a problem for a long,
long time and that the County of Santa Barbara at least at the departmental level knew all about it.
"1 was stunned that this was going on in Santa Barbara County, of all places," recounted Nava last week from Sacramento. "It
is dear that somebody is not taking care of business down there. That is the bottom line.'
Greka owner Randeep Grewal, a
former Montecito resident, is an
intemational billionaire but known
throughout the oil and gas industry
for being tight on the purse strings
when it comes to operational costs
a fact that many feel is
responsible for Greka's chronic
spilling.
Getting to Know Greka
Gre ka is owned by billionaire Randeep Grewal, a one -time Montecito resident who's known to be stingy despite an impressive
intemational portfolio. Since 1999, the company has been buying old oil and gas leases and their aging facilities
from industry giants like Shell and Unocal. The low -grade oil extracted by most of these leases is used for asphalt, which
makes good economic sense for Greka because the company also produces the road paving material. Whereas other asphalt
companies suffer falling profit margins with rising oil prices, Greka makes money constantly.
Additionally, Grewal has broken the company into smaller subcompanies, allowing the financial independence for one wing to
file for bankruptcy, as the company did after a lawsuit in 2005, even when the other wings remain profitable. One longtime
Greka observer called the plan "really remarkable and sound; and a former county official was quoted in a 2004 news story as
saying the model was "absolutely brilliant'
At last count, Greka owned 67 facilities, 11 stations, and several hundred wells in Santa Barbara County, though many of the
latter currently are not in use. But despite a creative business model and impressive numbers, the company's not making
headlines for being a profitable, tax- paying neighbor.
Rather, at the January 4 hearing organized by Nava, the APCD's head honcho Terry Dressler testified that Greka is "the most
challenging source we regulate." The S.B. County Fire Department's Tom Franklin, whose agency is the first line of defense
when inland oil- pumping goes bad, said that of the 20 onshore operators, it is Greka that again and again takes up our time
and resources.' He then held up a folder of incident reports that was several inches thick. The state also chimed in, as Fish
Game's assistant enforcement chief Steve Edinger called the volume of Greka spills "extraordinary and well outside the norm"
and explained, `Often, we would go out on one Greka event and find out another event is going on, too.... Ifs good business
practice to not spill, and other operators seem to get this message." And although Greka purchased some antiquated
equipment, other companies such as BreitBum Energy are able to utilize old facilities and maintain relatively good
environmental records, explained EPA clean-up coordinator Robert Wise recently. "Just because you have inherited a 100
year -old field is no excuse; he said. "1 mean, go and look at places like BreitBum Energy, who's a new operator but on old
leases; those places are immaculate!
The hearing showed Nava that, in a "very concerning" case of the left hand not knowing what the right hand is doing, it had
been a very long time since regional, state, and federal agencies met with the petroleum industry perhaps as far back as
the Avila Beach oil disaster of the 1990s and that was in San Luis Obispo County. But even worse to him was the implication
that the office of Santa Barbara County's powerful CEO Mike Brown did not regularly brief the Board of Supervisors about
Greka and any other habitual environmental evil doers. 9'm absolutely shocked that did not or does not take place said
Nava. The state assemblymember's suspicions about questionable behavior within the county ranks were reiterated by both
elected representatives and several county staffers, with more than one suggesting there were informal efforts to squash the
sharing of information about Greka.
Also discussed during Nava's January 4 hearing and then addressed in much greater detail at the county's Board of
Supervisors' hearing a few days later were the shortcomings of the county's recently updated onshore petroleum codes
and the piecemeal enforcement guidelines from various agencies. But Nava still feels the county should be able to pull the
plug on Greka.
Why hasn't that happened yet? "1 really have no idea," said Nava over the phone last week. "And 1 think a lot of people are
starting to scratch their heads and ask that very same question?
Paul Wellman
After an approximately 86,000- gallon spill of crude oil at a Greka facility near Santa Maria
late last year got his attention, State Assemblymember Pedro Nava, pictured above on the
steps of the Santa Barbara County Courthouse during a Greka- inspired press conference
last month, has been working to strengthen petroleum codes at the state level to provide
stiffer penalties for repeat offenders.
The Blame Game
It's not just the hefty paper trail that suggests the county was well aware of Greka's grimier side. Just ask Jerry Lulejian, senior
deputy district attorney in the North County. From 2003 -2005, Lulejian was the point -man on the successful civil prosecution of
Greka and the criminal prosecution of a former Greka employee for perjury or, as he puts it, "hoodwinking the APCD.° As he
recalls, there was widespread knowledge about the ongoing violation issues with Greka throughout the county.
After nailing Greka for nearly buming to death two strawberry-field workers after one of the company's tanks exploded in 2003,
Lulejian approached Judge Rodney Melville in 2004 wanting to stop the company's operations due to problems with
underground piping and related mandatory alert systems. Though not saying the desired preliminary injunction was out of line,
Melville denied the move because, according to Lulejian, the judge did not want the court to "become a second layer of
enforcement over County Fire and the APCD.° In the end, Lulejian got about $675,000 in an out -of -court settlement with Greka
for the alert failings and the manager who lied to the APCD got a plea deal. Around the same time, the EPA fined Greka $1.1
million for illegally putting highly toxic produced water a byproduct of crude oil extraction back into the Earth by
injecting it into dried -up wells.
Though he wouldn't say whether it directly affected the scope of his prosecution, Lulejian does recall that he and County Fire
were frustrated by the amount of funding given to them by the county for their regular inspections of onshore oil and gas
facilities. Lulejian believed that having an actual petroleum engineer make the rounds with County Fire's hazmat inspector
would catch a lot of the problems that Greka and other operators had long before they ever occurred. But the necessary
funding never came.
SBCFD
The County Fire HazMat crew works to dean up a Greka oil spill in a creek earlier this year. The energy company has spilled
20 more times since an emergency Supervisor hearing was held about their nasty habits less than two months ago.
"It would be nice if County Fire had the resources to put the right type of people in place," said Lulejian. "Things get missed
and it's not the inspector's fault. They just don't know the oil industry the way an engineer would? County Fire spokesperson
Eli Iskow recently concurred that, while the standard hazmat inspector does "a very good job and catches about 90 percent of
everything going on,' an actual engineer' "without a doubt sees farther and deeper than our guys."
Lulejian explained that an engineer from the county's Planning Development Department did actually make the rounds on at
least one Greka inspection in 2004. Ironically, the engineer got sick from potentially fatal levels of hydrogen sulfide gas that
were leaking on -scent Later, when the county tried to bill Greka for the engineer's service, it was denied and taxpayers
wound up having to eat the substantial bill.
This apparent unwillingness to adequately fund inspections, especially when the county's own firefighters and prosecutors see
the need, may be the simple result of financially trying times. But there may be other financial motivations at play, as the
county uses a complex tax scheme for oil operators that charges newer companies, such as Greka, substantially more money
per barrel than those who've been in the county longer. Plus, if Greka were to be shut down, the clean-up fees would likely fall
on the county, which means less tax revenue, more environmental expenses, and little incentive to go after Greka. Throw in
the connections to county powerbrokers such as Firestone and Chamberlain, and there's plenty of speculation that the lack of
hard -line enforcement on Greka during the past decade has been more intentional foot- dragging than accidental ball- dropping.
Though he doesn't have any hard and -fast evidence, EPA's Wise, who is currently overseeing a number of Greka clean-up
activities, said he's been hearing rumors for years that there are efforts from "up on high° in the Santa Barbara County
govemment not to pursue Greka. 1 don't know how true it is, said Wise recently, "but I've repeatedly been told by county field
supervisors that, 'Hey, we want to go after [Greka], but they won't let us.'" Wise, who first started hearing these rumors in 2005
while dealing with another Zaca Station Road spill on Firestone's land, remembers issuing a stop -work order at a Greka pump
facility during the 2004 Christmas season. When the EPA crew left town for vacation, Wise said the county lifted the order
without warning. 1 never got a real explanation as to why they did that," explained Wise, "and believe me, I asked."
It's the same for Santa Barbara's usually vigilant environmental community. Explained Nathan Alley, an attomey with the
Environmental Defense Center, "It's not that we didn't know, it just wasn't on our, or anyone else's, radar screen as much as it
should have been. I mean, look at the numbers [of violations] throughout the years. The reaction from people throughout the
community doesn't commiserate with them at all. That is, until now."
But spend a few minutes chatting with Fish Game's Mike Connell at his Santa Barbara field office, and it's pretty dear we
should care. 'The stretch of creek the oil gets in is always decimated and the produced water spills are just as dangerous,"
explained Connell, who's witnessed many of the Greka spills firsthand. Those who've seen the historic devastation report that
the once pristine stretches of oak savannah and meandering stream ecosystems tucked into the rolling hills between Gaviota
and Santa Maria are now wastelands of deprived soil and ravaged grass, covered with broken -down and rusted machinery.
County Fire's Iskow has seen some of the worst areas and earlier this year explained, "If you walk back through the Greka
lease lands, places where they have had little spills throughout the years, you will see destruction, pollution, and oil
everywhere."
Beyond obvious impacts to flora and fauna, Fish Game's Connell explained that there's a long -term impact When oil spills
into waterways, it tums the dirt into a sort of asphalt, blocking rainwater from soaking in and increasing stream velocity, which
leads to more erosion. "Even the clean-up process in creeks leads to more degrading effects," he explained. °Eventually, if
caught early and done right, it can be restored, but it doesn't happen ovemight. Sometimes it can take years.'
Is Justice on the Way?
Since the hearings in January, Greka has been suffering from a sort of corporate multiple personality disorder. In many ways,
it's business as usual. There have been another 21 reported spills and 700 -plus facility deficiendes. It has publicly claimed
that sabotage was behind some of the spills. It has threatened to sue the county for $100 million for being unfairly targeted. It
has wamed that dozens of employees will have to be laid off.
Who's to blame for Greka's decade of grime?
Greka
The County of SB
The Media
The Environmentalists
The EPA
The state
All of us
Seethe results without voting.
But Greka has also gone on the defensive. It has brought in the big -money public relations firm Sitrick and Company, known in
town for representing Santa Barbara News -Press owner Wendy McCaw when her newspaper's employee turmoil began. The
PR firm, which reportedly charges as much as $700 per hour and has also done the talking for Paris Hilton and the founder of
Girls Gone Wild, has been relentless in countering each and every County Fire and EPA press release on Greka with its own
version of events. The press releases have refuted everything from toxic gas Teaks to the ins and outs of the EPA's cost
recovery protocols and even outright accused County Fire of causing a spill.
Wise, the EPA coordinator, is not amused by such propaganda. "Believe me," he explained in a moment of frustration, "if
Greka became a responsible corporate citizen of Santa Barbara County, they wouldn't have to deal with us. I have no
incentive to lie or make this stuff up. My 16- month -old is at home in Los Angeles wondering why Daddy isn't around. The
sooner I am done here with them, the sooner I can go home?
Even when the EPA clean -up crews do go home, which may be as soon as May, their federal wrath may likely be stinging
Greka for months, even years, to come. Already on probation with the EPA until 2010 for refinery issues from 2004 and 2005,
Greka has been hit with four separate clean -up orders from the EPA since January alone. These orders levy fines up to
$32,500 a day for not following proper clean-up procedures and tack on additional per barrel fees for the spills themselves.
According to EPA attomey Mike Massey, they have yet to determine what fines, if any, Greka will be forced to pay. But with
criteria that take into account the seriousness of a spill, a company's track record, cooperation with regulatory agencies, and
effectiveness of cleanup, a hefty fine seems all but certain, especially considering the EPA took the Palmer Road spill out of
Greka's hands due to alleged mishandling.
But then there's Greka's proactive and positive personality, one that appears to be holding an olive branch out to the
community. The company brought in a new president, Andrew deVegvar, shortly after the January hearing and then launched
a multimillion dollar Greka Green infrastructure improvement plan aimed at removing literally tons of scrap metal, broken -down
old tanks, and rusted -out pipes from its leased land. According to former county supervisor Mike Stoker who was hired by
Greka late last fall to "get them to do a better job doing what the county regulators want them to do" this plan has already
resulted in the removal of 400 tons-of fwaste lnd was in place long before the crude hit the fan in December.
It was obvious to them that they weren't doing anywhere near as good a job as you have to do to be an oil and gas operator
in Santa Barbara County, and they wanted to do something about it, Stoker said. This Greka frenzy has just expedited that
process?
Arguing that a bulk of Greka's problems come from inherited liabilities from previous oil operators, Stoker also acknowledged
the hard reality of the situation. We didn't get to this point overnight," he explained, and we're sure not going get out of it
overnight."
Meanwhile, county staffers, under direction from the Board of Supervisors, are intensifying facility inspections for Greka and
every other onshore oil operator and adding more teeth to their petroleum codes to recoup dean -up and inspection costs.
"There has been a lot of progress in the past 60 days," the county's deputy CEO Ron Cortez told supervisors last month, but
there is still a lot more work to be done? Another report will be presented on May 13.
It seems the more things change, however, the more they remain the same. In a press release from the county last week,
communications director Boyer announced that the stop -work order at the Palmer Road facility had been lifted and a
temporary work order had been granted just as long as Greka meets a wide range of requirements within 90 days. But in the
same email, Boyer attached the actual letter from Fire Marshal Chris Hahn to Greka, which clearly states that all but one of
these repairs had to be made no later than April 10 or the temporary permit would be revoked.
On Friday afternoon, an anonymous tipster informed The Independent that not all of the requirements were met on the April 10
inspection. Nonetheless, as of press time, the Greka facility remained open for business. Phone calls to Boyer, the only man
the county is allowing to speak on the subject, had not been retumed.
No One's Talking
At a time when the public's right to know about Greka seems to be at an all -time high, the county is more tight- lipped than
ever. After an Associated Press story a few weeks ago sniffed around the Firestone conflict -of- interest angle, the county
issued a de facto gag order for both elected officials and hired hands. This is due to the fact that Greka has threatened the
county with a $100 million lawsuit for singling out the oil operator in their current onshore oil code discussions, and any
comments could be used in such a suit.
As such, requests for interviews with high- ranking County Fire officials and county petroleum inspectors simply were never
answered and, in at least one case, granted and then quickly cancelled. In fact, the don't-talk-about-Greka decree runs so
deep that two county employees cited fear of losing their jobs as a reason for not talking on the record.
Instead, Santa Barbara County's Communications Director Wiliam Boyer, a relative newcomer who began working directly
under CEO Mike Brown's office in 2006, has been offered up as the sole source of information. But Boyer has none and, even
after multiple calls with specific questions, has proved little help, other than to say, "I don't know. 111 have to check on it,' and,
perhaps understandably, 1 don't have the historical knowledge."
To circumvent this lack of communication and help determine what took so long for the county to bring Greka to task after
nearly a decade of spills, The Santa Barbara Independent filed a Califomia Public Records Act request with the County of
Santa Barbara seeking any and all documentation of correspondence between CEO Mike Brown's office and any member of
the county's onshore oil and gas regulatory agencies. The county had not responded to the request as of press time, though
according to sources a reponse is expected by the end of next week.
SB County Fire
A look at the Tuesday, November 13, oil spill at Greka Energy's Santa Maria facility.
Similarly intrigued by the communication breakdown, Gordon Hensley of the San Luis Obispo Coastkeeper, working in
conjunction with the Santa Barbara Channelkeeper, filed a similar public records request with the county last month. In
response, he was told that the associated documents would cost him at least $100,000.
'Basically, 1 am looking for who knew what and when," said Hensley. "All I can say is that other sources of information around
these spills have been a lot more cooperative? After joking about how it appears that only the wealthy have access to public
documents in Santa Barbara County, Hensley added, This is the type of thing I do for a living, and the county's reaction has,
to say the least, certainly raised our interest in looking at them."
But no matter what eventually comes out of these requests, the county cannot alone be blamed for the Greka legacy the
media, the public, and watchdog environmentalists have also been lulled into complacency. Here at The Independent, for
example, years ago we began filling an ever growing folder with press releases about Greka's various spills and unwanted gas
releases. Papers came in so frequently that it became sort of an office joke, and we would rarely write anything more than a
small news brief.
One of the reasons for the media's lack of attention— and, thereby, the public's too is that inland oil spills seem infinitely
less newsworthy than ocean or beach spills. They're usually not as visible since they happen on private land and they are, in
general, much easier to clean up both factors that keep such disasters out of the headlines.
Independent
Photo by Paul Wellman
Hearing Examines Greka Woes
Oil Company Spokesman Says Sabotage Caused Spills
By Ethan Stewart
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Things went from bad to worse for Greka Energy this past weekend, as yet another pump failure- --this time at a storage tank
in the Santa Ynez Valley —sent some 84,000 gallons of oil and the toxic byproduct known as produced_ water spewing into a
creek at the Firestone Vineyard property on January 5. Made worse by the recent heavy rainfall, the spill, according to
California Fish and Game, traveled more than a mile and a half downstream before being stopped by Greka workers and
County Fire crews. The spill came less than 24 hours after a special meeting of county, state, and federal officials in Santa
Barbara, hosted by State Assemblymember Pedro Nava, to discuss the recurring toxic spills since Greka came to town in
1999. According to county and state data, the most recent incident brings the total number of Greka spills in the past nine
years to 204, including approximately 100,000 gallons of oil spilled into creeks in the past month alone. Furthemore, amid
allegations of widespread disrepair and high environmental risk, Greka's Rincon Island facility just offshore the Santa
Barbara/Ventura county line was issued a stop work order by the state's Land Commission on January 3.
Indep endent
Is Greka Still Spilling?
Supes Check In on Oozing Oil Company
By Ethan Stewart
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Nearly two months have passed since Santa Barbara County Supervisors held a full- disclosure special hearing on Greka
Energy and its seemingly habitual practice of spilling crude oil and produced water an equally toxic byproduct of oil
drilling into the countryside and creeks of Santa Barbara County. This week, county staff and assorted state and federal
environmental regulatory agencies returned to the board with an update.
While singing a rosier tune about Greka's efforts to remedy its ways and improve the aged equipment at its 17 county
facilities, staff also reported that despite steps forward, the company has still been responsible for 20 spills of approximately
12,000 gallons of crude and toxic water, has received notice of some 700 "deficiencies" at 12 facilities, and has had two said
facilities near Santa Maria shut down. Simply put, as county Deputy CEO Ron Cortez concluded Tuesday's hearing, "There
has been a lot of progress in the past 60 days, but there is a whole lot more work still to be done."
With the mixed bag of news came updates from California Fish and Game and the Environmental Protection Agency on
clean-up efforts currently underway at several spill sites dating back to early last December. According to George Gross of
Fish and Game, the December 7 Palmer Road leak has been sufficiently cleaned up and, based on final numbers, released
some 2,181 barrels of oil into the surrounding area despite initial reports that only 40 had spilled.
Paul Wellman
Assemblymember Pedro Nava at a hearing on Greka's oil spills.
With a history of infractions including a massive December 7 spill at a storage facility near Santa Maria that was recently
estimated by California Fish and Game officials to have put 58,674 gallons, or 1,397 barrels, of crude oil in a tributary of
the Sisquoc River— representatives from County Fire, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, California
Fish and Game, the United States Environmental Protection Agency, and the California Department of Conservation gathered
on January 4 at the Santa Barbara City Planning building to compare notes on their respective Greka dealings.
Representatives painted a grim picture of the Greka track record, telling tales of broken down machinery, twigs wrapped in
socks used to stuff holes in holding tanks, felony criminal litigation, and well over a million dollars' worth of fines. Steve
Edinger, the chief of enforcement for Fish and Game, called the sheer volume of documented spills "extraordinary and well
outside the norm" compared to the rest of state, adding, "Often, we would go out on one Greka event and find out another
event is going on, too.... It's good business practice to not spill, and other operators seem to get this message." For the
county's part, Air Pollution Control District Director Terry Dressler called Greka "the most challenging source we
regulate." County Fire's Tom Franklin, holding up a thick folder of violation paper work, said that of the 20 onshore oil
operators in the county, "It is Greka that takes up our time and resources."
As for the Zaca Station spill from early January, Gross said, the roughly 200,000 gallons of spilled oil and produced water
has all since been cleaned up, and restoration efforts on the property and affected creek are currently underway. However,
clean-up efforts for late January's Bradley 3 Island incident, which appears to have affected federally protected Tiger
salamander breeding grounds, have not yet begun.
"Our attorneys are currently working on what type of specific action will be taken." Robert Wise
Explaining his organization's efforts, EPA site coordinator Robert Wise recounted more than a few times when the company
had been told to prepare a specific area prior to foul weather but had failed to do so and therefore caused a spill in that very
spot. Additionally, Wise explained that the EPA has issued Greka three separate clean-up orders with hard and fast deadlines.
If they are not met, Greka could end up facing fines of $32,500 per day and $3,000 per barrel. "Our attorneys are currently
working on what type of specific action will be taken." Wise explained. "The EPA will be here until the end. We are not
going away anytime soon."
Greka spokesperson Robert O'Brien told the board about his company's late February operational decision to staff its
facilities 24 hours a day, seven days a week, as opposed to the prior eight -hour workdays. He explained that Greka has begun
the permitting process to build concrete block walls along the existing dirt berms that protect creeks from spilling toxins at
the Bell and Zaca stations where current berms failed to protect the creeks during prior mishaps. Finally, O'Brien noted that
Greka's seemingly high number of spills results from the fact that they own a vast majority of the county's oil wells. "Greka
is operating like every other operator in the county. When you look at the number of total spills per wellhead, Greka remains
in the middle of the pack? O'Brien said.
Flying under the flag of an all encompassing "on -shore oil facilities update," Tuesday's hearing was also a show and -tell of
sorts about the county's new approach to monitoring oil companies. Since mid January, County Fire and Petroleum Unit
officials have been conducting facility inspections twice a week and will continue to do so until they have visited all the
county's on -shore oil outposts. County staff will next return to the supervisors in May with another round of updates, at
which time they hope to have fleshed out actual ordinances designed to help recoup clean-up and inspection costs as well as
crack down on repeat offenders.
Paul Wellman
The David Gebhard Public meeting room was filled beyond capacity with a majority of
Geka employees causing the fire marshall to clear more than 20 people without seats
standing in the isles.
An intemational corporation owned by Randeep Grewal, Greka Energy formed in 1999 and began acquiring old oil leases
throughout the county to complement its asphalt empire. The company employs more than 200 people at 67 facilities and 11
stations in the county, a majority in and around Santa Maria. Many violations have resulted from older, often rusted -out
equipment failing. Such was the case in early December when a pump malfunctioned, causing oil to overflow; then, the
warning alarm subsequently failed to notify employees, allowing the crude to flow for almost four hours until the spill was
reported via a 911 call. Similarly, it was yet another pump failure and alarm snafu that caused the recent Firestone Vineyard
spill.
Paul Wellman
Attorney Robert Sanger speaking on behalf of Greka
Energy.
Speaking on behalf of Greka and Grewal at the hearing, attorney Bob Sanger said, "This is in large part an acquired liability
and Mr. Grewal has invested tens of millions of dollars for capital improvements throughout these facilities. They have
made tremendous improvements and are making sincere, very sincere, efforts to prevent additional incidents." Defending the
December spill, Sanger explained that a plan to replace the old facility had been held up in the county permitting process for
more than a year prior to the malfunction and that it was granted a matter of days after the December 7 spill. Greka
spokesperson Mike Stoker is looking forward to an upcoming County Supervisors hearing on the subject in which a former
FBI investigator, employed by Greka, will explain the "unusual and suspicious" circumstances surrounding the spill at
Firestone Vineyard. Explaining that the failed injection pump, which caused the spill, had been recently replaced, Stoker said
there is reason to believe that "someone purposely caused the spill to happen." Furthermore, Stoker added that even with
the pump failure, had the alarm company acted properly, the spill would have been averted.
Next up for Greka is the Santa Barbara County Supervisors' hearing on January 15, when staff and boardmembers will
tackle the matter from their county standpoint. However, with the accident during the weekend on his property, 3rd District
Supervisor Brooks Firestone said this week that he will be forced to recuse himself from the discussion due to a conflict of
interest stemming from his lease of land to Greka. (Incidentally, this same conflict of interest did not prevent Firestone from
playing a major role in voting against holding an emergency county hearing about Greka in mid December immediately
following the December 7 spill.) Though shying from commenting directly on the vineyard spill, Firestone, when asked if
this was the first time the Greka lease on his land had faltered, laughed out Loud. "Oh, no. There have been quite a few over
the years," Firestone said.