Carp Residents Vent About Venoco Drilling Plan

About 130 people showed up at Carpinteria City Hall Monday night to share their opinions about the environmental impacts anticipated from Venoco’s Paradon slant drilling proposal. Most speakers said the draft environmental impact report was fair but needed to better address the noise the new oil operation would make. They also expressed concern the report didn’t go far enough when it came to the project’s possible effect on Carpinteria’s seal rookery.

Others expressed skepticism about the money the report said the new plant-with its controversial 140-foot-tall onshore drilling platform-would generate for Carpinteria. The report estimated the plant could generate anywhere from $40 to $100 million over a 14-year period. A Venoco spokesperson countered the report overstated the risk of an explosion or “risk of upset” at the site. Carpinteria planners will spend several months figuring out how to incorporate these remarks in their final report, which should be released sometime this winter.