Environment 12-17
Recognizing the potential energy that can be garnered from waves off Santa Barbara County’s weather-battered North Coast, Pacific Gas & Electric Co. made an agreement with the U.S. Air Force to study the area near Vandenberg Air Force Base. PG&E estimated that a power production site there could generate as much as 100 megawatts of electricity. The company is also examining sites off Humboldt County’s shores.
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According to officials from the City of Goleta, a four- to five-barrel oil spill occurred at Venoco’s Ellwood Onshore Facility on 11/28, but the company failed for several days to report it. “How do we hold them accountable when they screw up like this?” asked City Councilmember Roger Aceves. Venoco representatives were unavailable for comment.
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Two conservation organizations, Los Padres National Forest Watch and the California Chaparral Institute, filed a lawsuit against the National Forest Service on 12/15, in what they said is an effort to restore public input into the agency’s decision-making process. The plaintiffs in the case were concerned that there had been little information and no public comment period offered related to several projects the Forest Service had initiated.
