Earlier this month, Los Padres ForestWatch (LPFW) and Citizens for Responsible Oil & Gas (CFROG) filed a joint appeal challenging the approval of two oil and gas test wells in a long-abandoned oil field between Lake Piru, the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge, and the Los Padres National Forest.
The approval was issued June 30 by the Ventura County Planning Director, and authorizes DCOR LLC to drill two exploratory oil and gas wells in Modelo Canyon, a remote area 1.5 miles north of the small community of Piru in Ventura County. The permit would also allow the widening of an access road and construction of various production facilities, including storage tanks, pipelines, a flare to burn off excess gas, and a helicopter landing pad.
The two test wells could lead to the re-opening of the long-abandoned Piru Oil Field. According to County documents, the wells were proposed “to determine the commercial viability of the reactivation of the Modelo Area of the Piru Oil Field.” The oil field contains 63 wells that were active beginning in the late 1800s until they were abandoned two decades ago.
Instead of preparing a full Environmental Impact Report, the County prepared a less-detailed Mitigated Negative Declaration concluding that the project will have no significant impacts. In their appeal, the groups challenge the County’s failure to consider and address numerous environmental and public health impacts associated with the project.
The appeal will be considered by the Planning Commission at a hearing on September 25, 2014. LPFW and CFROG are asking the Commission to withdraw the approval of the test wells, and to direct the Planning Division to prepare a detailed Environmental Impact Report. Without the benefit of an EIR, the decision violates the California Environmental Quality Act and other state and federal wildlife protection laws.
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