Ventura, Calif. – Today, the Ventura County Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to begin an effort to address dozens of antiquated oil drilling permits throughout the county. The move is designed to bring old permits—some of which were approved in the 1940s—up to current standards to protect public health, worker safety, and the environment.
Following today’s vote, the County Planning Division will craft an amendment to the County’s Zoning Ordinance. The amendment would ensure that new oil wells drilled under antiquated permits are evaluated for their environmental impacts, and subject to public hearing and notice requirements prior to approval.
On a similar 4-1 vote, the Board directed County Counsel to explore various ways to place a hold on processing pending permits until the proposed Zoning Ordinance amendments take effect.
“We applaud today’s action by the Board to protect the health and safety of the people of Ventura County and to safeguard our environment,” said ForestWatch Executive Director Jeff Kuyper. “Modernizing these permits will go a long way towards ensuring that our water remains protected, our skies remain clear, and our communities kept safe from risky and outdated drilling and fracking practices.”
Supervisor Kelly Long was the lone dissenting vote in both instances.
“Over 150 Ventura County residents sent letters to their Supervisors, urging swift action to ensure that all new wells in Ventura County abide by the same modern standards,” said ForestWatch Public Lands Advocate Rebecca August. “Today, the Board took the first step toward putting public safety and the environment first.”
Many oil fields in Ventura County operate under permits issued in the 1940s, 1950s, and 1960s. These “antiquated permits” typically contain no limits on the number of wells that can be drilled within the permit boundary and often have no expiration date. They contain outdated standards and lack adequate provisions to protect the environment, human health, and worker safety. As a result, hundreds of new wells have been approved through the issuance of over-the-counter Zoning Clearances that are not subjected to normal public notice and environmental review
The Sespe Oil Field serves as a telling example of how the County’s current system of antiquated permits allows the oil industry to avoid operating under modern planning standards. The Sespe Oil Field contains more than 200 active oil wells spread across 3,000 acres north of Fillmore, nestled between the Los Padres National Forest, the Sespe Condor Sanctuary, and the Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. Approximately half of the wells are on private land that is intermingled with national forest land. These wells on private
- Only 4 of the 21 permits contain expiration dates; the vast majority of the CUPs do not expire.
- Most permits do not restrict the number of wells and other facilities that can be placed within the boundaries.
- Most permits have never undergone environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) because they predate CEQA.
- The antiquated permits contain inconsistent (and sometimes conflicting) provisions.
This is just one example of the myriad challenges presented by antiquated permits throughout the County. In the last five years alone, oil companies have applied for permission to drill more than 220 wells in Ventura County, most of which are under antiquated permits.
“For too long, the health and safety of residents downstream from the Sespe Oil Field and throughout Ventura County—and the sanctity of our region’s iconic landscapes—have been placed at grave risk by relying on these outdated permits,” said Kuyper. “Today’s vote will ultimately result in better safety for our towns, cleaner water for our homes and farms, better transparency for our communities, and stronger protections for our region’s public lands.”
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