Today, Los Padres ForestWatch filed an appeal seeking to halt the drilling of five new oil wells in a remote area adjacent to the Los Padres National Forest north of the community of Piru. The drilling site is in an area frequently used by endangered California condors.
The Ventura County Planning Division approved the wells on September 23 without any advance public notice or hearing, and without any environmental review. Instead, the County signed off on the wells by issuing an “over the counter” zoning clearance, a routine process typically reserved for home remodels, swimming pools, and patio cover construction.
Instead of going through the usual permit modification process, the wells are being authorized under a so-called “antiquated” Conditional Use Permit that the County approved in 1956. The permit has not been revised or updated in the nearly six decades since, does not contain any limits on the number of wells, and specifies no expiration date.
The wells are located in the Temescal Oil Field west of Lake Piru, approximately one-third of a mile from the boundary of the Los Padres National Forest. The area around the proposed drill site is also frequently used by California condors. The endangered birds nest nearby in the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge and the Sespe Condor Sanctuary located just three miles away.
“California condors are one of the world’s most endangered birds and the County must take all measures necessary to protect them from the risks associated with intensive oil development,” said ForestWatch executive director Jeff Kuyper. “We hope the County will reevaluate its policies and take seriously its obligation to safeguard wildlife.”
California condors are particularly susceptible to oil drilling operations, according to federal biologists. The noise and high activity levels associated with oil drilling can disturb condor nesting and roosting sites. Exposed oil and other toxic fluids pose a hazard to condors and other wildlife. In addition, condors can find microtrash – small bits of trash including wires, washers, nuts and bolts, glass, and plastic – on oil pads. Several young condors and condor chicks have recently died after ingesting large amounts of microtrash. Citing these risks, federal condor biologists with the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) concluded in a 2011 report that “[t]he combination of condors and well pads creates a difficult management challenge for the California Condor Recovery Program.”
To reduce these risks, the FWS has recommended 23 measures to protect endangered condors from oil drilling operations. These recommendations were outlined in a letter from the Service’s Ventura Field Office to the Ventura County Planning Division in 2013, and include measures such as:
· keeping pads clean of all trash and other hazards;
· undergrounding or retrofitting power lines;
· installing anti-perching devices on equipment;
· educating oilfield employees on best management practices; and
· prohibiting wells and other infrastructure within 1.5 miles of condor nesting sites.
The County Planning Division did not apply any of the 23 condor protection measures to the five new wells, placing condors in the area at serious risk of harm. The proposed well locations are in an area that is heavily used by California condors, according to data provided by the FWS.
The ForestWatch appeal asks the Ventura County Planning Commission to overturn the Planning Division’s approval of the five wells, and to require a more thorough review of the risks and harms posed to California condors. The matter will likely be scheduled for a hearing before the Planning Commission later this year.
Today’s action comes on the heels of another ForestWatch appeal filed in August. That appeal challenged the County’s issuance of an over-the-counter Zoning Clearance for two oil wells in Hopper Canyon, in close proximity to a condor nest and Hopper Creek. The County failed to apply the FWS condor protection measures to those wells, too. A hearing date has not yet been set for this appeal.
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UPDATE:
The hearing will be held on Thursday, February 19, 2015, at 8:30 a.m in the Hearing Room of the Board of Supervisors, County Government Center, Hall of Administration, 800 South Victoria Avenue, Ventura, California.
We encourage you to attend! Contact Jeff Kuyper for more information.
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